Why do hamsters fall backward?

Why do hamsters fall backward?

Why do hamsters fall backward?

A hamster is a very cool little guy. Now and then, you will see your little hammy doing tricks to amuse you. These tricks are suitable for your Hamster’s health and help it to digest food.

A hamster will run on its wheel and loves to run inside his cage. You may probably never see your active Hamster being lazy in the regular days.

We received a very funny query from a frequent viewer of ours.

He said:

I have a Syrian hamster. He is eight months old and such a playful rodent. I sometimes see him flipping backward. What is the reason for this? Is it normal for hamsters to do a backflip? What must I do? Plz Guide ASAP?

Your pet hamster can fall backward due to head injury, stressful condition, hunger, new place, stroke, and closed cage. It is recommended that you take good care of your hamster.

Why do hamsters fall backward?

Your Hamster has got funny looks. While passing through your Hamster, you will find him doing backflips beautifully. You will think that your Hamster is excellent in showing such feats. But it is not the case.

The concept of flipping backward is also known as Star Gazing. It is a type of mental and behavioral disorder in Hamsters. You would notice your Hamster standing on its feet and then flipping its body backward and, in some cases, forward as well.

This backflipping behavior will be bizarre. Your Hamster would repeat it again and again continuously, and it will make you concern about your Hamster’s health. The disorder is repetitive, and your Hamster’s life might be at risk.

Let us look at the possible reasons why your Hamster might be flipping backward:

It might be a genetic disorder

This psychological disorder in hamsters can be a result of bad genes. Sometimes the baby lacks the proper brain or neurotic development that can be the reason for your Hamster backflipping.

Premature birth or abnormal growth of the Hamster’s fetus might be a cause.

It can happen due to a new place

Well, sometimes, this type of behavior is seen in new hamsters. Hamsters are very territorial and prey animals. They can get frightened too easily. If the place is unique to it, then your Hamster might fall sick or exhibit such type of repetitive behavior by falling backward.

Closed cages can be the reason

Very confined cages can make your Hamster stressful, and it will lead him to do weird backflips. If your enclosure is small and over-populated, then your Hamster will be much worried as it does not make new friends easily.

In such a case, your Hamster will stop eating, and his mental stress will make hamster fall backward which can be fatal and lead to injuries. Try to give it a proper space and a cage that comes with a good view of the house.

Lack of Playful environment

A hamster is a playful rodent. It loves to do fun. A hamster must have a spinning wheel to exercise, fun gadgets to play with, confined places to hide, and enough space to play around and comfortable bedding to sleep. If your Hamster lacks all such facilities, then it might be problematic for his mental health and can make your hamster fall backward.

The worst side effect this can do to your Hamster is him flipping backward continuously. It hurts your Hamster more than you think it does. Please ensure that your Hamster has the best cage and play area.

Loneliness

Isolation can kill anyone. Our pets are like kids. They can get scared alone and they feel our absence wholeheartedly. If you do not give your Hamster proper time and interaction, then it will make him feel alone and isolated.

It will trigger their backflipping behavior, and if you did nothing for this, then your Hamster will die. Do not leave him alone and play with it whenever you get time.

A partner hamster is also necessary so that your Hamster does not feel utterly lonely. Try to put the partners together, so they do not stress out due to loneliness.

Your Hamster’s ear might be infected

Sometimes the issue can be physical rather than mental. If your Hamster has an infection in its ear, then it will be much uncomfortable. The virus will make your Hamster move its head back and forth and sideways. This is one of the main things that cause hamsters to fall backward.

To get rid of the infection, your Hamster might also jump, run circularly, or do continuous backflips. If you think your Hamster’s ear is infected, then take it to the vet as soon as possible. We can treat it with antibiotic medicines and other special meds.

Disease

Well, this is terrible news! In some cases, your Hamster’s brain can grow more, and it can cause a tumor to the brain. This tumor will create such a pain to your poor Hamster.

If you see your Hamster not eating or drinking anything and rather doing crazy backflips, then it might be a tumor in his head, making him do so. Take it to your vet at once, though there is nothing much that one can do.

Head injury

While playing with toys or other hamsters, your Hamster can be quite adventurous. These adventures can also cause mishaps. If your Hamster’s head is poorly hit, then it can cause an injury that will make its brain swelled.

Swelling on your Hamster’s head will cause him to do exhibit very aggressive behavior. It might bite you, fight a lot with other hamsters, walk in a funny pattern, or do crazy backflips.

A vet checkup may make your Hamster get rid of the swelling.

Your Hamster might be having a stroke

Just like humans, animals can have strokes too. Every animal has different ways to deal with their strokes. Hamsters do crazy jumps, opens its mouth and backflips repeatedly.

It is a case of emergency, you have to take it to the hospital at once, or the stroke might kill that poor creature.

What to do if your pet hamster falls backward?

Here are some of the things which you can try to prevent your hamster from falling backward.

Take it to the vet:

The best thing is to take your Hamster to a great vet who has a good background in neurology in animals.

Your vet must know a great deal about how to treat the Hamster without harming it.

Give your Hamster a big roomy cage:

Studies show that the star gazing occurs with hamsters that are most likely confined into smaller cages. The best thing to treat your Hamster’s abnormal behavior is to provide him with lots of room to have fun.

A big spinning wheel, lots of cute little toys, and beautiful play area and bedding will bring a positive change to your Hamster, and it will most likely reduce its backflips can act more normal. Try to keep your cage injury-proof as well so that your Hamster does not fall or injure its head on anything that can worsen its condition.

Keep changing your Hamster’s toys:

Boredom can lead to stress, and stress can lead to backflips. Gift your Hamster with newer toys to play with more often so that it gets a chance to make new playmates.

This process will surely bring a big smile to your pet.

Keep away from other pets:

A hamster’s worst nightmare is fear that some big predator might eat it up. If you have a pet cat or a dog, then your Hamster will get scared to death, and it will trigger his behavior, and it won’t stop doing continuous backflipping.

It is best if you let your Hamster enjoy in the absence of other pets, especially predators. Try to keep both of the pets in separate places and place your Hamster’s cage in an area where other animals cannot reach. Your Hamster will reduce its backflips as soon as it calms down.

Separate the other hamsters:

This compulsive behavior can also trigger if your other roommates are not accepting you or fighting with you from time to time. Sometimes hamsters don’t get along, and one of them starts to behave abnormally and do crazy backflips.

The best thing for the Hamster is to keep the problematic Hamster away from the other ones as it can stress out other hamsters too. Keeping them in separate cages can settle the dispute and make your hamsters live peacefully without doing aggressive flipping.

Take care of the cleaning:

Hamsters have a powerful sense of smell. If you clean the entire cage altogether, then your Hamster would have trouble recognizing its cage smell, and it will trigger his mental state, which will cause flipping and jumping.

It is best if you clean some of the areas one time and some of the areas the other time. Also, make sure to sprinkle some of the old substitutes back so that your Hamster would sniff it and feel like home.

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