When you first got your hamster you probably asked yourself why it doesn’t come out during the day. Is it sick ? Is it afraid ? Is there anything you can do ?
I know I was a bit worried when I first got my Teddy – he is my first ever hamster. I did not know until him what hamsters do during the day, or at night. But after talking to some hamster owner friends of mine, and watching my own hamster, I got my answers.
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So are hamsters nocturnal or not ?
Pet hamsters are nocturnal. Hamsters sleep during the day and wake up at night, so they can avoid predators.
This means that most of the time you will only see your hamster before you go to bed.
The reason pet hamsters are nocturnal is because there’s more activity near their habitat all day, to they adjust their schedule accordingly.
Keep in mind that hamsters are solitary creatures and prefer to be left alone. They feel most comfortable when it’s quiet outside, and for most pet hamsters that means the night, when everyone at home is asleep.
Of course, some pet hamsters may prefer the daytime and that’s fine.
In short, hamsters end up being or seeming to be nocturnal because most folks only see hamsters who are pets, not wild ones. So, since pet hamsters tend to only come out at night, they end up being nocturnal.
Wild hamsters have a more flexible schedule, and are actually crepuscular creatures. That means they come out at sunrise and sunset, when the light is easier on their sensitive eyes, and the temperature much more bearable.
How being crepuscular helps wild hamsters survive
Hamsters are prey, and they evolved to come out mostly at dawn and dusk because their main predators will hunt them during the day or the night. Those predators aren’t very active at dawn or dusk.
Another reason is that, while most hamsters come from desert areas, they can’t stand high heat. Nor do they tolerate very low temperatures.
Hamsters are most comfortable in a 20-22 degrees Celsius/68-72 Fahrenheit temperature range. And that is usually found during sunset and at sunrise.
So being crepuscular is mostly an evolutionary advantage.
Some hamsters are nocturnal, or even diurnal
This can happen, because hamsters have their own personalities. It’s not something that you’ll see straight away at the pet shop. But your hammy could be a night hamster, and only come out late at night.
For example my Teddy comes out around 8-9 PM, and I see him up even in the middle of the night if I walk past his cage.
He seems to get some rest once I wake up, which is around 5 AM. Then comes out again around 7 AM for about half an hour, and then retires for the rest of the day.
There are hamsters out there who are only awake during daytime. This is very rare but it can happen. It depends entirely on your hamster’s personality, but there are a few factors involved, like:
- If it’s too cold he won’t come out, and might even hibernate.
- If it’s too hot, again he will not come out.
- If he feels the coast is clear and feels that he is safe, he might come out to see what you’re doing during the day.
Your hamster’s routine helps him keep a sort of internal clock. Since in your home there is no natural difference in temperature or light for your hamster to use as a guideline, his waking hours might shift over time.
Hamsters wake up for a few minutes in daytime as well
You can sometimes see your hamster during the day for a few minutes. Maybe he got up for a sip of water, or maybe he did not leave the house but you hear him munching on some food in his house.
Or, maybe he woke up because you moved his cage. Hamsters are very sensitive and will wake up easily, even if they do no leave their home. Something as simple as picking up and moving his cage can wake him up.
This is the case with my Teddy. After work I usually need a nap, but Teddy sometimes chooses that moment to have a snack, which will wake me up.
So I always move his cage to the other room, and I always see him come out a bit, all sleepy, to see what happened.
Hamsters make weird sounds during the day too
Even if you can’t see him, your hamster is sometimes awake in his little home, doing he knows what. And sometimes, weird noises come from that home.
You’ll have a hard time seeing inside his home to figure out the reason. His home is usually packed with bedding and you can’t see through it.
But he might sometimes ‘bark’ – I have no better way to explain this. It’s like a cross between a tiny bark and a hiccup, and it can last for 2 minutes sometimes. It can be completely random, and not seem to have an obvious reason.
Other times your hammy might be chewing on a piece of cardboard, or eating something from his stash (hamsters keep a food stash in their homes). So you might hear chattering and tiny biting sounds from his home.
Your hamster’s routine – what he usually does
If you’ve observed your hamster when he is awake, you’ll know that what he does is both incredibly funny and boring at the same time.
He can run and run and run in his wheel and look like he’s about to be swooped by an eagle. The he’ll suddenly stop and dart around his cage like he’s avoiding some other predator.
The best parts are when he suddenly stops. Not when he freezes to hear something or check what that sound means. I mean when he just stops moving at all and even when you come to talk to him he’ll just stare at you. This can last for a few minutes.
The weirdest moment like this was one where Teddy was sitting upright, holding a cage wire with one paw. More like resting his paw on it. And he was just looking at me.
He did not change his position when I came close and moved around his cage, he just turned his head towards me and kept staring. After a couple of minutes he went to drink some water and that was it.
Aside from things like these, hamsters don’t seem to do much. When they’re awake you can play with them, feed them treats with your hand, put them in an exercise ball, and even train them to stay on your hand.
If you want to give your hamster a way to get a lot of exercise, here’s what to look for in a hamster exercise wheel. Or, you can look for a hamster exercise ball and watch him be funny in that. Don’t leave him more than 30 minutes in the ball though !
(If you like this article so far, you can pin it to your Pinterest board by clicking the image below. The article continues after the image.)
How to gently wake up your hamster
If, for whatever reason, you need your hamster awake right now, you can try this.
Get a treat or kind of food he likes a lot, a small piece. And gently tap on the side of his cage and talk to him, coaxing him out. You’ll hear the rustle of bedding in his home as he wakes up and turns towards you.
At first you’ll just see his nose, sniffing to ‘see’ what’s going on. That’s when it’s best to have the treat close enough to his home that he can detect it easily.
Then you’ll see him slowly come out, with sleepy small eyes, and his ears tucked back. He’ll reach towards the treat and you can pick him up.
If you want to know what kind of treats are okay for your hamster, here’s a list of foods and treats he can have and which he should avoid.
Hamsters are like humans when they wake up. Groggy, and a bit confused. So for a few minutes your hamster will be extra-tame when you handle him.
But I do not recommend abusing this method, since waking up your hamster too many times when he sleeps will get him frustrated. He will not be able to rest enough, and you’ll end up with a jittery, angry hamster biting the cage and possibly you.
Caring for a nocturnal or crepuscular hamster
Your hamster being awake in the latter part of the day, or at night, has some considerations.
First, the playtime is shorter and you’ll need to work every day to train your hamster to be relaxed around you. Syrian hamsters remember interactions for up to a week, while the smaller breeds like the Chinese or Siberian need daily interaction.
Second, it’s best to leave food for your hamster before he ‘starts his day’ so he has fresh food to nibble on. I usually leave Teddy 2 teaspoons of grains and pellets, enough for an adult Syrian hamster.
Since you will probably be sleeping the night away, your hamster eating will not be something you’ll witness often. But he will eat, don’t worry.
Third, it’s best to leave the thermostat on a temperature that’s suitable for your hamster for the night. That’s around 20-22 degrees Celsius/68-72 Fahrenheit. Make sure the room you keep your hamster in is not drafty or exposed to harsh light.
Actually, it might be best if you check out my article on the right temperature for your hamster, and how to make him as comfortable as possible.
Does your hamster need the light on at night ?
Your hamster is nocturnal, or crepuscular, and you’re sleeping when he’s up. Would he need a night light ? Or the actual light in the room on ?
Well, hamsters don’t really use their eyes, actually. Their vision is very poor. Hamsters use their sense of smell and hearing to navigate their environment.
