Cold weather sets in, which means it’s time to talk about how hamsters react to changes in temperature and daylight hours. Do hamsters hibernate? Surely, many of you have already asked a similar question. Hamsters remain active throughout the winter. And instead of hibernation, they fall into a state of numbness. What’s the difference? Let’s try to figure it out.
To make it clearer for you what constitutes numbness, let’s consider the life of hamsters in natural conditions. Numbness is a state of a hamster when the metabolism slows down greatly, and all body functions are maintained only at a minimal level. At the same time, the body of the hamster seems to be numb, and he stops responding to external stimuli. How is numbness different from hibernation?
It is much shorter and depends on the time of day. In this case, the determining factor is not only the air temperature but also the length of daylight hours. For example, if a hamster comes out of his burrow on a winter evening, when the sun has already set, he will almost certainly fall into a daze. With the onset of spring and a change in the length of daylight hours, Dzungarian hamsters “switch” to summertime. Simply put, the numbness of a hamster is a short-term hibernation.
Numbness of a Dzungarian hamster at home
Probably, some of you have a question: “How does everything written above apply to pets living at home?” In fact, hamsters fall into a daze not only in the wild. There are cases when the owners of hamsters were pretty scared, finding their pets numb and motionless in the morning. Someone mistakenly believed that the beloved pets “went to the rainbow.” In such a situation, you just need to take the hamster in the palm of your hand to keep it warm. Then, very soon, life will return to his body along with the warmth.
Hamster’s numbness can be caused by:
- low room temperature;
- lack of food and poor nutritional quality;
- poor lighting.
Therefore, it is important to ensure that the room where the hamster’s cage is located is warm enough. It is also necessary that your pet can see the sunlight. Well, healthy and high-quality hamster nutrition is the basis of the basics, which you should always keep in mind.