Why Do Baby Hamsters Chirp? 3 Things to Consider

The popularity of hamsters has considerably increased in recent times with most people looking for pets that are easy to maintain. One of the leading concerns among hamster owners is whether they will contend with a lot of noise from the pet.

The only noise that most people will associate with hamsters is the one they make when using their exercise wheels or running around typically at night.

Thankfully, you can minimize the distraction of this noise for your household by locating the hamster’s cage far from sleeping quarters and training your pet to sleep for a longer time at night.

You can also spend time playing with your hamster before bedtime so that you deplete some of its energy and cause it to sleep.

Though they are among the quietest domesticated animals, hamsters can at times squeal, grind their teeth, hiss or chirp. These noises are meant to communicate different things to owners since the animals cannot verbalize their emotions and needs.

One of our readers wrote to us concerned about a chirping sound from his hamster cage each time he walked past it. On close inspection, he noticed a large population of baby hamsters that were chirping through the day.

This is normally the case when you have too many baby hamsters and you, like most people, might wonder if it’s normal.  Hamsters are unique animals and what they communicate by chirping might not be the same message all the time.

3 Reasons Why Baby Hamsters Chirp

While baby hamsters might chirp for different reasons, the following are the three common reasons why they do so.

– They are Hungry

In the same way that kids will cry when hungry, your baby hamster might start chirping when it is hungry. When you hear your baby hamster chirping, start by checking its water bottle and food bowl to ensure it is filled.

Even so, be vigilant to stick to feeding times and keep track of how much you give your pet hamster. If you keep filling the food bowl every time baby hamsters chirp, you might cause obesity and other health problems.

Give your hamsters good quality and healthy food, but do not overfeed them.

– They are Cold

Hamsters are quite sensitive to temperature variations and should be kept in the right temperatures for them to be comfortable. The ideal living temperatures for baby hamsters are between 65-80 degrees Celsius.

The chirping in your hamster might be because of the cold. In this instance, the chirping is often accompanied by shivering.

– They Need Their Mother

Some hamster owners separate their young pets from the mothers before they are independent. This causes anxiety in the young hamster evidenced by its constant chirping.

Pups should be removed from their mothers’ cages when they turn 4-5 weeks old. Baby hamsters might also chirp when looking for attention, when they want time out of their cages and when agitated.

In a few cases, chirping might be a symptom of diseases like respiratory infections.

Is It Normal for a Baby Hamster to Chirp All Day?

No, it is not normal for a baby hamster to chirp throughout the day. When a mother leaves the cage and the baby hamsters are left alone, they might chirp for some time because of the separation.

Provided it has reached its age of sexual maturity, however, the chirping will stop after a few minutes. Taking the pup back to the mother hamster’s cage believing this will make it stop chirping but this might lead it to be attacked by the mother.

When your baby hamsters chirp all day, it might be a sign that they are hungry or cold rather than anxious as is typical after being separated from its mother.

How to Make Baby Hamsters Stop Chirping?

The constant chirping of a baby hamster is not only irritating but might also make you anxious as you believe the animal is uncomfortable.

If you are sure that the animal is well-fed and warm enough, the only way for you to manage the chirping might be bringing the mother back to the young hamster’s cage.

Young hamsters will wean at 2-3 weeks old but the mothers will discourage them from it when they reach sexual maturity at 4-5 weeks. At this point, you should remove them from the cage before the mother hamster attacks them because of competition.

Even so, if your baby hamster’s chirping is uncontrollable, you can leave the mother in the baby’s cage for some time.

Also, ensure the baby hamster has enough food and water. Maintaining the right temperature in its surroundings will minimize the odds of the hamster chirping.

When Do Baby Hamsters Stop Chirping?

When a baby hamster is comfortable, it usually stops chirping. The chirping generally starts reducing when your hamster turns 3-4 weeks old. This is because it can comfortably survive on its own at this point.

After 3-4 weeks, baby hamsters will only chirp as a means of communication with their owners and other hamsters. The leading emotion that chirping in hamsters will signify is happiness.

Fortunately, it will not take too much for your hamster to chirp because it is good-natured and amiable. The hamster will be happy when it spends time on the hamster wheel, is given a tasty snack or when you play with it.

Wrapping Up

Chirping in your hamster does not necessarily mean discomfort or that the animal is not house-trained. With the above information, you now understand why your hamster might chirp sometimes.

If the steps you take to minimize the chirping do not work, it is prudent to seek an animal behavioral specialist’s input into what might be causing the chirping and how best to reduce or negate it.

If you learn to listen and correctly interpret what your hamster wants to communicate through chirping, you can be assured of an amicable relationship with your pet.