So leaving a light on is not necessary. In some cases, in might be a bad idea since their eyes are very sensitive and very bright, harsh light can hurt them. For example direct sunlight is not very good for your hamster’s eyes.
My Teddy has a night light, but it’s not for him. It’s for me so I don’t bump into something at night when I go get a glass of water. He’s had the night light, and he’s had complete darkness as well. He was fine every morning, so a night light will not make much difference.
A word from Teddy
If you’re reading this then you’re probably wondering about your hamster. If he’s anything like me, he probably sleeps during the day and then runs all night.
We hamsters have a different schedule than humans, so it might be a bit weird at first. But you’ll get used to it really fast.
The face neighbors and friends make when you tell them we’re awake at night and sleep during the day is priceless though. “Don’t they get tired ??” they ask. Then they realize what they just asked and move along.
If you want to know more about us hamsters, you can check out the articles below. You’ll find great info on the best kind of food for us, how much water we need, and how much exercise we need as well.
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Do Hamsters Climb ? The Funny Truth About Spider-HamstersHave you got a hamster, and he’s all over the cage ? Climbing everything, the cage walls, the furniture, your arm, the dog maybe. My Teddy was part-tarantula when he was young, so let me tell you about climbing hamsters.
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ToggleSo do hamsters climb ?Hamsters have so much energy to burnClimbing toys for your hamster friendA word from Teddy
So do hamsters climb ?
Yes, hamsters do climb. They will climb everything they can get a grip on, and are endlessly curious.
Hamsters are exceptionally good climbers, though not nearly as good as mice or rats. Still, a hamster can climb anything as long as he’s got something to hold onto.
A hamster’s grasp is very strong, and his entire body is a lean, mean, climbing machine.
If you’ve ever seen your hamster climbing, you’ve probably seen the stripe down his fur on his abdomen. He’s very well muscled, and will scale every inch of his cage.
Let’s see why this happens though, and if you and make it more fun for him.
Hamsters have so much energy to burn
Hamsters climb for two great reasons:
They’re so incredibly curious, they have to see and smell and hear everything, and will move towards you as often as they can.
They’ve got a ridiculous amount of energy, and even with a running wheel in their cage, baby hamsters will still be clinging to the ceiling.
Let me tell you about my Teddy. He’s a Syrian male, and a fairly tough and energetic one at that.
The first day we brought him home, he had one of those every small, square cages that you get at the pet shop. Too small, we had to go get another, bigger cage the following couple of days. In time we replaced that one too.
In both cages, the very small one, and the large one, Teddy was all over everything. All over the walls, the cage ceiling, and he’s cross the whole cage suspended like that.
Honestly it was the funniest thing ever, and I thought we’d gotten a tarantula by mistake. But no, that was just Teddy being a bright, curious, ball of energy. His wheel needed oiling every week, he was running so much in it.
The best part of Teddy being such a climber was that he sometimes … well, I think he forgot he was climbing the the cage wires. I have no other explanation for this.
He’d climb up and down the whole cage, show off his amazing abs, cling with just one paw, the use all 4, all kinds of acrobatics.
Suddenly, he’s just let go, like his batteries ran out right then and there. It was always in weird places, like letting go from the side of the cage, or the ceiling of the cage.
He was always fine and kept doing it, aside from all the toys he had, the running wheel, the exercise ball, everything. Hamsters are just full of energy.
Maybe your hammy is a bit silly like my Teddy, maybe he’s more of a lazy puff. I’ve met hamsters that only used their running wheel to gently swing in it while they ate.
(If you like this article so far, you can pin it to your Pinterest board by clicking the image below. The article continues after the image.)
Climbing toys for your hamster friend
If you do have a hamster buddy who loves to climb, then he’s going to need some stimulation. While climbing the cage bars is perfectly fine, it can sometimes lead to chewing the cage bars.
Not only is that annoying, it’s also not safe for his teeth at all. You can find out more on bar chewing here.
One kind of toy that climbing hamsters would love is one that’s going to give them a place to hide too.
This one’s got a coconut hideout connected to the ladder, and your hamster friend can get a lot of exercise through it.
In general, bird toys make good climbing toys for hamsters, as long as they’re the ladder/climbing types like this one.
You can find the listing on Amazon here, and read the reviews as well.
Another kind of toy a climbing hamster might like is just the ladder itself. Like this one for example, and can be used to connect 2 side of the cage, or even as a hanging rope.
Hammies love to climb, but they will chew on everything. So their toys need to be safe. This one is made of wood and twine.
This means your hammy will get a good grip on it, and also chew on it safely.
Do remember that hamsters will jump from heights, since they can’t judge distances very well. I recommend hanging this toy not very high off the cage floor.
You can check the listing on Amazon here, and read the reviews as well.
Whichever toy you get your hamster, remember that he might still climb the cage itself too. That’s alright, as long as he has other forms of stimulation, he will be fine.
A word from Teddy
I hope you found what you were looking for here. Us hammies are very curious and want to explore everything, so naturally we’ll climb over and onto anything.
If you want to know more about us hamsters, you can check the links below for more info on how to keep us happy and safe. [...]
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Why Is My Hamster’s Water Bottle Leaking? 4 Main ReasonsA hamster water bottle leaking is annoying, but many times is quite easy to solve the problem since there are only a few things you can check.
Most water bottles have five elements: the tube where you put the water, the lid, a drinking metal tube with a metal ball, a gasket, and a clip to be attached by the cage.
Before getting to the article is important to know that one or two drips from the water bottle when you just filled it are fine. It’s usually what was on the tube since you move it quite a lot.
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Toggle4 Reasons for a leaky water bottle1. Missing or damaged casket2. Loose lid3. The ball bearing4. Crack in the bottleCan you use a water bowl?Types of water bottlesHow much water does a hamster drink?How often to change the water?How to clean a water bottle?Conclusion
4 Reasons for a leaky water bottle
Those are the four main reasons for a leaky water bottle.
1. Missing or damaged casket
As with all things that have a gasket, this is the most common reason for a leaking water bottle. The good part is that it can be fixed, the bad part is that it can be quite hard to find a gasket that suits your water bottle.
Also, considering the time and money spent to find a gasket might not be worth it since the water bottle itself is quite cheap. You might find one online, and if you have free shipping, it can be a solution, but if you have to pay shipping costs, it will probably cost more than a new water bottle.
So make sure you check the bottle to have all the parts when you buy it.
2. Loose lid
A loose lid is more common, but it’s usually not the fault of the water bottle itself, but rather you didn’t close it tight enough.
So this is not a problem that a water bottle has but rather negligence on your part. As you can imagine, this is quite easy to fix.
All you have to do to fix a loose lid is to open it, fill the bottle with water if needed, and close it tightly.
I know from my water bottle that sometimes it doesn’t align perfectly, and I have to do it again. Make sure you check if the bottle is leaky before attaching it to the cage.
3. The ball bearing
Most water bottles have one or more ball bearings that create a vacuum and stop the water from leaking uncontrollably.
They should not drip if they are in the right position, but a few things can displace the small metal balls.
If you don’t wash the bottle regularly, it might accumulate debris that can change the ball’s position and make the bottle leak.
We will talk about how to clean water bottles later in the article.
If the bottle is clean, but the balls are still displaced, all you have to do is to take the lid out and shake it a bit.
4. Crack in the bottle
This one is quite obvious, and hard to fix.
If you see a crack in your hamster water bottle, your best option is to change it with a new one or to return it to where you bought it if it’s new.
