Did your hamster ever jump out of your hands ? I know my Teddy did. I barely caught him in time. If you have a hamster, and you’ve picked him up, you know what I’m talking about.
So I’m going to talk about why hamsters jump, how high hamsters can jump, and how you can make sure they don’t hurt themselves by falling.
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So why do hamsters jump ?
A jumping hamster might sound silly, but it’s for a reason. A hamster will jump just like any other animal when it want to break free, or get to something.
Most of the time when he jumps, it’s because the hamster is uncomfortable. His legs and paws are not meant to jump very high(unlike mice or rabbits). But your hammy will jump out of your hands if he’s had enough of your handling and wants to be put in his cage.
This can happen with any hamster, be it a tame or difficult one. More difficult hamsters will jump out of your hands more often.
But all hamsters will jump away if there’s something bothering them. Like scaring the hamster, or holding him for too long, or too high.
As for jumping for food, hamsters rarely jump for or towards something. They rather climb, since their limbs are meant for running and climbing.
Hamsters can jump out of your hands
For example Teddy (adult Syrian hamster) was more active when he was younger, so he was more fidgety. This got me to constantly keep having to move my hands, like a handwashing motion.
Sometimes, he’d have enough of me holding and playing with him, and jump out of my hands. The first time this happened I was lucky to be close to his cage. He fell on the cage, and I let him in. He was fine, nothing hurt or broken.
But I had to be careful. So whenever you handle a hamster, be close to his cage, or where you’ve decided his playpen is. If he’s a confirmed jumper, be extra sure to be close to the cage, or near a soft surface he can fall on, like the bed or a sofa.
A good way to distract the hamster in your hands is to give him a treat or piece of food. You can check this food list to find out which foods and treats are safe for hamsters, and which are not.
Hamsters will also jump out of your hands when they wanted to do something else and you interrupted them. Like maybe you picked your hamster up when he was eating, or while he was cleaning himself.
He’ll want to get back to whatever he was doing, fast.
Hamsters can also randomly jump in their cage
This is more common for more active hamsters, like the smaller Roborovski or Campbell hamsters or their other small brethren. Basically all hamsters aside from Syrians. Syrians do jump around their cage, but mostly when they’re very young.
This is because of the amazing energy small hamsters have, and how incredibly agile they are.
You can take care f this by providing your hamster with a good exercise wheel, according to his breed. He’ll burn off more energy that way and be less likely to jump for no reason.
Sometimes the jumping has no clear purpose or trigger. They weren’t trying to get somewhere, or reach something. No, they were scurrying somewhere and did a backflip on the way.
I’ve seen it with Teddy as well, and I can’t really explain why he randomly jumped. Sometimes he jumped onto the cage bars, and started scaling the cage. That has no clear purpose either, aside from expending excess energy.
Hamsters will fall, or jump from heights
Unfortunately hamsters are very poor judges of heights. Hamsters do not see very well, and can’t use anything else to judge distance. But they are curious creatures and want to inspect everything.
So if your cage has a taller level – like a multi-level cage – make sure that the hamster will not injure himself. This means that the height of the fall should not be more than 25 cm/10 inch. This is actually the average height a hamster can jump, and safely land from.
This selection of the best and safest hamster cages will make sure your hamster has a good place to live in.
For example my Teddy’s cage is a multi-level cage. The topmost level was a safe distance, however there was a slight gap that I had to mind, the two levels didn’t overlap completely.
Teddy did jump from the highest level all the way down. He didn’t end up on the first level, he actually landed on the ground floor.
He was fine, but I removed his second level soon after that. He didn’t jump often, but when he did he had no clear reason. He had a very easy to access ramp he used to get there in the first place, which he ignored when trying to get down.
Hamsters do not judge distances very well, since their eyes don’t help them much. So make sure you fall/jump proof your hammy’s cage.
Making sure your hamster doesn’t hurt himself if he jumps
There’s a few things you should consider, and I’ll get into each of them. It’s mostly the same across all hamster breeds, maybe some adjustments would need to be made according to the hamster’s size.
