A hamster can be a wonderful pet to add to your household. While you can have a lot of fun with your hamster, the animal’s nocturnal nature can lead to a lot of noise while you are trying to sleep at night. Fortunately, there are a variety of tips that you can follow that will help your hamster to be quieter at night so you can sleep.
There are a variety of tips that can help to ensure your hamster is able to sleep better at night. These tips revolve around ensuring your hamster is active, has an appropriate living environment, and is receiving a proper diet.
All of these tips can also help to ensure that your hamster is able to enjoy a happy and healthy life.
Quick Navigation
Get an Appropriate Size Crate
One mistake that a lot of people will make with their hamster is not getting enough space to run around during the day. At a minimum, you should choose a hamster cage that is at least two-feet by one-foot wide and one-foot tall.
However, if you have a larger hamster, you may want to get a larger cage. If you have the space to accommodate it, you should get as large a cage as possible. Normally, you can find a larger cage for under $50. This will give your hamster more space to run around and burn energy.
Ensure Proper Socialization
Before the end of the night, it is very important that you spend time with your hamster. A hamster will always benefit from having socialization with the pet owner. Due to this, you should make sure that you are spending at least 15 to 30 minutes per night playing with the hamster outside of the cage. When possible, you should look for other times during the day where you can play with and entertain your hamster. By providing the hamster with proper socialization, you can make it happier and ensure that it is more relaxed well into the evening. This should result in less noise during the evening.
Create and Follow a Schedule to Suits the Hamster
A hamster is a nocturnal animal by nature, which means it is bound to be more active during the night than during the day. Due to this, you should be prepared for the hamster to be awake during the nighttime.
You should create a schedule for the hamster that allows it to be awake for a few hours during day and play, which should encourage some better sleep at night. Continuing to follow this schedule will keep the hamster healthy and allow it to sleep and be quiet during the night.
Consider the Placement of the Hamster Crate
If your hamster is keeping you up late at night, another tip to follow would be to consider where you place it. Many people end up keeping their hamster cage in their bedroom.
While this can keep you close and connected to the pet, it will make it harder for you to sleep and rest.
Instead, you should place it in a room that where members of your household are not sleeping. Ideally, you should place it in a room with a window or another dim light that you can keep on during the night.
This can allow your hamster to be as active as it needs to be at night while ensuring you are able to sleep well.
Exercise Wheel Considerations
The exercise wheel is one of the most important tools that you can provide to your hamster. A hamster needs to receive regular exercise, and you likely do not want it roaming a room of your home without any structure.
Due to this, putting in an exercise wheel is the best option. One issue that a lot of people have is finding that the exercise wheel can make a lot of noise, which is frustrating as the wheel is frequently used more at night.
Today, there are a variety of manufacturers that sell hamster exercise wheels that are practically silent and will not disrupt you when trying to sleep. There are many silent hamster wheel options that are priced for under $25.
You should also make sure that you choose the right size for your hamster. These wheels typically range from 8 to 12 inches in size. For a full-grown hamster, upgrading to the 12-inch wheel could be a good option.
Type of Cage
Beyond the size of the cage, you should also carefully consider the type of cage that you have. Traditionally, metal cages have been the most popular form of hamster cage. While these are durable and affordable, they can also be quite loud.
As a hamster moves around, you can hear a lot of banging sounds as the cage is not sound-absorbant. Another option to consider is to get a plastic or composite cage. These cages are also in the $50 range that does a much better job of absorbing sound.
If you do have a metal cage, there are sprays that can be used to reduce the amount that your hamster will gnaw on the cage bars, which can also help to reduce and manage the loud noises.
Provide Toys to Hamster
One of the main reasons why a hamster is loud during the night is that it wants to be active but is actually quite bored. Since you are not going to be available to play with your pet, a good option is to provide the hamster with some toys.
You could place a variety of chew toys in the cage, which is particularly beneficial for younger hamsters. These non-toxic toys can help to keep your hamster entertained while also strengthening their teeth and jaws.
Access to Clean Water
Similar to any other pet, it is very important that your hamster receives access to clean water at all times. Your hamster cage should come with a built-in water bottle that the hamster can drink out at anytime.
You should ensure that your hamster understands how to access the water and then ensure that the water within it is always clean. Prior to going to sleep at night, you should replace the water. This will prevent the hamster from getting thirsty and then waking you up as it cries.
Healty Diet
Your hamster will tend to have a better attitude, be more independent, and be quieter at night if it is eating well. To ensure that your hamster is eating well, you should give it a good mix of standard hamster pellets and fresh fruit and vegetables.
Some produce that your hamster can enjoy can include apples, broccoli, and cucumber. It is very important that these foods are fresh and are chopped up as well as possible.
A healthy and full diet should not only keep your hamster happy and healthy but will improve its sleep habits as well. All of these benefits should help to ensure your pet is able to sleep well at night.
Clean Hamster Cage
Your hamster is going to spend a considerable amount of its time in the hamster cage, and ensuring that your pet is in a clean environment is very important.
Due to this, you should be cleaning out your hamster cage at least once per day, ideally before you go to bed at night. This process should include removing the bedding and replacing it, cleaning out the bottom of the cage to ensure that all waste is removed, and also cleaning out the food bowls.
At least once per month, you should remove all items from the cage and complete a deeper clean. This should help to improve the smell coming from the cage and give your hamster a more enjoyable place to relax at night.
Receive Regular Veterinary Care
Similar to any other animal, it is very important that your hamster receives the necessary veterinary care that it needs to be happy and healthy. If your hamster is making a lot of noise at night, is not sleeping well, or seems irritable, it could be due to an underlying health condition.
When you come in for regular veterinary care for your hamster, it can ensure you are made aware of any underlying health conditions. By then receiving medication or other tips from your veterinarian, you can help to reduce these issues to ensure your hamster is happier and quieter at night.