Hamsters have a notorious reputation for running incessantly. Hamster parents are familiar with the squeaking sound of their little friends’ wheels turning for what seems like the whole night. However, there’s a crucial distinction between a hamster’s natural energy and its agitated state.
Your hamster is running around like crazy because it has a lot of energy to burn off. Running is one of the most effective ways hamsters expend that energy. More worrisome factors could be behind your hamster’s restlessness, such as illness, excessive warmth, poor exercise, and emotional distress.
In this article, I’ll be your hamster’s mouthpiece, telling you why it can’t seem to stop running. I’ll also explore what you can do when your hamster is running around like crazy because something isn’t quite right with it.
Do Hamsters Get the Zoomies?
Frenetic Random Activity Periods (FRAPs), commonly known as zoomies, define spells when dogs exhibit a burst of activity. This may look like running around in circles or spinning repeatedly.
While zoomies have come to be associated with dogs, it’s only natural for us to transfer their applicability to hamsters when they behave similarly. So, do hamsters get a personalized form of zoomies? Yes, they do.
Just like dogs, hamsters sometimes run around like crazy. One slight difference arises in the reasons why. Here are the top causes for zoomies in dogs:
- Being cooped up for long periods can cause a burst of energy in dogs.
- Dogs commonly have zoomies after taking a bath.
- Zoomies are common after exposure to stress-inducing situations, such as visiting the vet or their pet parent leaving home.
For hamsters, however, the causes could be much more innocent than the ones that give dogs zoomies. Let’s dive into that in the following subsection.
Your Hamster Harbors Infinite Energy
“Like a hamster on a wheel” is often used to describe someone working restlessly but achieving little to no results. However, those who popularized it may not have been as familiar with hamster patterns as is widely assumed.
Hamsters have very valid reasons for keeping up the pace on their wheels. These little furry pets have a lot of energy for their tiny forms, and as physics majors love reminding us, energy can’t be created or destroyed; it can only be transferred from place to place.
By running around like crazy, your hamster may simply be striving to burn off the extra energy its sunflower-seed lunch injected into it.
In this case, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Your hamster knows best when and how much to run to get to that sweet energy homeostasis. Besides, it can run for three to four hours a night (they’re nocturnal). During this time, they can cover dizzying distances of up to 5.6 miles (9 km) a night.
Your Hamster Is Evading Imaginary Predators
Another innocent factor causing your hamster to get zoomies is their brain programming.
When your pet hamster’s ancestors lived in the wild, they were subject to sporadic attacks from countless carnivores. There are no threats of becoming dinner for a hungry eagle now, but the flight mechanisms that kept those ancestors alive for so long have been seared into your hamster’s brains.
As such, your hamster may pick up the pace at the slightest provocation, especially if it’s new to your home.
This characteristic also circles back to the one about having excess energy. Now that it doesn’t spend half of its energy escaping predators, your hamster has stores of it that they expend by running like the threat still exists.
Your Female Hamster Is in Heat
Female hamsters ovulate once every four days. As this occurs in the absence of a mate, they get incredibly restless.
Not only will they run around in circles, but they may also gnaw at the bars of their cage more than usual. And be careful — a female hamster in heat may also release its frustrations by biting you!
While this behavior may seem concerning, especially to new hamster parents, it’s perfectly normal. It’ll happen so often that you’ll know when to expect your hamster’s heat zoomies.
When Hamster Zoomies Point To Something More Serious
It’s not always all fun and games when your hamster exhibits nervous mannerisms. Sometimes, your hamster frantically running around may be pointing to an underlying issue. Let’s consider when and how you should intervene in your hamster’s zoomies.
Your Hamster Has Inadequate Exercise
Some of us hate waking up to leg day, but hamsters love it.
These rodents pride themselves in being as fit as they can be, which elevates the importance of installing a hamster wheel in your hamster’s cage. They may not seem interested in running on it initially, but you should leave it there so they can get those steps in.
However, exercise isn’t just a fun pastime for hamsters — it’s necessary. Without enough ways and space to exercise its little body, your hamster may resort to running around erratically in its cage.
If you notice this, allow it to step out of the cage for a short time while keeping a close eye on it. You can also consider including toys in your hamster’s cage, such as ladders and spacious tunnels.
Additionally, you should provide your hamster with a large enough cage to stave off cage rage. According to Pet Helpful, an ideal hamster cage has these dimensions: 22.3 x 11.8 x 8.9 in (56.7 x 30 x 22.5 cm). This size applies to both Syrians and dwarves.
Your Hamster Is Suffering From Illness
When hamsters grow old, they’re at risk of developing strokes. If you have an elderly hamster suddenly running around like crazy, track how long it’s at it. If the running persists for more than a minute, you should visit a vet.
Strokes also affect younger hamsters who are in warm environments. Presumably, the rodents are trying to shake off their body heat by engaging in the metabolism booster.
Keeping your hamster cool during summer is crucial to maintaining its health. Set a cool water supply within reach, and if possible, place its cage in an air-conditioned room.
Other illnesses marked by increased erratic hamster behavior include infections and vestibular balance disorder.
Your Hamster Is Under Emotional Distress
Hamsters don’t have the most fantastic standing for being social. Syrians, particularly, are fans of solitude, and hamster parents are advised to raise them without a partner. However, hamsters abandon these tendencies when you come into the picture.
If you don’t spend enough time with your hamster, it’ll get jittery and exhibit behavior such as running around in circles or biting the bars of its cage. Let it out of its cage and invite it into your hand to combat this. Your hamster may not love this idea initially, but with time, light strokes, and tempting treats, your palms will be like your furry friend’s second home.
Also, invite it to a 15-minute playtime in a room you’ve hamster-proofed. These should be daily activities as your hamster needs that constant socialization and time with you to avoid getting into a rut.
Conclusion
Hamsters are innate runners. They have so much energy to burn off that their running around like crazy often isn’t a cause for concern. However, sometimes there’s something more sinister behind your hamster’s zoomies, such as illness, emotional distress, or insufficient exercise.
You should observe your hamster to note if its running patterns deviate from the normal. And with this article’s insights, you now know what to look out for.