hamsters are complicated creatures and even often have scientists perplexed
you can watch your hamster run around their enclosure eat drink sleep
but how do we actually know what they're truly feeling
how do we know that they're happy?
the thing with hamsters is that more often enough
it's easier to tell an unhappy hamster
because they don't necessarily show Happy behaviors like a dog who wags his tail
or a cat that comes up to you purring
they more so just show normal hamster behaviors
a pair of researchers in the UK actually had conducted a study
to try and measure happiness in hamsters
in their study they use something called judgment bias
this is when an animal will tend to behave more positively when they're feeling good emotionally
their study consisted of 30 Syrian hamsters
who were all trained to associate water bottles
placed in certain locations in their cage
with sugar water which obviously the hamsters would enjoy
and in some places a bitter mix which obviously the hamsters would hate
and then they were split into two groups
group A lived a life full of extra toys ramps bedding and hammocks
whereas Group B lived with only a small amount of bedding and a wheel
this was to see how the different environments would affect the hamster's emotional well-being
and their decision-making skills
the researchers added more water bottles to the original cage
some with sugar water and some with the bitter mix
and others would just plain water
then they went ahead and tested how all 30 hamsters reacted
the thought process behind this is that the happier hamsters were going to be more interested in trying out
all of the bottles in hopes that they'd taste something sweet
and just like they thought the hamsters who had a better environment
were more interested in testing out all of the bottles
whereas the hamsters who lived in the bare environment only sipped to the bottles they knew had sugar water
the researchers also noted that when they swapped the group's cages
their behaviors also changed
now of course this wasn't a definite way to tell if the hamsters were happier or sadder
but this does show that providing a hamster with an environment full of enrichment
does improve their well-being
which should be a no-brainer
it should be obvious that a human who is only given a room with food water and a bed
versus a human who is given food water a bed and entertainment
is obviously going to be happier
okay so if we can't easily tell if our hamsters are happy how can we know if they're unhappy?
well an unhappy hamster will show a variety of easy to tell behaviors
Zoochosis is actually a word used to explain the stereotypical behaviors we see in animals in captivity
we know these are stress behaviors because these stereotypical behaviors
are seen as repetitive Behavior patterns with no apparent goal or function
this condition was identified in 1992
and is displayed through behavioral disorders such as circling, pacing,
bar biting, excessive grooming, addiction and self-harm
so here are the five signs that your hamster is unhappy
starting with bar biting which is a behavior that has been observed for many years now
and has always been dismissed as a hamster just trying to wear their teeth down
or simply as something hamsters just do
but this is just not true
this simply is a common Behavior not a normal one
while hamsters are rodents who have consistently growing incisors
naturally would not choose hard metal to wear down their teeth
hamsters also do not just suddenly get the thought that they need to wear down their teeth
they naturally would wear down their teeth because of the day-to-day activities that they have to do like
Gathering nesting materials, just eating hard Foods
or even just having to chew through a root while they're burrowing
things like that would naturally keep their teeth worn down
they would not just get a thought that goes "hey!
it's 2 p.m it's time to go wear down your teeth"
bar biting is done because they are trying to escape their enclosure due to stress
and boredom from their environment
this is why it's so important to be able to provide your hamster with a large enclosure
because all of that enrichment and mental stimulation that a hamster needs
takes up a lot of space
that traditional small metal bar cage in the pet store is just not going to cut it when it comes to owning a hamster
the next behavior is called monkey barring
this is another behavior that has been just looked at as another normal hamster Behavior
or that their hamster just enjoys climbing
but in reality hamsters are not arboreal animals you would never see a hamster hanging out in a tree in the wild
because they're Ground Dwellers
their anatomy even proves this and there's a reason why they have such a little tail
a hamster climbing the bars or hanging off the lid of the enclosure
is once again a hamster trying to escape their environment
and if your hamster does seem to like climbing over things there are safer ways to allow them to do so
like providing Bridges, Grapevine wood and cork logs
number three cage pacing
this is a behavior often seen in hamsters who live in aquarium-styled enclosures because they do not have access
to bars to chew or climb
so they instead are seen pacing back and forth along the glass
for long periods of time
you may also recognize this Behavior because it's often seen in stressed zoo animals
number four lethargy
a hamster who does absolutely nothing except sleep, eat, drink and appears
to be lazy is likely an unhappy one
though this Behavior may also occur in senior hamsters or a hamster who is ill
if you notice your hamster is showing this Behavior first evaluate your cage setup
is your cage large enough?
are you providing all of the necessary enrichments?
such as deep substrate for burrowing
can they forage for food?
collect nesting materials
dig in other substrates
roll in sand
climb over different materials and Shred boredom Breakers?
if yes then a vet trip might be a good idea just to ensure that they're not dealing with an illness
but if not you could be dealing with a hamster who's currently unhappy in their environment
and lastly constant escaping
if the only thing your hamster worries about at night when they're awake is constantly escaping their enclosure
you might be dealing with an unhappy hamster who needs more space,
more stimulation and maybe even more time outside of the enclosure to explore
hamsters can be really hard to please and this behavior is often more than enough
observed in female Syrian hamsters
for this reason it's often agreed upon by Hamster owners that
female Syrian hamsters shouldn't be given less than a thousand square inches of floor space
because they are going to need a lot more mental stimulation
it's also good to note that your hamster may only show these behaviors once in a while
whether that is because they started to associate you with coming out
or because they've become bored with their current setup
so once again again if you notice your hamster performing any of these behaviors it's a good idea to evaluate
the current care you're providing your hamster with
and look and see what other ways you can do to improve it
whether that is upgrading the cage, adding more enrichment, making new boredom Breakers,
allowing them to explore outside the enclosure more or rearranging their current setup
if you're interested in learning more about how to provide your hamster with enrichment make sure you check out this video
I hope this video was able to help provide more insight into being able to tell whether or not
your hamster is unhappy or not
so I will see you guys in my next video bye