Give the hamster plenty of bedding to fall on
This is what will help him have an easier landing, much like a pile of hay. So that would mean covering every surface he could land on with bedding.
If you have a single level cage, then you’re set.
If you’ve got a multi-level cage, provide bedding for all levels, even if just a bit.
This roundup of great hamster bedding options will help you figure out which will work for you.
Overlapping levels in a cage
If you do get a multi-level cage for your hammy, make sure the levels overlap, mostly. For example my cage’s levels don’t overlap completely, and Teddy had to be very skilled to fall like he did.
When you’re online or at the pet store, make sure you check the cage as best you can.
To figure out the best kind of cage your hamster would need, as well as which of the 3 most common types would suit him, check out this article. You’ll find out cage sizes and options, as well as the pros and cons of each type.
Don’t give the hamster very tall toys
Now, the running wheel will have to be tall in order to be a proper size for him. But your hammy can’t get all the way on top of the wheel wince it will spin with him.
But digging towers are different, as well as hideout complexes. Try looking for something no taller than those 25 cm/10 inches we talked about earlier.
If your give the hamster no tall toys, he will have nowhere to fall from. This includes hammocks and mesh nets. These should not be more than 10 inches off the ground for your hammy. Especially for the dwarf hamsters out there.
Opt for wood-based toys
While the wheel will most probably not be metal, in order to be easy to spin and get a large enough one, the other toys should be wood. This is partly because hamsters chew on everything and wood is safe for them. And the other part is because wood lets the hamster have an easier landing than hard plastic or metal.
Cover the sides of the levels in the cage
If you’ve got a multi-level cage, but they don’t overlap that much, consider covering those sides with something like a fence that goes all the way up, or at least as nigh as the hamster’s full body.
A good option would be popsicle sticks. They’re safe for hamsters, and you can get them in most arts and crafts stores.
A good, non-toxic glue that the hamster will be able to hold the popsicles in place. Make sure that you only do this if the hamster can’t reach the place there you’ve glued the popsicles.
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A few precautions for jumping hamsters
When you’re handling your hammy, he might jump. So make sure you are very close to his cage, or something soft that he can land on. Like the bed or a sofa, or anything else soft.
If you’ve got a tank for your hamster, 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.
This is the least, since some hamsters can jump higher than this.
They don’t jump often, but all it takes is once. Best would be to actually cover the top of the tank with a wire mesh. You can find those at some pet shops, or most hardware shops as well.
A hamster that’s about to jump will give warning signs. It’s up to you to notice them, and I’ll help you with a few. For example your hamster will start to move faster in your hands, and his nose and whiskers will twitch more. He’ll look left and right and start moving out of your hand.
That’s when you should definitely put him back in his cage. If you put him on the floor or somewhere not contained, he will run everywhere. Hamsters get restless easily, and it’s best to leave them in a well contained area when they’re like this, so they can run and play at will.
Do not scare the hamster, or handle him when there’s a lot of things going on around you. Make sure you’re in a calm, quiet place, with not many things flying or moving around. A scared hamster has incredibly fast reflexes, so he will jump without warning.
Another thing to remember is that hamsters are not calm animals. They won’t be as cuddly as a cat or guinea pig. A hamster will not stay in your hands for more than 2 couple of minutes(and he will never sit still), after which he’ll try to get away. He is restless and that’s his nature.
A word from Teddy
I hope you found what you were looking for, and know why us hamsters jump. We don’t do that often, but it’s usually for a reason. Although we can jump randomly too. Mostly we want to be left alone to roam our cages.
If you want to know more about us hammies, and what kind of cages we need, or how much water we need, check the articles below !
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Do Hamsters Eat Vegetables – What To Feed Your HammyDo hamsters eat veggies ? Do they even like them ? Did their mothers scold them because they didn’t eat their peas and broccoli ? Jokes aside, hamsters eating vegetables is a big topic, and a very important one when it comes to what you can safely feed your hamster friend.