There might be a few temporary solutions, but it is not worth the time and effort.
You don’t know when it will crack again if you don’t fix it well, and you might not be home for a few days, which can put your small hamster in danger. Here is an article about how much time a hamster can live without food or water.
One extra tip, this is not for a water bottle that is leaking, but it’s similar. I noticed that my current hamster, while digging in the bedding, moved it underneath the water bottle and it touched the ball bearing, essentially letting water run constantly and soaking all the bedding. So it wasn’t the bottle’s fault, but it can be quite dangerous for your hamster, especially if you leave the house for a few days.
So make sure you don’t add too much bedding in the area where the water bottle is to avoid this situation. This is especially true if your hamster loves to dig and thus move things around.
Can you use a water bowl?
You should not use a water bowl for your hamster, despite many people recommending it.
It can be quite dangerous for you little furballs since they should never get wet. Hamsters have some natural oils in their fur and getting wet might get rid of those oils, which protects them from sudden temperature shifts. The worst part is that those oils do not regenerate, so once they are washed from the hamster’s fur, they will not have them anymore.
Hamsters are very active and don’t have good eyesight, so we can only imagine that they will get into the bowl or spill it over them sooner or later. They are also not very careful walkers, so their bowl would often get filled with debris like seeds, poop, and bedding, making the water essentially undrinkable.
It bothers me when I see people recommending water bowls for hamsters without knowing those facts.
A water bowl might be an option only if your hamster doesn’t want to drink from the bottle, but you should be careful with how much water you put into the bowl in this case.
If you do want to use a bowl, make sure you buy a small bowl and don’t fill it up in case your hamster gets into the bowl not to get wet more than the paws.
Types of water bottles
There are many models/designs for water bottles but as far as types, there are only two.
The regular water bottle that you attach to the cage, and only the metal tube gets inside the cage, which is the most popular one and, in my opinion, the most effective since your hamster doesn’t get to chew on the bottle.
I always used this type since it’s the easiest to get out and change the water without bothering your hamster too much.
Here you can find a good one on amazon:
The second type comes with a stand, and you place them inside the cage.
Those are the best ones if your cage doesn’t allow you to place the bottle on the bars or if you have a glass tank, which can be a great house for your hamster, but it will not allow you to use a regular water bottle, except this one from amazon which can work but I haven’t tried it.
But if you are looking for a type that stays in the cage, this one might be the best for you:
How much water does a hamster drink?
A hamster will drink about 10ml water per 100g body weight. A Syrian hamster weighs between 85 and 150 grams, meaning a maximum of 15ml water per day should be enough.
So when you buy a bottle, you should aim for a big enough bottle to make sure your hamster has enough water in case you leave the house for a few days (so something like 100 ml). But make sure the tube is not large, do not get a bottle fit for a guinea pig or rabbit !
To ensure your hamster bottle is working and your hamster is actually drinking water, you should see a bubble that goes up in the tube when the hamster is actively drinking water.
How often to change the water?
There is no rule that says how often you should change the water of your hamster, usually it should be good until it empties if the bottle is not way too big.
It depends more on the water quality than anything else, so if the water is good, you should not worry about how often to change the water in the bottle.
When it comes to what temperature the water should be, room temperature or cold but not very cold water is good.
How to clean a water bottle?
I’ve said that I will come back and talk about how to clean the water bottle, so here we are.
Many people recommend using disinfectants or homemade ones with bleach and so on, but there is a huge risk if you don’t rinse the water bottle thoroughly after using bleach or any soap or disinfectant.
This is my 6th year of having a hamster pet, and the first two died of old age so they were pretty healthy, I would say, but I never used anything else other than hot water to clean their water bottles.
It is safer this way, you can unscrew the tube from the water bottle and rinse it with hot water, then do the same with the bottle itself. Afterward, wrap a paper towel on the end of a spoon and clean the inside of the bottle with that paper towel.
Rinse them with hot water one more time, and everything should be clean and ready to use again.
Conclusion
A leaking hamster bottle is annoying, but now you know where to check and how to fix it, or if the bottle is cracked, at least you know that you should buy a new one without trying to fix it.
And again, do not use a water bowl for your hamster only when they don’t want to drink from the water bottle. [...]
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What Is A Teddy Bear Hamster? A Few Interesting FactsWriting an article about what is a teddy bear hamster brings me a lot of joy since my first hamster, and the inspiration for this site, was named Teddy.
But was Teddy a teddy bear hamster, though?
As with all the good answers in the world, the answer is “it depends”. My hamster was a short hair Syrian hamster, and this is quite important when it comes to what people call a teddy bear hamster.
In this article, I will talk about what is a teddy bear hamster but also what you should know before deciding to get one as a pet.
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ToggleWhat is a teddy bear hamster?How to care for a teddy bear hamster?Common diseases for teddy bear hamsters?Things to know before getting a teddy bear hamster as a petConclusion
What is a teddy bear hamster?
Teddy bear hamster is not a type of hamster, it is more of a nickname that people use for Syrian hamsters since they look like a small teddy bears.
There is an entire debate about whether a teddy bear hamster is just a long-haired Syrian hamster and is called this for its long fur, or any Syrian hamster since they all look like a teddy bear.
But in reality it doesn’t matter that much, we talk here about a nickname so you can call your hamster a teddy bear hamster if it is a Syrian hamster.
When you are looking for images with teddy bear hamsters, you will see that there are a lot of short-haired Syrian hamsters, this happens because long-haired Syrian hamsters are rarer than short-haired ones.
So if you look at your Syrian hamster and you think of a small teddy bear with big ears, small dark eyes, and a small cute nose, you can officially call your hamster a teddy bear hamster. I say officially with an ironic tone because how official can a nickname be?
How to care for a teddy bear hamster?
I will shortly get onto the most important things you need to know in order to properly care for your hamster, however if you are looking for a more in-depth guide, check my article on how to care for a hamster.
Here are a few things you need to know.
1. Make sure your hamster has a water bottle full of fresh water. A hamster needs about 10ml of water per day but it can vary from one hamster to another, especially because of their different sizes.
2. Feed your hamster properly, a teddy bear hamster will need about two teaspoons full of pre-made hamster food mix every day. They usually hide their food, so make sure you don’t feed them too much since they can get fat pretty easily, which will come with some health issues.
They eat mostly seeds and grains, but can eat the occasional insect. In some cases a very small amount of boiled, unseasoned meat or boiled unsalted egg white is fine. But you should do your research before feeding a hamster anything that is not in the pre-made food since there are a lot of exceptions and things to know. I have an entire article about what a hamster can eat.
3. Buy a large enough cage. This is one of the most common problems new hamster owners have, I did it as well when I first had Teddy but I quickly bought a bigger cage when I found out.
We see a small hamster and think that they have enough space in a small cage, but they need a lot of space for bedding, wheel, hideout, and more.
It might seem expensive at first but I guarantee that if you buy a small cage, you will end up worse since you will most probably go back to the pet shop and buy a bigger cage when you see your teddy bear hamster struggling in the small wheel that fitted the cage and being very stressed.
4. Clean your hamster cage when needed. Hamsters are quite easy to take care of and their cages don’t smell as bad as other’s small animals. But you still have to clean its cage when needed, here is a guide on how and when you should clean a hamster cage.
5. If your teddy bear hamster’s personality allows you to play with it, you should do it a few times per week to create a bond between you and the hamster. Luckily the teddy bear hamsters are the most playful ones, and easier to tame the smaller dwarf hamsters.
