Too Hot?

What to do if the weather or your home is too hot

Hamsters prefer to be in a temperate climate - not too hot and not too cold. They live in the desert but tend to be slightly crespular meaning they come out around dawn and dusk when it's not very cold or very hot. This is a page of hints and tips for keeping your hamster cool and comfortable in hot weather.

First of all, if you have air conditioning, turn it on. Don't let it get cooler than 50F/10C as this will cause your hamster to hibernate. Start it in the morning so it doesn't have to take so long to lower a very high temperature.

A point to remember: When providing any form of cooling, it is best to provide a part of the cage where there isn't cooling. This way if the hamster gets too cold, it can move away from the cold and warm up.

Provide fresh water at all times.

Occasionally provide frozen peas as healthy "veggie popsicle". Do not overfeed vegetables to your hamster or else it may make him ill.

Offer some live active cultures yoghurt occasionally. The heat can kill off the healthy bacteria in hamster's digestive tract and this can make them very ill and essentially cause wet tail. Providing some more bacteria may help keep the level of healthy bacteria in the gut healthy.

Place an ice pack or two, wrapped in a tea towel to avoid damaging your table under the cage, under one half of the cage. Yes, it makes the cage tilt a bit so make sure there's no way it can tilt and fall off the table. I have my cages against a wall and put an ice pack underneath the front of the cage so they angle back towards the wall slightly. The hamsters then dig down to be in the cool area.

You can put a fan on your hamster's cage but try to make sure it's not too close and it's only on one side so it doesn't get too cooled from the fan. Fans can freak out hamsters so this might not be an ideal solution.

If your hamster shows signs of heat stroke (dehydration, not moving around much, shivering, unresponsive, limp when picked up, etc), cool the hamster gradually but as soon as possible. In this rare case you may very lightly spray your hamster with water, using a clean mister bottle and clean water. Offer fresh water from a bottle or a clean dropper (do not force water down a hamster ever. They're more likely to breath in the water and could drown) frequently. If this doesn't bring the hamster round, Go to your freezer and hold your hamster near the open freezer, letting the cold air flow onto him. Do not put your hamster in the freezer!
If your hamster has collapsed (gone floppy/limp and unconscious) you should get him to a vet even if you do get him to come back around.