Do hamsters make noise?

[Hypancistrus]

Okay, many of you know that I am currently the temporary caretaker of my colleagues two hamsters. We named the tan one "Hammy" and the black and white longhaired one "Nic."

Nic is in a smallish wire cage (I am going to replace it with a decent sized ten gallon tank before we return to school Wednesday) with a deep 4" plastic base. I use the same Aspen shavings with the hamsters that I use for Hokie the corn snake. Each of them also has a wheel (which I bought).

Now... today when we took Nic out to play (he was asleep and we woke him) he made these weird noises. Like a "chuff chuff chuff" sound, if that makes any sense. Is he sick? Or is this a normal hamster noise? I've never cared for hamsters before- only gerbils, and I've heard gerbils make a similar noise, usually when they are hacked off about something or scared. I am just worried that he is sick. I am keeping him in my bedroom, which is normal house temperature (72-75 deg. F.) and I have his cage partly covered by an old towel.

Any ideas??

 

[Drucifer]

Okay, many of you know that I am currently the temporary caretaker of my colleagues two hamsters. We named the tan one "Hammy" and the black and white longhaired one "Nic."

Nic is in a smallish wire cage (I am going to replace it with a decent sized ten gallon tank before we return to school Wednesday) with a deep 4" plastic base. I use the same Aspen shavings with the hamsters that I use for Hokie the corn snake. Each of them also has a wheel (which I bought).

Now... today when we took Nic out to play (he was asleep and we woke him) he made these weird noises. Like a "chuff chuff chuff" sound, if that makes any sense. Is he sick? Or is this a normal hamster noise? I've never cared for hamsters before- only gerbils, and I've heard gerbils make a similar noise, usually when they are hacked off about something or scared. I am just worried that he is sick. I am keeping him in my bedroom, which is normal house temperature (72-75 deg. F.) and I have his cage partly covered by an old towel.

Any ideas??

Sounds like a breathing problem to me.
Hamsters rarely make noise, but they do squeak.
I would get him checked out by a vet if I was you.

 

[Hypancistrus]

I called our emergency vet clinic, and they asked a lot of questions re: his eyes, breathing, etc. The lady said he is probably getting a cold, but they don't have a small animal vet on staff tonight. She said since his eyes and nose are clean and bright, it's likely just starting. She said call back tomorrow and see if there are any open appointments and if not, bring him Tuesday. She also said if his eyes go runny, or he stops acting normal (running in the wheel, drinking, eating, etc) bring him in right away as an emergency. It's $69 to walk in the door, but you can't put a price on life... whatever he needs he gets. Thanks for the advice Drucifer.