Are you worried because your hamster keeps sleeping all day? Being nocturnal animals, hamsters spend most of the day time in sleeping. Naturally, they become active around dusk and after that time. Typically, hamsters sleep around 12-14 hours a day. However, unlike humans, these critters sleep in episodes.
Understanding hamsters can be a little tricky, especially for first-time owners. Their way of spending their time is almost entirely different from other pets. Therefore, to take care of your hamster appropriately, you should keep studying them.
Hamsters As Nocturnal Animals
To understand the sleeping patterns of the hamsters, you need to understand their life in the wild. Just like all the other members of the rodent family, hamsters are prey to many predators like cats, canines, and birds.
Therefore, due to evolution, they start becoming after the dark. They prefer spending most of their time in their burrows while the sun is up. It is also the reason behind the better night vision of the hamsters. By sleeping in the daytime, hamsters keep themselves out of the reach of daytime predators.
There aren’t any predators in your house, so why does your pet hamster sleeps all day? Simply because your beloved hammy is hard-wired to sleep in the daytime. Although generations have passed, pet hamsters still carry the instincts of their ancestors.
Explaining Hamster’s Sleep Patterns
Poly-phasic is a term used to define the sleep-wake patterns of hamsters. It means that hamsters won’t sleep in one go. In fact, they divide their sleep into several naps. As they don’t have to go to the office or school, they simply sleep whenever they feel like sleeping.
However, there is no argument that hamsters will sleep more during the daytime than the night. This is why you will see your hamster waking up, eating food, and going back to sleep all in one hour. It is pretty normal for the hamsters.
What If Your Hamster Sleeps Less Than Normal?
Now that you have learned that hamsters sleep around 12-14 hours a day, you can better judge the normality of your hamster’s sleep. Some hamsters who suffer from hyperactivity can’t sleep easily. Now, what is hyperactivity? This means that the body of your hamster has more energy than required. A balanced diet of hamsters contains nuts which are high-energy foods. An adequate amount of exercise is required to keep your hamster in good shape.
Why does this happen? Hyperactivity targets hamsters who don’t get enough physical activity to burn their extra energy. The increase in the energy levels of your hamster makes him restless.
What To Do?
As a responsible hamster owner, you should provide adequate means to your hamster to burn excessive energy. For this, you can provide him with a bigger and better cage equipped with tubes. Hamsters love racing through the tunnels. This way, he will not only burn unwanted energy but will also remain contended.
Moreover, you can also provide your pet with a good wheel if he is no longer interested in the old one. Running wheel is the main source for burning fat and excessive energy for the hamsters.
Hamsters And Hibernation
This is also a very crucial concept related to the topic that you must be aware of. When the temperature drops below a certain level, hamsters hibernate in the wild. In such a situation, mostly a food shortage occurs, so they save their energy by going to deep sleep.
Now, pet hamsters are also programmed to hibernate when they feel that their environment is too cold. There’s so slight movement that it is easy to get confused and think that the hamster has died.
What To Do?
If you feel that your hamster is hibernating, then you are doing something wrong. You should immediately move the cage of your hamster to a warmer place. Don’t directly place him into the sunlight. It can have adverse effects. But ensure the temperature of the room where you place your hamster is above 20℃.
Place some of its favorite treats near him to wake him up early.
When To Be Worried?
When your hamster is not active even after the dark, then something is not right with it. According to the reports, hamsters are most active around the time of dusk and dawn. Notice their behavior at one of these times.
If your hamster is sleepy all of the time, then it is time to visit the vet. Moreover, signs of hibernation should also worry you. No matter how busy you are, take out time to check your hamster regularly.
FAQs
We have gathered some questions related to hamster’s sleep that might be useful for you:
Absolutely not! This contributes to making your hamster aggressive. Honestly, you should always be careful regarding your hamster’s sleep if you want to build a good relationship with it.
Yes, baby hamsters only wake up to get fed or to urinate. Other than that, you will find them sleeping only.
The sleeping routine of all the hamsters is almost the same regardless of their breed. Dwarf hamsters need at least 6-8 hours of sleep to stay mentally fit.
Hamster’s Sleep Wrapped Up
Hamsters are nocturnal animals. They spend most of their day hours sleeping peacefully. They are highly active when half of the world is asleep. Usually, hamsters sleep 12-14 hours of the day. However, this sleep is divided into segments.
As a whole, a normal will sleep from around 6 to 8 hours per day. Any changes in the sleep patterns of the hamsters can indicate mental or physical illness.
