Why Is My Hamster Not Coming Out At Night? (5 Major Reasons and Solutions)
Hamsters are nocturnal animals, and they should be foraging at night. But the question is, why is my hamster not coming out at night?
Well, whenever a nocturnal animal is inactive at night, you must understand that its sleep during the daytime has been interrupted somehow. So, your hamster is not coming out at night because it’s sleepy at night.
However, other reasons might also be in play here that are keeping your hamster from coming out at night. Check the discussion below and find more details about this right now.
Reasons Of Why Is Hamster Not Coming Out At Night? (With Solutions)
Just like other rodents, hamsters should also be running around in your house at night, looking for food, but sometimes it’s not the case. And this can get you worried if you’re the owner of a pet hamster. So, let’s find out the major reasons why your hamster is not coming out at night.
1. Its Daytime Sleep Is Interrupted
Data from a 2003 research suggests that Hamsters need to sleep during the day to be able to forage at night time. In the wild, hamsters can get sound sleep during the daytime in their small dens underground.
On the other hand, the scenario is different for pet hamsters at a house. Its daytime sleep is interrupted by all the noises created by humans in the house. Consequently, the hamster cannot get enough sleep during the daytime to recharge its body. Therefore, it stays sleepy and tired at night. So, you might not see it coming out at night.
Solution:
The simple solution to this problem is to keep your pet hamster in a very quiet place in your house. For instance, instead of keeping your hamster in your bedroom or the living room, keeping it in your study place is a good idea.
2. Old Age
It’s not always the case that something is wrong when your hamster is not coming out at night. Hamsters can sleep at night due to tiredness induced by old age, according to a 1998 study. You have to keep in mind that hamsters have a small lifespan of 2 to 3 years.
So, if your hamster is over 2 years old, it just might be tired because of old age. As a result, it’s not coming out of its nest at night.
Solution:
In cases like this, you cannot really do anything substantial to help your hamster stay energetic at night. Nonetheless, we suggest providing a healthy diet to your hamster if it’s old, so it can stay healthy at night and forage on its own.
3. Presence Of A Hostile Animal
Hamsters are not brave creatures. They can get easily scared of other animals. If your hamster is living with any “unfriendly” pet neighbor, it might be scared to come out at night.
For instance, sometimes it happens that cats and dogs are not compatible to live in the same home as hamsters. Consequently, they spook the hamster and make it scared. Resultantly, the hamster stops coming out at night to look for food and refreshment.
Check whether your hamster is incompatible with its pet neighbor. If your hamster is afraid of its pet neighbor, make sure that your pet hamster stays in a separate room.
4. Substantial Temperature Drop
Although hamsters are nocturnal animals, they are also fond of comfort. So, they will not go out when it’s extremely cold. Since it can get really cold at night, pet hamsters might be reluctant to get out of their nest at night. Instead, sometimes pet hamsters get lazy and decide to rest in their cozy abode at night.
Solution:
The easy solution, in this case, would be to keep your room warm at night. If you can use an internal heater in your room to keep the room temperature around 20 to 25° C (68 to 77°f), your hamsters will surely come out at night.
5. Too Much Activity During Day Time
As already mentioned, hamsters are supposed to rest during the daytime. So, if your hamster is kept active in the daytime too much, it will get tired and decide to rest at night.
For example, your hamster might have spent too much time in the running wheel and has gotten tired due to excessive exercise. In turn, it might spend the whole night sleeping and rest in its cozy nest.
Solution:
If your hamster is too stimulated during the daytime, you have to let it rest for some time. So, put the stimulative tools away from the hamster for a particular portion of the daytime. This will make sure the hamster gets enough rest during the day. Accordingly, it will stay energetic and naturally come out of its nest at night.
How To Get Your Hamster To Come Out Of Hiding At Night?
No matter what the reason is, you have to try to make your hamster active at night. Indeed, foraging at night is what hamsters naturally should do. So, what can you do to get your hamster to come out of its hiding at night? Do the following:
● Provide Its Favorite Food
To bring your hamster out of its hiding at night, make sure that you keep the food that it’s fond of in several places in the house. Remember, food is one of the best motivators to get an animal to do something.
● Provide Toys That It Likes
Hamsters love to play with certain toys. So, remember to keep these toys in the open place so the hamster can come out at night and play with them.
● Keep Hostile Animals Away
If your dog, cat, or any other pet is causing hostility to your hamster, make sure to keep that animal separated from your hamster at night. This will provide enough confidence in your pet Hamster for coming out of its hiding at night.
● Consider keeping Several Hamsters
Hamsters get bored when they are alone. For this reason, they might be reluctant to get active at night. So, you should consider keeping several pet hamsters at your home to keep them active at night.
Is It Normal For Pet Hamsters To Hide All Day?
As nocturnal animals, hamsters are supposed to rest during the daytime. However, hamsters do not need to sleep for more than 8 hours each day. So, it’s not normal if your pet hamster is hiding all day.
Therefore, if your hamster is hiding all day, it indicates that the animal might be sick or afraid to come out for some reason. In cases like that, you should pinpoint the reason why your hamster is afraid to come out and fix it as quickly as possible. Then, if your pet hamster is hiding all day because it’s sick, you should take it to a vet as soon as possible.
What Scent Can Attract Hamsters To Come Out Of Their hiding?
The smell of food is the scent that will attract a pet hamster the most. So, try to provide your hamster with its favorite food to make it come out of its hiding.
When Are Hamsters Most Active At Night?
Hamsters tend to be the most active at the time of dawn and dusk. So, if your hamster is not roaming around the house during these particular hours, you should understand that there’s something wrong with your hamster.
Now That We’re Here
Well, that’s all there’s to it, people. That was my take on, why is my hamster not coming out at night. It’s simply because your hamster is tired for some reason. That could be because of a lack of sleep during the daytime, or it can also happen because of old age.
Whatever the case is, you should follow the tips we have provided above to make your hamsters active at night.
