# Hibernating Hamster? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 17, 2006, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hibernating-hamster/380786 "2006-11-17T03:44:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mama\_Hound](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@Mama\_Hound](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Hound)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hibernating-hamster/380786/1 "2006-11-17T03:44:05Z")
Baby Hound came crying to me earlier today because his favorite hamster will not wake up. We had been away for a day and it got pretty cold here in the house. Could the hamster be hibernating? I have read that they do that in the wild. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hibernating-hamster/380786/2 "2006-11-17T10:00:03Z")
Not that I know anything about hamsters, but a quick Google threw up these links: [http://www.hamsterhideout.com/faq.html#4](http://www.hamsterhideout.com/faq.html#4) [http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/hamster\_hibernation.htm](http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/hamster_hibernation.htm) [http://www.hamsterific.com/HamsterUniversity/HamsterHibernation.html](http://www.hamsterific.com/HamsterUniversity/HamsterHibernation.html) ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hibernating-hamster/380786/3 "2006-11-17T11:53:21Z")
When I was a kid we had a hamster that did that and we thought it was hibernating. We decided to let it “hibernate” for a while. In a couple weeks there was an unpleasant odor around the hamster’s cage. The odor kept getting worse and the hamster did not wake up. Eventually we quit waiting for it to awaken and buried it. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hibernating-hamster/380786/4 "2006-11-17T12:11:25Z")
Why don’t you just pick it up and check? ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hibernating-hamster/380786/5 "2006-11-17T14:01:37Z")
I sense an appropriately altered Parrot Sketch approaching. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hibernating-hamster/380786/6 "2006-11-17T14:49:08Z")
I had a hamster do this when I was little. I picked him up and held him for a while and he woke up. I’ve had 7 hamsters die in the past 2 years. You can definitely tell the difference between dead and sleeping. The dead hamster looks dead and will become stiff and cold in a few hours. Keep us posted. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hibernating-hamster/380786/7 "2006-11-17T18:18:21Z")
[QUOTE=KRC] Eventually we quit waiting for it to awaken and buried it. [/QUOTE] Just imagine it’s surprise in the spring! ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hibernating-hamster/380786/8 "2006-11-17T18:51:48Z")
[QUOTE=Honey] You can definitely tell the difference between dead and sleeping. The dead hamster looks dead and will become stiff and cold in a few hours. [/QUOTE] Also, dead hamsters don’t bounce as high. :eek: Just kidding, don’t try this at home. I don’t want to see any “No they don’t…Damn You!” posts