Table of Contents
ToggleSo do hamsters eat vegetables ?Hamsters can eat leafy greensSome kinds of roots and berry-types are okay for hamstersWhat veggies to never feed your hamsterCommercial hamster food has plenty of vegetables and vitamin sourcesCan vegetables substitute your hamster’s water source ?How to see if your hamster reacts well to a new veggieA word from Teddy
So do hamsters eat vegetables ?
Yes, they do. Hamsters do eat vegetables, and they actually like them.
In the wild hamsters forage for grains and vegetables, so that’s a large part of their diet. They do catch the occasional cricket or worm, but veggies and grains/seeds are the biggest part of their diet.
Not all vegetables are safe for hamsters – you can find a list of safe and unsafe foods for your hammy here. We’ll cover the veggies your hamster can eat in this article, and the ones he should be kept away from as well.
Hamsters can eat leafy greens
This is what you will find most common for your hammy. Like spinach leaves, watercress, lettuce, kale, iceberg, arugula, even a bit of cabbage.
Easy on the cabbage though, since it’s got a large fiber content which can upset your hamster’s stomach. I gave my Teddy (Syrian hammy) a whole cabbage leaf, to see what he would do. He just sat there, munching on it. I took it out after a few minutes, since it was much too large for him.
Hamsters can eat lots of leafy greens. Pretty much whatever you put in your salad is fine for him as well. With a few exceptions, which we’ll cover in the rest of this article.
Some kinds of roots and berry-types are okay for hamsters
Some root types are okay for your hammy, like for example carrots are good. But watch out if you’ve got anything other than a Syrian hammy.
The Dwarf types (Robo, Campbell, Siberian, Chinese) are very small and need very very tiny pieces of carrots. They’re prone to developing diabetes, so it’s best to keep them away from sweet-ish veggies.
The same goes for sweet potatoes and corn. Those, if you even feed your hammy, should always be boiled/cooked.
Cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin are all okay, although it’s best to cook the pumpkin before your give it to your hamster.
All kinds of broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus are alright for your hammy – but at least steamed. They have a high fiber content, even if it’s less than cabbage.
Make sure you feed your hammy only the upper parts, like the heads or tips. The stalks are too tough for their stomachs.
What veggies to never feed your hamster
There are a few veggies you should keep you hammy away from. For example regular potato, especially raw, is not recommended. The same goes for eggplant, rhubarb, and celery.
The same goes for most legumes like peas, beans, if they’re not cooked. Even if they are cooked, they should still be given in a very small amount. As in, only one single bean. They have a tendency to create gas and your hamster’s gut can’t handle that very well.
Very acidic veggies are a no-go, like onions, scallions, shallots, garlic, and tomatoes are a no-go. This is because the hamster’s stomach and gut does not react well to acidic foods, of any kind.
The same goes for spices. Whatever you feed your hammy, make sure it’s never seasoned, not even with salt. It needs to be either boiled in plain water, or baked plain, by itself. No added oils, spices, sauces, or whatever you’d like to add to your own food.
Commercial hamster food has plenty of vegetables and vitamin sources
You can also feed your hamster a pre-made food mix that already has enough vitamins and fibers. This is what your hamster usually would find in the veggies you give him.
Still, you can give your hammy a few vegetables aside from the commercial food mix.
For example a food mix like this one has plenty of nutritional value for your hammy. It will keep you for a couple or months, or a bit more, depending on how much you feed him.
I’d recommend 2 teaspoons/day for a Syrian hammy, and just 1 teaspoon for a Dwarf type.
This mix, along with the occasional veggie from you, and maybe a bit of boiled egg white or piece of cooked chicken will give your hammy a very happy, balanced diet.
You can check the listing on Amazon for this food mix, and read the reviews as well.
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Can vegetables substitute your hamster’s water source ?
There’s times when your hamster will need to get his water from a very stable source. One that will not drip or spill over.
For these times, like when you’re transporting your hamster to the vet, or you’re taking him somewhere, a couple of veggies will give your hamster enough water for a few hours.
For more info on how to safely transport your hamster, you need to check out this article. You’ll find out how to transport him, as well as what kind of cage you need, and how to make sure he isn’t scared on the road.