6. Make sure your hamster is exercising and chewing as much as he needs. You can buy hamster toys like ladders, bridges, tunnels, chewing toys and so on to make sure your hamster has enough activity and things to chew on and also a big enough hamster wheel that will keep it quite active.
Those are a few essential steps to take care of your teddy bear hamster but as I said, read my entire guide on caring for a hamster that I linked above to know more.
Common diseases for teddy bear hamsters?
Regarding what diseases a teddy bear hamster can have, “the wet tail” is the most common problem for this type of hamster.
Here is a guide to how to know when your hamster has wet tail and what you can do.
The wet tail disease in hamsters is like diarrhea for humans, but for us is not as bad as it is for them.
If you spot wet poop in your hamster cage, you should call a small pet vet as soon as possible and follow the steps in the article I linked above.
When it comes to diabetes, Syrian hamsters(teddy bear hamsters) are not as predisposed to it as the smaller hamsters so you don’t have to worry to much about it. That doesn’t mean that you should feed your hamster too many sweet fruits or anything like this since they can still develop diabetes, just not as easily as the dwarf hamsters.
A hamster can have other kinds of diseases, from fungal infection to mites and more, but those are not as common as the wet tail.
Things to know before getting a teddy bear hamster as a pet
Here are a few essential things to know before buying a pet teddy bear hamster.
1. Teddy bear hamsters’ life span is usually 2-3 years, so you should be prepared to take care of it for a few years at least. They don’t require much maintenance and attention, but you can’t completely ignore them. My two Syrian hamsters each lived for nearly 2 years.
2. The real cost of owning a pet teddy bear hamster. When you think of buying a hamster it’s important to know that the hamster itself is the least expensive thing you will spend money on.
The cage, wheel and bedding are usually way more expensive than the hamster itself, make sure you check how much those cost before considering buying a hamster.
There might be a lot of people in your area that donate hamsters so you might want to check this out first. Most of them will donate the cage and the toys for the hamster as well.
3. They have different personalities, if you see someone on Youtube playing with a teddy bear hamster like playing with a puppy, you should not expect your hamster to be as friendly.
Hamsters have different personalities and a lot of them are not actually playful and easy to tame. Teddy bear hamsters are easier to tame compared to dwarf hamsters, but even so, you have to think about the fact that they are solitary animals and not social animals, so you might not seem like a friend to them but rather more of a treat.
4. They are not great pets for kids. A teddy bear hamster might be easier to tame than other hamsters, but it will not be as easy as you expect.
But let’s say you are lucky and you get the calmest teddy bear hamster. You still have to be very gentle with it, they weigh about 120 grams, so they are easy to hurt if you are not careful.
You can’t expect a small kid to handle a hamster carefully. Most of the time, adults can’t do it properly, and we are aware that squishing those little furballs will hurt them a lot.
When you play with a small hamster, if you don’t pay attention for a few seconds, they might get into the smallest places in your house since they tend to hide and will not come out easily. Also, they might hurt themselves since they don’t know the terrain.
So this is a very important thing to consider when you plan to get a pet hamster. It might be easy to take care of them, but when it comes to playing with them, it is a wild ride with real chances of them getting hurt if you don’t know what you are doing.
Conclusion
So, the teddy bear hamster is a nickname for Syrian hamsters which are the best pet hamsters you can find.
I hope this article helped you and now you know what to expect from a pet hamster and you will think twice before getting one.
I don’t want to discourage you if you don’t have a hamster and are thinking of getting one, but you should know that there will be some responsibilities and a lot of things to know about those little fluffy teddy bears. [...]
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Here’s How To Find A Lost Hamster – Find Your Furry FriendSo your hamster has gone missing. That’s okay, don’t worry, he’s not very far. I’ll tell you how to find your hamster friend, whether you lost your hamster in your home, or outside.
This guide is handy even if you’ve never lost your hamster so far. After all prevention is key and it’s better to already know what to do if you ever lose your hamster, than to try and find out everything on the spot.
Table of Contents
ToggleWhat to keep in mind before you start looking for your hamsterFinding a lost hamster in your homeWhere the hamster might have goneWhat the hamster might have done/why he wandered offSetting the traps for your hamsterBaiting the hamster with foodHome-made trapHumane rodent trapFinding a lost hamster outsideEscape-proofing your hamster’s cageHow to keep your hamster from wanting to escape in the first placeKeep your hamster friend happy and not stressedProvide a large enough cage so your hamster has spacePlay with your hamster to form a bond with itA word from Teddy
What to keep in mind before you start looking for your hamster
Before you start looking for your hamster, keep in mind that he’s got some reasons for wandering off. That doesn’t necessarily mean he wanted to leave, maybe he found something interesting in a corner.
Hamsters are incredibly curious, about everything, and will want to investigate thing right away. You’ve seen him glue himself to the cage bars when you do something around his cage, you know he wants to know.
There are a few things to keep in mind before you start looking for your hamster, and here they are:
Keep away any and all pets that can move freely (like a cat, bird, or dog), as well as small children that might scare the hamster.
Close all doors, so your hamster won’t move about from one room to the other while you’re looking for him.
Remember that hamsters are mostly nocturnal, so your friend will probably come out at night, when it’s dark and quiet in the house.
Dim all the lights, and make as little noise as possible, so your hamster will think it’s safe to come out.
Try to remember where you last saw your hamster, and start from that room.
Be thorough in your search, hamsters are amazing at hiding. Look under, behind, over, between any piece of furniture you have, without moving it at first.
Make a mental note of any holes or large cracks in the walls or doors that your hammy might have escaped through.
Your hammy might be in odd, squishy places like between the sofa cushions, or in your sofa’s tapestry if he found a hole, so be careful where you step and sit.
The search might take anywhere from a few hours to a few days, so be patient. Your hamster can survive for up to 3-4 days with no food or water.
So don’t worry, your hammy is probably somewhere in the kitchen munching on some peanuts behind a cupboard. Now let’s see how to find your hamster friend first.
Finding a lost hamster in your home
If you’ve lost your hamster in your home, the search will be easier, in a way. There is less space for him to hide in, and he can only run away so far.
So, we’ll start with this scenario since it’s the most common situation hamsters get lost in.
Where the hamster might have gone
This about where the hammy might go. Think about the room you last saw him in, and try and think in his shoes (or paws).
If it’s cold in the house, he might go for the warmest room he can find, so you can start there.
If it’s been a few days since he’s missing, and you only just noticed, he is probably looking for food so you can start with the pantry or kitchen.
Was there anything interesting in the room you last saw your hamster ? Like a very smelly food, or a bag of treats, or something that made a lot of noise (like a crinkly bag) ?
Are there any nook and crannies your hamster would love, close to where you last saw him ?
What the hamster might have done/why he wandered off
Hamsters are very curious, about everything, so there’s a large chance that he maybe just wanted to investigate something.
It’s possible that your hamster was very scared, or stressed out. Like the cat pawing at his cage maybe, or the parrot bursting into song right next to his cage. Maybe the toaster went off in the other room and your hammy got scared.
Still, there are quite a few reasons your hamster might have escaped, starting with curiosity and ending with just because. If there were any weak wires in your hamster’s cage, you can be sure he found them.
Or, if you’ve got an aquarium for your hamster be warned that he needs a very tall edge in order to not climb over it – taller than your hamster’s total length, plus stretching. So it’s possible that he found a way to climb over the edge of the glass tank.
For more info on exactly what you should be looking for when getting you hamster an escape-proof cage, you can check out these top 5 hamster cages.
