You might sometimes be wondering: can hamsters see in the dark?
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Yes, they can! Just like other rodents, hamsters are nocturnal little animals, and they are very active during the night.
If you are curious about hamsters and how they behave in the dark, this article will lay out all the facts you need.
How well can hamsters see in the dark?
Although they are nocturnal rodents, a hamster’s vision during the night is feeble.
They are almost as close to being color blind as well because of their poor eyesight.
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With that, they also find it hard to sense distance.
Hamsters have a unique way to determine if something is edible when they are in the dark.
They use their teeth to check if the thing they are nibbling on can be eaten.
Thus, the only auditory senses hamsters have is their sense of taste.
How do hamsters react in the dark?
As nocturnal species, hamsters are usually active during the night or when there is no light.
They prefer to eat their food at night as well, and they are more productive and running when it’s night time.
If you have a pet hamster at home, make sure to dim the lights or shut the lights off entirely at night.
When it’s dark out, it will let your hamster practice their regular habits.
Before putting out the lights, you can add food in their cage and water because they will eat it the whole night.
You can also play with your hamster during night time for him to exercise and stretch a little.
You will witness how hamsters behave when it is nighttime, and you will truly appreciate them more.
How do hamsters behave during the day?
As nocturnal animals, hamsters tend to be sleeping during the day.
You need to put their cages in a quiet environment where they can rest comfortably and peacefully.
Hamsters that don’t get to sleep well during the day tend to become more violent and grumpy, and it could harm you and your family.
If you have kids at home, make them understand the hamster’s nature and regular habit.
Kids can sometimes get overwhelmed when they see a cute animal.
How to keep yourself up with your hamster during the night?
Since you and your hamster have different sleeping schedules, avoid putting them close to your bed at night.
If you want to have a good night’s sleep because you have work or school in the morning, place the hamster cage outside your bedroom or in another room.
Hamsters can be very active during the night, and it can cause disturbance to your sleep.
Their digging activities, running the diameter wheel, or even munching on their snacks can create disturbing noises.
How to follow a consistent approach towards your hamster?
Introducing your pet hamster to your home may be difficult.
Humans and hamsters have different lifestyles and maintaining a hamster as a pet comes to a lot of conflicts.
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The separate sleeping schedule is just among those conflicts, and there are a whole lot more.
However, there are ways that you can counter these conflicts and make your relationship with your pet hamster stable and convenient.
The key is to compromise with your pet.
As a pet owner, it is your responsibility to take care of your pet and make an approach for a happy, natural life.
Let’s take the sleeping schedule as an example.
If you try to change your hamster’s natural sleeping habits might cause stress to them.
Changes in sleeping schedule will also lead to complicated situations such as health problems.
Just like humans, when hamsters get stressed, they will also get sick.
The best approach for this situation is to adjust to your pet’s schedule as much as possible.
Allocate some time during the night to play with them.
When it’s daytime, place the cage somewhere cool and quiet for it to rest properly.
If you need to feed your hamster during the day, you can gently wake them up.
You can also set a waking time to keep them in schedule with you.
What are the different types of hamsters, and how do they react in the dark?
Not all hamsters are flexible with their sleeping and waking time.
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There are species of hamsters that are more strict when it comes to staying awake at night, while others can adjust to a schedule.
The Roborovski hamsters are known to be one of the unique hamster types when it comes to nature.
They are the most energetic hamsters, and they can be both active during the night and day.
If you have kids at home and a pet Roborovski hamster, you don’t have to worry about telling them to stay away from the hamster because they can play with them all day and night.
As for Syrian hamsters, you need to be more cautious when handling them because they don’t like being disturbed when resting.
When they don’t get to sleep properly during the day, they become more aggressive during the night.
To sum it all up, before buying a hamster as a pet, make sure you know what type of hamster you are getting and lay out the facts first about their nature.
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This way, you will be able to do more research on how to handle them properly and keep them always in their environment.
You may seek advice from veterinarians or hamster experts on how to deal with hamsters.