As for the kind of veggies your hamster can get water from, cucumber is the best option. It’s got a whole lot of water content, and a couple of slices, kept fairly cold, are going to provide your hamster with enough water for a few hours.
You can substitute cucumber with some iceberg lettuce, which again has a very high water content. However those have a bit more fiber than cucumber, so do not rely on those entirely.
How to see if your hamster reacts well to a new veggie
Whenever you give your hammy a new food, of any kind, try it out in small pieces. So if you want to introduce carrot into your hamster’s diet for example. start this way.
Give him a very small piece, about the size of your pinky finger’s nail. Make sure that is the only bit of new food he gets for 24 hours. You can still feed him his usual food, but do not give him more that a very small piece of the new food.
After 24 hours, if you see he’s still well, has no wet stool, and is not lethargic, then you can introduce the new food in larger amounts. Do remember that the pieces of veggies you give your hammy should never be larger than an inch/2.5 cm.
A word from Teddy
I hope you know now if us hammies can eat different kinds of veggies. For example I love munching on a bit of carrot from time to time. And maybe your friend likes spinach leaves.
If your want to know more about us hammies, you can check out the articles below. You’ll find info on how large a cage we need, how much water we need in a day, and even why we sometimes eat our poop. [...]
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Can You Wake Up A Hamster? Read This FirstWhen I had my first hamster, I always had this question. Is it a good or a bad idea to wake up a hamster?
The answers I found online at the time were quite wrong now that I know what a hamster routine is and the fact that they are solitary animals and not social animals.
Many people, like me, want a pet hamster to be able to play with, but they quickly realize that their schedules don’t align since most hamsters are crepuscular or nocturnal.
Now the question is, do you wake up your hamster to play with it, or do you let it sleep?
Before getting to this topic, check my article about the hamster’s routine, especially if you don’t have a hamster and are thinking of getting one.
Table of Contents
ToggleCan you wake up a hamster?Should you wake up your hamster to feed it?How to gently wake a hamster if you have toCan you change your hamster routine?Waking hamster by mistakeCan hamsters sleep in the dark?Conclusion
Can you wake up a hamster?
You should not wake up your hamster, it is stressful for it as it is for us or for any other pet.
You better think twice when you want to play with your hamster, and if this is the only reason you want to wake it up. Your hamster might be grumpy, and biting you is possible in that situation.
It is rude to wake up a human to have someone to play with but at least we are social animals, so we like spending time with others, hamsters are not.
So, when you wake up a hamster to play with, it is like waking up someone that doesn’t like you to hang out with. It might sound harsh what I’m saying here, but even if you see a small cute furball, you have to remember that they don’t like company, even yours.
There are some hamsters that look like they enjoy playing with humans, but in reality, they are just less afraid and want to explore, not play.
And this happens especially when they are active already, not when you wake them up.
Before getting discouraged, it’s important to know that they are waking up from time to time, even during the day. They don’t sleep continuously, so you might get a chance to play with them.
Should you wake up your hamster to feed it?
You should not wake up your hamster to feed it. I’ve heard and seen some people that wake up hamsters to feed them. You can imagine how bad of an idea that is.
Again, imagine someone waking you up in the middle of the night to give you food or tickle you.
I had this experience once with my mom, me and my wife were visiting my parents and we took a short nap in the middle of the day.
The funny part is that we just ate before going to sleep so we were kind of full, you know like you are when you are visiting your parents. My mother decided to wake us up after an hour to come and eat. I told her that we just ate, and I feel hungry when I’m hungry, not sleepy.
Don’t understand me wrong, I know why she woke us up. She was doing her host and mom’s job, it was the wrong moment, though.
So don’t wake your hamster up for food, they can eat when they wake up naturally.
However, if you have to wake up your hamster for whatever reason, trying to wake them up with a treat is not the worst idea.
Here is an entire article about what treats you can safely give to your hamster.
How to gently wake a hamster if you have to
There are some moments when you might have to wake up your hamster. In my case, I clean his cage on the same day when I clean the house so I have to wake him up when I’m cleaning, I can’t wait too much.
If you have a good reason to wake up your hamster, here is a good way of doing it.