Setting the traps for your hamster
When you’re looking for your hamster, you’ll need to set some traps. Humane ones, of course, but still you need to trap him in one particular spot. Or, at least find out the room he’s in.
Baiting the hamster with food
You can try a few or all of these ideas, depending on your home, how many pets or children you have, and how much time you’ve got.
One idea would be to get a large treat, that your hamster likes. Like a dog biscuit, or a whole peanut(with shell, no salt), or a piece or cheese, and tie a bit of yarn around it. The rest of the yarn you can make into a long string that leads to a center piece you’re often next to.
So, when your hammy will try to take away the treat you will see where he it pulling from. Place just one big treat in each room.
Another extra step would be to tie a small bell onto the string of yarn. This way the treat will make some noise when the hamster picks it up.
Another idea would be to place some food in a small bowl made of crinkled up aluminium foil, with large, flowy edges. Think of it looking like a small volcano, with treats where the lava would be. The crinkled aluminium would make sounds when your hamster will be inspecting the food.
Or, you can sprinkle a fine, thin layer of flour all around the treats you left on the floor. Or, you can sprinkle it over the floor in front of where you think your hammy is hiding.
You can even sprinkle it across the whole floor, although there will be lots of cleanup to do afterwards. Your hammy will leave tiny foot prints where he’s going through the flour, and you can narrow your search from there.
If you can’t sprinkle flour or tie in bells, you can simply put a specific number of treats in every room. Then, check the next day to see which room has less treats, so you know where the hamster is hiding.
Home-made trap
You can also use an actual trap made from thing you’ve got at home already.
Get yourself a bucket, or a large plastic bin. Something the hamster can’t climb out of. Add a layer of bedding so your hamster can get comfortable because he will be sitting there for a few hours.
Then, at the very top/edges, place either aluminium foil, or a large sheet of paper, or paper towel. Place on the paper or aluminium a few lightweight treats that your hamster will like, for example 1-2 peanuts or sunflower seeds, or a bit of biscuit.
Do not fasten the paper or aluminium onto the edges. The hamster will have to be able to fall into the bucket/bin, once he steps onto the paper.
Next, your hamster has to be able to get up to the edge. You can make a sort of stairway with a few books, or a piece of cardboard bent into the shape you want, or anything the hamster can climb.
Finally, sprinkle a few seeds or treats for your hammy to follow as a trail up to the top of the trap.
You hamster will smell the treat, come out of his hiding place, follow the trail of treats, and in the end go for the treat on top of the trap. He will end up falling into the bucket/bin, and you will find him munching on the treats.
Humane rodent trap
You can find these in many stores, and they’re safe for your hamster.
The point of these traps is that the hamster will only be caught in the closed off space, and not killed. They will not harm you hammy, but I do recommend checking up on these about once an hour.
Air holes do exist on these kind of traps, but they can only do so much.
There’s also condensation forming on the inside, so you don’t want your hammy getting wet – more on that here, and what you can do about it.
Place some bait your hammy loves, like maybe peanut butter, or a whole peanut, or a small bit of cooked chicken. Once your hammy walks over the trap door, the trap will spring shut and will keep him there.
Your hammy might get scared at first, that’s normal. But you’ll find him soon enough, so he won’t be staying in the trap too long.
You can find this kind of traps in lots of places, but you can check this one on Amazon to get an idea of it.
Finding a lost hamster outside
If your hammy is lost outside, this will be a bigger problem. He could’ve gone very far, but there’s still a chance he’s close by, just hiding somewhere.
Placing treats and baiting your hamster like in your home won’t work. Outside there’s cats, birds, and other creatures that will take the bait.
And depending on the type of terrain around your home, if it’s fenced in, if there’s a forest starting in your backyard, your search will be harder.
Best to just go for the humane mouse trap I linked earlier, since that’s pretty much the only way you’re sure something larger than your hamster will not steal the bait.
In this case the bucket/bin trap won’t work either, since you might find yourself with a bird or squirrel in that trap.
In a worst case scenario, if it’s been more than a week and your hammy hasn’t showed, he’s probably wandered off into the wild, or had a nasty run-in with another animal.
This is also something to consider if you ever think about releasing your hamster into the wild. He might or might not make it. Life in the forest or plains or general wilderness in your are is probably too harsh for the little furball.
Escape-proofing your hamster’s cage
Prevention is the best way to be sure your hammy doesn’t escape. So let’s see what you can do about his cage.
First, you will find here a whole list of tips and pointers on how to choose the right cage for your hamster – both in terms of size, but safety as well.
In general, glass tanks/aquariums are much harder to escape than regular wire or plastic ones. Make sure it’s got tall enough sides. Giving the hamster 3-5 cm/1-2 inches of bedding will mean that you need some 25 cm/10 inch above the bedding.
Hamsters can and do jump, sometimes out of their cages, so be warned. You can find out more about that here, so you know what to watch out for. Also a wire mesh cover would be a good idea for the glass tank, just to be safe.
Another idea would be to get your hammy a wire cage that has 1 cm/0.4 inches or less spacing between the bars. Hamsters are actually very small, under all that fur. Like cats, if their head fits somewhere, their body will squeeze through as well.
So it is entirely possible for your hamster will squeeze through the bars of his cage and away he goes. Especially if you’ve got Dwarf types, which are so incredibly tiny. You can find out more about hamster sizes and how much they grow as adults – right here.
Make sure the latches on the cage doors are closed well enough. And finally, you can use some binder clips – the big, black, ones you use for lots of sheets of paper. You can use those to fasten the corners of a wire cage to make sure it stays put.
(If you like this article so far, you can pin it to your Pinterest board by clicking the image below. The article continues after the image.)
How to keep your hamster from wanting to escape in the first place
Hamsters that escaped because they were stressed or unhappy are a sad story. But, you can make sure your hamster doesn’t get in that position in the first place. You can also check here for 15 essential steps in caring for your hamster friend.
Keep your hamster friend happy and not stressed
This means keeping and pets or small children away from the hamster, or very supervised. A curious cat or a playful puppy will want to move the hammy around, try to paw it, bark at it maybe.
And since hamsters not only scare very easily, they are also not patient at all, this won’t go well.
Always make sure that the hamster is able to run away and hide if he feels threatened or uncomfortable. This is the major reason I do not recommend hamsters as pets for small children (under 13). Children are sometimes unaware, sometimes overly curious, and sometimes just don’t know their strength.
This can make handling a hamster very difficult, especially if it’s a very small hamster, and doesn’t sit still too long. Hammies will also bite and scratch their way out of a situation if they have to, so this is another reason to keep small children away from them.
Conversely, the cage and room you hamster lives in must be a calm, quiet one. Pets and kids zooming around your hammy during the day (when he sleeps) won’t make him feel safe at all.
If this is what your home usually sounds like, consider getting a guinea pig. Those are much more calm, and they kind of don’t care about anything. So a barking dog won’t be much of a bother, or a child picking them up while they eat.
Provide a large enough cage so your hamster has space
The size of the cage matters. I’ve been repeating this in most articles, and I will keep repeating it. Mostly because for a few weeks I had the wrong sized cage for my Teddy (adult Syrian male) and I only realized this too late.
Here you can find a good roundup of hamster cages according to what hamster you have.
So, a cage that is too small can get your hamster nervous, anxious, he will start biting the cage bars. All kinds of unwanted, unhealthy habits. Hamsters are very territorial, even if they’re so gosh darn small. They need lots of floor space to run around in, and they feel suffocated in a small cage.
