what's wrong with my hamster??

[miz_pixi]

my hamster is usually very energetic. she stays up through the night playing in her cage and when i let her out she gets really squirrly and runs all over the place. over the past week or so, i've noticed that she's been sleeping a lot more than usual and today i let her out and had her in my lap and she didn't run around or anything. she just calmly sat there. she still moves and when i put her in her ball she runs around but there is definately something going on with her. does anyone know what it could be??

[RodentzRule]

Lol, I have the opposite problem!
How old is she? It could be she is just getting old and less active but this does not sound likely if she sleeping that much and doesnt exercise alot. Is there any other strange behaviour? Is she pooping, peeing, drinking and eating normally?

[miz_pixi]

i don't know how old she is i got her at the humane society and they guessed she was a year.. so a year and a half maybe. i thought about that, but it came on so quick. one day she was fine and now she's not. for the past month or so she's been eating a less expensive food. she also chews on the bars of her cage, i've heard this can cause problems but i've never been successful in getting her to stop.

[Jess]

Try giving her a better quality food (lack of nutrients could be part of the issue) and give her some more toys. Constantly chewing on bars means bordom, and is isnt very good for them either. Age might be part of it too. Ive adopted plenty of hammies from shelters, and they arent always accurate on age. They just go by what the old owner says, because theres really no other way to tell. She could be older than you think she is.

[Jennicat]

I would suggest a vet visit for what you describe as a pretty drastic change.