Offer your pet a special treat or food item that he loves. Tap lightly on the side of his cage and talk to him while he is waking up.
You will hear rustling as he stirs, then his nose will appear as he sniffs to check out the situation. Keep the treat close by so it is easily detectable by your pet.
He will slowly come out, sleepy-eyed and ears tucked back. Your pet will move towards the treat and you can then pick him up.
I saw some articles recommending gently blowing on the hamster when you want to wake them up. I would not do that, but if you do, make sure you don’t blow in their face, they hate that.
Can you change your hamster routine?
Changing your hamster routine is stressful and unhealthy. If you love your hamster, you should not think of doing that.
Before buying or adopting a hamster, you should make sure your schedule suits their routine if you want to play with them.
Of course, as I said, you will have some moments when your hamster will be awake during the day, but there are not as many as at night.
One thing I noticed about the hamster routine is that they seem to be way more active when I leave the house for a few days. When I come back, they are still active, even during the day. But not nearly as much as evenings and nights.
It always felt to me like he was waiting for me to leave so he could throw a party, and I caught him by surprise when I came back. My guess is that hamsters feel safer when it is quieter, even during the day.
Waking hamster by mistake
If you worry that you will wake up your hamster unintentionally by making noises around their cage, it is important to know that they have good hearing, but they will notice you only if you are quite close to their cage.
All the hamsters I had slept well even when I had music going in the room, but if I made sudden noises around their cage, they would wake up.
It’s almost impossible to have a room only for the hamster cage, so this is unavoidable that you or your kids will make noises around the cage, and it might wake up the hamster every now and then. Make sure it is not too often.
All my hamsters had this habit of waking up to drink some water or for a small snack during the day, I know there are humans that do this during the night, so it’s easy to understand why. I’m saying this to clarify that you are not waking up your hamster by mistake when they are active during the day, it is just their routine.
Can hamsters sleep in the dark?
Yes, hamsters can sleep in the dark, hamsters don’t sleep like humans, they are intermittent sleepers if that is a word, so they will have short bursts of sleep.
As you might get to see your hamster active during the day, you can see a hamster sleeping during the night.
You don’t have to think too much about how is the light in the room for the hamster, just turn it off when you go to sleep and you can turn the light on when you are in the room.
Hamsters have poor eyesight, they don’t use it too much. However their eyes are quite sensitive, so make sure you don’t direct the light to their cage. Even direct sunlight might be harmful to their small sensitive eyes.
Conclusion
Before you get a hamster as a pet, it’s very important to understand their habits and routine not to be surprised.
They have a very specific routine that doesn’t suit most of our lifestyles, especially if you have a regular daytime schedule at work.
Waking a hamster up just to play with it is pretty rude and stressful for them, so you should avoid doing that as much as possible.
I hope this article helped you and your hamster will be happier and less stressed. [...]
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Why You Should Trim Your Hamster’s Nails, And How To Do ItIf you’ve got a hamster then you’ve probably met his sharp claws, or at least seen them. If he’s even climbed on you, you’ve also felt them. But some hamsters do get overgrown nails, and it’s necessary to keep them trimmed to avoid injury to you or to the hamster.
Table of Contents
ToggleSo do hamsters need their nails trimmed ?When do hamsters need their nails trimmed ?Why you should care about your hamster’s nailsHow to trim overgrown hamster nailsTrimming them at homeInspect the hamster’s nails before trimmingSeeing a vet for professional helpPreventing overgrown hamster nailsHome exercise for your hamster’s nailsA word from Teddy
So do hamsters need their nails trimmed ?
Yes, but ONLY in cases of overgrown nails. This is not something you should do regularly, like with your own human nails.
Hamsters usually trim their nails by climbing, grooming, digging, foraging. 9 of out 10 hamsters don’t need help with their nails.
But some hammies do, especially very old hamsters or the hamsters that don’t have a few rugged surfaces to blunt their nails on.
This is where you, as a responsible hamster owner, will come in and help the hamster take care of himself. I’ll help you with how to trim the hamster’s nails, and how to prevent overgrown nails in the first place.