The minimum cage for a Syrian hamster is of 24 x 12 inches, and about 12 inches tall. That’s 61 x 30.5 cm, and about 30.5 cm tall. This I’d say should be the minimum for a Dwarf hammy as well, since hamsters will go for larger cages if given the chance.
If you’ve got more than one hamster – like a pair of Dwarf hammies – you need to read this.
Play with your hamster to form a bond with it
Finally, playing with and handling your hamster daily will form a close bond between the two of you. This means that your hammy will have less of a reason to escape, since he will want to stick around for you.
So, here’s a nifty little article on how to actually tame your hamster, and one on how to show him affection and play with him. Some hamsters can be tamed but will never like being touched too much, so you’ll find ideas for those hamsters as well.
A word from Teddy
I hope you found out how to find your missing hammy. I know it might seem like a hassle, but we usually don’t wander off too far. We might go missing for a couple of days, only to turn up safe and sound in your cupboard when you least expect us.
If you want to know more about us hammies, you can check out the related articles below. [...]
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Are European Hamsters Endangered? What About The Other Ones?Wondering if your pet’s wild siblings are endangered ? Hamsters in the wild lead a difficult life, and not all of them survive. Let’s see whether each hamster species is endangered or not, starting with the largest one, the European hamster.
If you’ve never heard of European hamsters before, don’t worry this is because they are not domesticated, but we will discuss this in more detail in this article. I want to discuss in this article about all hamster species out there since some of them might be considered endangered but they are too common as pets to disappear.
Table of Contents
ToggleAre European hamsters endangered ?Are Syrian hamsters endangered ?Are Dwarf hamsters endangered ?Are Chinese hamsters endangered ?Do hamsters reproduce fast ?Conclusion
Are European hamsters endangered ?
European hamsters are classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. Their natural habitat is seriously threatened by expanding agriculture, systematic hunting by farmers (hamsters are considered a crop pest), and also hunted for their fur.
These are fairly large hamsters – as large as an adult guinea pig – so they are easy to spot when out and about. Normally European hamsters hide in their burrows during the daytime, but they make occasional trips for food.
The European hamster’s natural habitat ranges from Central and Eastern Europe to Russia to Central Asia. They live in mostly grassy areas, the occasional meadow, and generally wherever there is fertile soil that will grow the seeds and grains these hamsters rely on. The expansion of farmland, and farmers trying to protect their crops, has led to a sharp decline in hamster numbers in the wild.
Wondering if you could find one in a pet shop ? Unfortunately, this isn’t possible. European hamsters have been known for over a century, and attempts to tame them have been made. There are captive European hamsters, in laboratories for various studies, but none of these hamsters have shown less aggression or a more docile disposition, even a few generations into their captivity.
So in short, these hamsters cannot be tamed, and won’t be present in a pet shop.
Are Syrian hamsters endangered ?
Wild Syrian hamsters are also a threatened species, classified as Endangered by IUCN. Their natural habitat is far smaller than the European hamster’s; it ranges from southern Turkey to northern Syria. Agriculture, farmers and the violence in northern Syria have led to dwindling numbers of Syrian hamsters.
Despite this, captive (i.e. pet) Syrian hamsters are not endangered. These are the most common and popular hamsters you will find in pet shops, and their numbers are no cause for concern.
This is a very interesting turn of fate, and here’s why. The vast, vast majority of Syrian hamsters you see today, either already in homes or in pet shops, are the descendants of a single female and her litter of pups. She and her pups were captured back in 1930 in Aleppo, Syria, in the hops of studying them.
The hamsters adapted well to captivity, bred, and several pairs of these hamsters were then sent all over the world to be on exhibition at zoos, and studied in other labs. In 1937 the hamsters eventually would up with private breeders, and that is when they started to become very popular as pets.
As time went on and selective breeding was applied, the Syrian hamsters became more docile, showed different coat patterns, and became less aggressive. A wild Syrian hamster is not nearly as tame as one you get from a pet shop or breeder.
My very first hamster was a Syrian hamster, his name was Teddy. He had a golden coat, was very active, liked to jump but didn’t really like digging, and was always munching on something. He died of old age at nearly 2 years old.
I then had another Syrian hamster, this one named Eggwhite since he was all-white. He was far tamer than Teddy, and had more patience with being picked up. He still wriggled out of my hands after 2-3 minutes, but that’s far longer than Teddy ever managed. Eggwhite died of old age as well when he was almost two.
Are Dwarf hamsters endangered ?
Dwarf hamsters are classified as Least Concern by IUCN, as their habitat is not endangered. These Dwarf hamsters are actually three species: the Roborovski, the Campbell’s, and the winter white (or Siberian).
All three hamsters are also found in pet shops are extremely easy to confuse for one another. I’ve made an entire article on how to tell them apart.
The habitat of all three hamster species overlaps for the most part, taking up Central Asia, Mongolia, Southeastern Russia. Despite this, these hamsters do not generally cross paths. Their habitat is less populated by humans, since it’s not a very hospitable area so there is very little threat to the hamsters (aside from their natural predators).
My third hamster, after Teddy and Eggwhite, is currently alive and well. Her name is Rocket and she is a Siberian hamster, with light grey fur on her back, white fluffy paws, and a thin dark stripe on her back too. She’s very fast, never sits still, and doesn’t like being picked up at all. She climbs all over her cage and her toys, runs a lot in her wheel, and loves to dig in her substrate.
Are Chinese hamsters endangered ?
The Chinese hamster is not evaluated by the IUCN, so there is no information on whether this hamster is threatened or not. But my personal guess is that since its habitat is mostly in the desert without much fertile land (Mongolia and northern China) it’s in the same situation as the dwarf hamsters – doing very well.
Chinese hamsters are rarely kept as pets outside of Asia, since both males and females are very aggressive when kept in any sort of captivity. Females are a little tamer, but even so, they are not common pets.
If you want to learn more about Chinese hamsters you can read my article about what a Chinese hamster is and breed info+care tips.
Do hamsters reproduce fast ?
Hamsters mature very quickly and are able to sexually reproduce by 4 weeks of age. The usual gestation period is 18-22 days, and the litter can be as large as 10 pups, with some hamsters birthing up to 18.
Females can fall pregnant in the same day as giving birth, so, in theory you could get hamsters to reproduce several times a year and their numbers would quickly multiply. This is not safe for the mother, nor the pups, but it is possible.
Despite this potential for such large numbers, wild hamsters are fairly easy prey for their natural predators, many pups die when still young, and food is scarce. This ensures that their numbers don’t grow too large, but their habitat is also getting smaller.
Where farms are set up, the hamsters will find plenty of food. But they will also be hunted by farmers trying to protect their crops, and their cats patrolling the area.
In short, hamsters do reproduce very fast (can be 6 litters per year) but this does not guarantee their survival in the wild. It’s just the way things are.
Also, the mother is guided by instinct, If they feel they don’t have enough resources or space to raise the babies properly, they might even kill their own babies. I know it’s sad but this behavior is common for many animals, not only for hamsters. Here is an entire article I wrote on this topic.
A hamster mother will even attack the father if they come close to their babies, so a female hamster has quite a difficult and lonely life when it comes to raising their little babies.
Conclusion
Sometimes you might be thinking we shouldn’t keep hamsters as pets, but the truth is for some of them a pet life is better than wildlife, at least for the endangered ones. I know I sometimes looked at Eggwhite, my tamest Syrian hamster, and tried to imagine him foraging for food then an owl swooping in to try and grab him.
