98 replies to this topic

[Simi]

This was very helpful SP! I was trying to figure out the temperature on Y!Answers and everyone was saying "room temperature is best"

[MarkSloantheHamster]

So the room my hamster is living in is pretty cold. I have it under a table with a huge towel rapped around the outside of the base and a blanket draping over the cage on 2 sides, but what else can i do to try to keep him warm?

[missPixy]

well, the cold is also something that would definitely make him sleepy!
does he have a hideaway hut? I'd also suggest a LOT more bedding...
hamsters like to snuggle in to bedding, ideally you shoudl have the bedding
up to nearly the top of that red base. and a hut tucked into that bedding so
he can snuggle in.

remember too that cold air falls and warm air rises~~ any chance of
getting him up off the floor? that's the coldest area of the room. on a
table instead?

[Christmas_hamster]

Unless your hamsters live outside, which they should not, they will not hibernate. In the winter, you can give them an extra inch of bedding and put a blanket over their cage, if it makes you feel better. Make sure your hamster cage is away from draft and air vents, and you should be fine

Just so that it is clear, hamsters do not hibernate as animals such as, bears, do. Not even if they live outside.

[NellyGirl]

I need to reply to this regaurding the coldness factor lol.


My room can get to at least below 65 in the winter(There is a draft in my room and I can't find it). But I moved Nelly onto the floor and threw a fleece blanket over her cage, my biggest fear factor is that I'll keep the fresh oxygen circling to her cage over night. I don't want to get a heating pad or any other kind of things that can keep her warm over night because you don't know what can happen. I'm prob freezing her over night as well but my mom throws a fit that its to hot in the house when its 72 degrees. I sleep on the bottom floor so all the heat rises.

[AnimalAbbie181]

I need to reply to this regaurding the coldness factor lol.


My room can get to at least below 65 in the winter(There is a draft in my room and I can't find it). But I moved Nelly onto the floor and threw a fleece blanket over her cage, my biggest fear factor is that I'll keep the fresh oxygen circling to her cage over night. I don't want to get a heating pad or any other kind of things that can keep her warm over night because you don't know what can happen. I'm prob freezing her over night as well but my mom throws a fit that its to hot in the house when its 72 degrees. I sleep on the bottom floor so all the heat rises.

Can you get like your own personal air heater?

[tbiM20]

This is very informative! I should mention though that my mom and I have made several hand warmers using fabric and rice, and you should definitely make sure that both the fabric and the thread are 100% cotton or wool, as metallics, we all know, are bad for a microwave, and synthetic fibers like polyester and nylon can melt.

[toffeebear]

Awesome!! Love it SyrianPumpkin!

Another thing I've heard of to keep your hamster cool in the summer is to buy a Chinchillar (think that's how you spell it) ad basically it's a marble block that cools of your small animals habitat. They're made for chinchillas but are perfectly safe for hams (:

[Poofthecat]

Unless your hamsters live outside, which they should not, they will not hibernate. In the winter, you can give them an extra inch of bedding and put a blanket over their cage, if it makes you feel better. Make sure your hamster cage is away from draft and air vents, and you should be fine

Hamsters don't hibernate whatsoever not even in the wild they are very active creatures in all seasons

[Ping]

Hamsters don't hibernate whatsoever not even in the wild they are very active creatures in all seasons

 

Not true; hamsters CAN hibernate, but it's not a normal annual state for them (like bears for example). Hibernation can be brought on by excessive temperature changes, lack of food, even possibly lack of light (according to some sources). A hamster is what is known as a "permissive" hibernator - they can choose to put their bodies into hibernation, which lowers their body temperature, metabolic rate , heart rate etc. This is recognised as a survival mechanism for them if food or water is in short supply or if the temperature changes to dangerous levels.

 

Years ago I had a hamster who escaped and was on the run for over two weeks. We found him eventually in a cupboard under the sink and thought he was dead because his body was stiff and cold, but actually he was hibernating. He woke up gradually as we warmed him up and gave him food and water.

Edited by Ping, 31 May 2013 - 10:25 PM.

[Azayles]

Just wanna clarify

Hamsters can go into a "shock", similar in biological terms to a human suffering hypothermia when the temperature drops. This is a survival technique that happens automatically, blood flow nearer the surface of the body shutting down, blood being pulled away from the extremities, reduced heart rate, metabolism, respiration etc. Also this isn't something a hamster chooses to do, it's something the body does as a defence mechanism to survive.

It's often erroneously called hibernation when a hamster goes into this shock state, but it's physiologically different to true hibernation. it's more of a torpor.

[Ping]

Oh sorry, my bad!

 

I was quoting what a vet had told me at the time, plus info from http://www.rspca.org.uk/allaboutanimals/pets/rodents/hamsters/behaviour and http://www.britishhamsterassociation.org.uk/get_article.php?fname=journal/hibernation.html

 

I will be sure to check my info more closely next time

[Azayles]

I think there have been cases where certain species of hamsters in the wild have gone into hibernation, and even tests done on human form hibernation, which is as crazy as it sounds! :P But hamsters kept in domestic settings will only go into a torpor like state if the temperature drops too low, not an actual hibernation.

The confusion comes from the physiological similarity in hibernation, and the body shutting down due to low temperatures. There's also different kinds of hibernation, either where it's a yearly/seasonal occurrence, or something triggered from an outside source (again, closer to hypothermia than true hibernation) and even something called aestivation which occurs in high temperatures as opposed to low temperatures.

[Taxonomist]

The definitions associated with hibernation and such are very hotly debated.  There really are no "standard" definitions, because the scientists who study these things can't exactly agree.  For what it's worth, this is what my mammalogy textbook says about the matter: 

 

Dormancy - A general, catch-all term for a state of inactivity and reduced metabolism.

 

Torpor - A form of dormancy characterized by lowering body temperature, metabolic rate, respiration, and heart rate.  However, the lowering of these things is not as drastic in torpor as it is in true hibernation.  In torpor, the body temperature does not get below 10C - 22C (50F - 71F).  Torpor is a short-term response, lasting only a few days at most, and is generally a response to an immediate environmental crisis.

 

Hibernation - A very extreme lowering of body temperature, metabolic rate, respiration, and heart rate.  This is much more extreme than torpor.  Animals that undergo true hibernation can have body temperatures that drop to 0C (32F) or lower.  Hibernation is a long-term response that lasts for weeks and weeks.

 

-

 

Under this definition, hamsters definitely do not hibernate--what happens to them is closer to torpor (although it may not even be that).

[Azayles]

Spot on

When I was writing my post, I pulled up a few web pages just to be sure I knew what I was talking about, and there is indeed some conflicting data out there. Your post sums it up brilliantly