If you want to learn more about hamsters’ life in the wild, I have an article about what hamsters eat in the wild and how their diet differs from the ones that we have as pets.
This is something that happens regularly in the wild, but at home ? I was so glad he was safe, had plenty of food, and a nice cage and toys to keep himself entertained. I hope this article helped you understand the actual situation with the hamsters in the wild and your hamster friend is doing well at home. [...]
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Training a Hamster: Everything You Need to KnowWho doesn’t love their furry pet and enjoy spending time with them? Hamsters have become wildly popular, as they’re sociable and don’t require too much maintenance. The latter is one of the primary reasons that they’re so popular, and that makes them a favorite for kids, as they can slowly start to learn the basic responsibilities of caring for a pet.
However, pets need to be trained. Hamsters, just like any other animal, aren’t going to make good pets if they aren’t trained. Every animal is naturally defensive when interacting with a human until it’s taught to become social. The same principle applies to hamsters – they need to be taught how to interact with humans if we want them to make good pets. This is exactly what we’ll be talking about in this article.
Today, we’ll be taking a look into hamster training techniques, and seeing how to make them better for human interaction. We’ll be covering an array of topics in hamster training; how to teach them not to bite, how to teach them to be held, how to teach them to use a litter box, and how to teach them to do tricks. Hamsters can make wonderful pets if they’re trained well, and that’s exactly what we’ll be teaching you today.
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
ToggleTraining a Hamster Not to Bite.Training a Hamster to be Held.Training a Hamster to Use a Litter Box.Training a Hamster Tricks.
Training a Hamster Not to Bite.
There’s a reason that hamsters are considered to be great pets for kids, but despite that, they’re sometimes known to bite. It’s very rare for a hamster to actually display aggressive behavior, and they usually bite only when they get scared. Hamster teeth are tiny and people naturally think that they won’t do too much damage, but they are going to cut you if bitten. If this has happened, make sure to disinfect the wound.
The sole reason hamsters bite is because they’re afraid. Tame hamsters that are used to being around people aren’t afraid of us, and they don’t mind being held. On the other hand, there are hamsters that still aren’t used to being in human company, and they don’t enjoy being held. These hamsters are the ones that bite. It’s important to remember that they’re not biting out of spite or out of hatred, but because they’re afraid of us. After all, you’d probably be scared too is a creature that’s literally twenty times your size picked you up, and toyed around with you.
Now, if you want your hamster to stop biting, you’re first going to have to be patient. It’s going to take a while before your hamster gets used to you and they can truly trust you. You’re going to need to earn that trust, which is a slow and gradual process. Don’t be discouraged if this process takes over a month, or even longer than that, but also don’t be surprised if your hamster takes quickly to your ways.
If your hamster is advancing rapidly, then you can shorten the period between the steps we’re about to describe. If you’re still witnessing some hesitation from their side, it’s best to return to the previous step and repeat it until the animal is completely comfortable with you (on that level). This will take a while, but it’s definitely worth it. This process will take weeks, so we’ll be describing it week by week.
Week 1: let your hamster get used to you – your hamster needs to get to know you without much physical contact. Since they’re most active in the evening and at night, it’s a good idea to sit next to your hamster in the evening and talk to them. You don’t even have to talk to them, you can talk to someone else, but let them get used to your voice and your presence. It’s also important for the hamster to get used to your scent. If you don’t know what to say, feel free to read a book, or if you’re working or studying – you can read out loud to them.
Since moving to a new cage and a new home is very stressful, this will give your hamster enough time to adjust to their new surroundings. Don’t try to touch your hamster just yet. This may be a problem when you have to take the hamster out of the cage for cleaning – or returning the hamster to the cage if it’s escaped. To do this, corner them with a towel or a large glass, and then let them enter the towel or the glass.
Week 2: let your hamster get used to your hand – it’s very important for any animal to get used to the scent of their owner in order for them to form a good relationship. You can gently place your hand in your hamster’s cage, and you’ll see how it will react. Not all hamsters are the same, and they’re not all equally easy to train – just like humans, all animals have distinct characteristics to their behavior, and that should be respected just like we respect it with humans.
Do this very slowly, on the first day, put your hand on the cage or just inside the door of the cage. Following the same practice each day, try placing your hand a little further and a little further. Don’t yet try to touch your hamster, but if it wants to sniff your hand or explore it, let it.
Week 3: offer your hamster treats – it’s common knowledge that treats are one of the best ways to train animals, as their instinct conditions them not to reject food. By now, you could have easily figured out which treats are your hamster’s favorites. These treats can be great training tools, and you should offer your hamster these goodies from the hand that’s in the cage. With time, your hamster will eat out of your hand, which will develop trust between you.
Why is this so important? All animals, including humans, are vulnerable when they’re feeding. The fact that an animal is ready to eat out of your hand means that it trusts you to the point it’s ready to stick its head into your hand which could easily harm it if you wanted to. So, an animal eating from your hand means that it trusts you.
If you’re still undecided on the treats for your hamsters, try with apples, raising, and sunflower seeds.
Week 4: pet your hamster – once your hamster has gotten used to your scent and your presence, you can try to pet it. Do this gently, and if your hamster is okay with this, you can try to pick up your hamster (which is our next step).
Week 5: pick up your hamster – so, your hamster is accepting treats and it’s letting you pet it, this means that it’s time to try to pick it up. To do this, firstly buy your way in with some treats, and gently reach for your hamster – let your hamster determine how far you can get in each session. Entice the hamster onto your hands with the treats. Then, you can try scooping it up with both hands.
The best way to do this is to place each hand on either side of your hamster, and then connect them under your belly. Cup your hamster gently in your hands, that’s much better than tightly gripping over its back. Don’t hold your hamster too high above ground – in case it wants to jump out. You don’t want it facing a fall from six feet. Firstly, just hold it in its cage, and then with time, you can take it out. If you turn the hamster towards your body, it’s less likely to try and jump away.
A few things you should keep on your mind when doing this:
– make sure to wash your hands before you start working with your hamster, you don’t want it to smell food on you. That can be distracting.
– some people will suggest wearing thick gloves to help with the biting. This can be useful, but your hamster needs to get used to your scent, and in that regard – this isn’t a good solution.
– sometimes, when you pick your hamster up, they will clamp themselves onto your hand with their tiny paws. Don’t shake your hand to dislodge them – just gently put them down and let them come off.
– don’t scold, yell, or hit the hamster. Smaller animals are afraid of loud and sudden noises, so much so that they can actually die from shock.
– different hamsters act differently – Dwarf hamsters are very territorial, this means that they’re not going to appreciate you pushing your fingers into their cage. If this is the cage, let the hamster exit the cage (into a wider area, but still an area they can’t escape or hurt themselves in) and try to train them there.
Training a Hamster to be Held.
Now, when you’re buying a hamster and you want to teach it to be tame and train it, the first thing you should do is let the hamster rest. Smaller animals are very easy to frighten, so it’s best to let your hamster get used to its new surroundings before trying to teach it anything. However, if your hamster has become adjusted, you can now try to teach it to be held
Before doing that, you need to teach your hamster not to bite. This is actually the first thing to teach it, as it’s synonymous with teaching your hamster that you’re its friend. When you teach your hamster not to bite (following the steps in the previous section), you can move on to teaching it to be held.
Stress can make a lot of hamsters sick, so make sure that you’re not stressing your hamster out and that you’re taking it slow.
Firstly, don’t try to handle your hamster when it’s sleeping. Just like humans – hamsters don’t like to be woken up, so don’t disturb your hamster when it’s sleeping. This can cause health issues and it’s more likely that your hamster will bite if you’ve just woken it up.
Similar to the steps for teaching the hamster not to bite in our previous section, you’re going to need to take it slow. Use treats to gain trust with your hamster and slowly start putting your hand in the cage – let it climb into your hand. In the beginning, don’t take your hand out of the cage. Raise it, and the hamster will realize that you’re holding it. Feed it a treat and let the hamster back on the ground, repeat this process for a day.
After that, you can let the hamster climb into your hand and you can take your hand out. It’s likely that this will scare the hamster, so it may want to jump out of your hand. Don’t hold your hamster too high, just in case your hamster jumps out. Also, tame them with treats, even when they’re stressed and scared. Turning your hamster towards your body makes it less likely for them to jump out.
One thing owners don’t realize is that the hamster isn’t that afraid of the feeling of being carried, as much as they’re scared of all the sights and the sounds they see around them. These animals are very easily scared and it’s important to take your time with them. Reward your animals for good behavior with treats. If you feel that your hamster is becoming stressed or that they’re uncomfortable, gently place them back in their cage and try again later.
Here are some tips on teaching your hamster to enjoy being handled:
– keep every interaction short
– hamsters have bad and short eyesight, so make sure that you’re staying low when you’re interacting with your hamster. Don’t sit on a couch or a chair (in the beginning), as your hamster will try to run away if it gets scared, and it will fall to the floor because it can’t see where the floor is. Some experts recommend starting out in the bathtub.
– each pet is individual, so don’t force things upon your hamster that they don’t enjoy doing.
Training a Hamster to Use a Litter Box.
Many people have their doubts, but it’s actually possible to potty train a hamster.
To potty train a hamster, you’re going to need a litter box and litter. Make sure to always have a litter at hand – if you can’t find hamster litter, you can buy dust-free, scent-free, clumping cat litter. Avoid litter with silica dust, and in case you can’t find any hamster litter, you can get pellet litter made of wood, paper, grain, or grass.
To train your hamster to use a litter box, firstly you’ll need to figure out what corner of the cage your hamster most often uses to do their business. Put the litter box in that corner. This is very important, as hamsters don’t instinctively run to the litter box – if you don’t place it properly, it will just ignore it and proceed to take care of their business elsewhere. If the enclosure you’ve set up is still new and you haven’t a clue where to put the litter box, wait a week or two and let your hamster establish a spot.
Once you’ve settled on a spot, pour in enough litter to cover the bottom of the box. Add a little soiled bedding and some droppings from your hamster. This will make the hamster follow those droppings to that spot instinctively. Once your hamster has woken up, you can pick them up and put them in the litter box for them to figure out what’s going on.
After that, just let your hamster do its job on its own. Don’t force them into the potty, you don’t want to get bit or turn him away from the idea of using the litter box. Most hamsters will eventually figure out the point of the box on their own.
There are, however, instances where hamsters won’t use the litter box for its intents and purposes. Hamsters will sometimes eat or sleep there, and do anything but the one thing they’re supposed to do. If this is the case, make sure to check on the areas your hamster is supposed to be using for this. For example, if your hamster is sleeping in the litter box, check their sleeping area – it’s likely that there’s something wrong with it if they’re so persistent in sleeping in the litter box.
It can happen that the hamster will hide its food in the litter box – this usually means that they find the cage to be too small and they have no other place to hide their food at. There’s no other solution to this than buying a larger cage.
It can also happen that the cage is too large and the hamster is using the litter box, but it’s also defecating all around the cage. In that case, place multiple litter boxes around the cage.
Training a Hamster Tricks.
Just like with handling and biting, you should use treats as rewards for your hamster to teach it something. Let’s cover a few tricks.
Stand – a lot of animals, including hamsters, can stand on their hind feet. To teach your hamster to stand, you’re going to want to hold the treat in front of the hamster, just over its head so that the hamster can see it but not reach it. While doing this, say “Stand.” – this means nothing to the hamster right now, as they can’t understand articulated speech, but with time – they will recognize the specific sound of the word ‘stand’ as the command to stand on their hind feet. When you’re doing this, your hamster will instinctively stand up in order to get closer to the treat. When the hamster stands, give it the treat and verbal praise.
Only reward the hamster if it actually stands up, don’t reward it if it doesn’t. This way, you’re teaching the hamster that it’s good for it to stand up once it hears the word ‘stand’. If your hamster doesn’t stand it might be because he or she is not hungry at that moment, or distracted by something else going on in the room.
Feel free to repeat for a few times a day, and don’t stop the process until your hamster is ready to stand up after hearing your command, even when you’re not dangling a treat in front of its face. This can take a week or two.
The most important thing to remember is to reward the hamster every single time it stands up.
Jump – you can teach your hamster to jump, as well. You first need to teach your hamster the standing trick. To teach it this trick, get your hamster to stand, and then move your hand up and forward (while holding a treat) and say “Jump.” – it will instinctively try to jump. If the hamster tries to jump, praise him or her and give the treat. Once you’ve practiced this enough, you can add a hoop in the mix if you want to – hold a hoop between the hamster and the treat, and the hamster will jump through the hoop to get the treat. Say “Hoop.” as they’re doing it, to teach them the command of jumping through the hoop. Start by holding it low and slowly raising it up.
Roll over – this is a trick that you can teach to any pet. To do this, place a seed on your hamster’s back and ask them to “Roll over.” – if they do it, reward them with a seed. After a while, they’ll be rolling over even without you placing seed on their back.
Spinning in circles – after you’ve gotten your hamster used to eat treats out of your hand, you can teach them to spin in circles. Hold your hand out with the treat out and once they approach you, tell them to “Spin.” – and move your hand in a circle. The hamster will naturally follow your hand, and with time it will spin in circles just on command.
Building an obstacle course – you can even build an obstacle course for your hamster to go through. Use Lego building blocks and jars, or funnels for your hamster to jump over, crawl through, etc. Make sure that nothing’s too tall, as your hamster is more likely to run around it than jump over it. Hold the treat and let it lead the hamster’s way by moving in front of it. The hamster will follow the treat anywhere.
You can also make a seesaw with a simple plank and a wooden triangle, making your hamster have to balance on it. Make sure to place a wall around the obstacle course to bind it.
Teaching your hamster to wear a hat or clothing – yes, this is also possible. If your hamster is used to being handled and has a good temperament, it won’t be a problem to teach it to do this. Firstly, make sure that the items fit your hamster. Keep them snug, but not tight. You can’t just cram the outfit on your hamster, so make sure that you put it on gently. Talk to them happily while you’re doing this.
Give your hamster a treat as soon as you put something on. Take your hamster’s focus off the clothing and let them focus on something fun, like an apple or whatever is your hamster’s favorite treat. At first, only leave the items on for a minute, not for too long. Your hamster will learn to wear them with time and won’t have an issue with them.
Let the hamster sit in your hand for the first time, as they’re probably going to be afraid. Later on, they’ll be able to wear the clothing on their own. It won’t take long before your hamster’s ready to wear clothes without you holding them.
There are many things you can teach your hamster, and it’s important to constantly keep working with them in order to build and cultivate a healthy relationship. The most important thing to remember is to have patience, some hamsters are less trusting and are slower than others. Always reward your hamster with treats for a job well done, and never forget to respect its private area. Hamsters are just as vulnerable as humans, and you should keep that in mind when working with them. [...]
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