This article is ONLY for cutting your hamster’s overgrown nails. Leave healthy nails alone. They should have a bit of length to them, because the hamster uses them for climbing and getting a grip.
When do hamsters need their nails trimmed ?
Only when the hamster’s nails have become overgrown. You’ll notice they’re much too long, and they’re starting to curve in on themselves.
They might break at some point, and they can and do fall off. I saw a couple of Teddy’s nails come off when they were too long and I didn’t notice in time to cut them down.
The overgrown nails will turn a nasty yellow color, and if you look very closely you’ll see lighter/whitish spots or lines where they’re cracked or broken.
Hamsters usually wear down their nails by the usual things they do. Digging a tunnel into the earth, making their nest, foraging for food, running around, grooming themselves, climbing on op of rocks, and so on.
A pet hamster doesn’t do all of that, because he’s not in his usual habitat. The ones he does do, are on softer material like wood shavings and paper bedding. This means that sometimes, some hamsters get overgrown nails. That can be fixed.
Why you should care about your hamster’s nails
You might ask why you should consider trimming your hamster’s nails. After all, no one trims them in the wild. That’s true, no one does that for wild hamsters.
But wild hamsters don’t get overgrown nails, because they have a lot of hard surfaces to wear them down on. This means that your pet hamster will need your help for several reasons.
First an overgrown nail will curve in on itself and become painful for the hamster. In some extreme cases the nail can start growing into the hamster’s paw, curving back towards his paw. This will lead to pain, infection, and the hamster’s feet won’t be able to do their job.
Second, nails too long will make grooming painful for the hamster. When he grooms, he also grabs onto his fur and hold it in place to clean it. With nails too long, that starts to hurt, and even walking becomes a hassle since he can’t step normally.
Third, overgrown nails, if left unattended will fall off. But this is never a pleasant ans simple process. They fall off because the motion of the hamster’s paws when he goes about his business weakens the nails near the quick. So they end up bending over backwards, for lack of a better term.
The nail will not simply fall off, it will hang in there for a couple of days, until the new nail grows back. This is both painful and awkward for the hamster, because using his paws won’t be easy at all.
These are all things that can be avoided. Not all hamsters get overgrown nails.
How to trim overgrown hamster nails
Trimming your hamster’s nails will not be easy, at all. Hamsters are notorious for not staying put, and squirming. A hammy kept in one place so you can clip his nails definitely won’t cooperate easily.
Trimming them at home
Arm yourself with patience, and don’t expect to finish everything in one day. Your hamster should first of all be comfortable with being held. If he’s not, read this guide on taming your hamster and work on getting him comfy with you.
Once he’s okay with being held, try and find a position for him that’s okay for both of you. Some hamsters will be okay with being on their backs, some will not.
One position would be holding the hamster’s back against your stomach or chest, and holding one of his paws with your finger. Another could be the hamster just being on all 4 and you holding one of his paws.
If you think you need help, ask a friend to hole the hamster while you trim the nails.
Do expect fidgeting, and do expect squirming, maybe even a few protesting sounds. No hamster likes being held for this.
Also be aware that even if your hamster might get relaxed enough to let you hold him, the sound of the nail being clipped can spook him. So be prepared for anything.
Inspect the hamster’s nails before trimming
When you do cut the hamster’s nail, look for the quick. You’ll need very good lighting for this, or even some sunlight. Make sure the hamster’s eyes aren’t in the bright light, or the sunlight, as they’re very sensitive to that.
You’ll notice the hamster’s nails are kind of transparent. Not completely, they will have a whitish/yellowish tint to them and their very edges might be lighter in color.
But look at where the nail starts, from the finger. You’ll notice a pinkish, cloudy area. Its very small, and very short, about the size of a couple of grains of sand.
While very small, that little pink cloudy part is crucial. Do not cut into it. It has lots of blood vessels, and cutting into it is like cutting into the neat right under your nail. Actually, they’re the exact same area, just that our nails have a different shape from hamster nails.
So when you cut your hamster’s nails, make sure you give the quick (pink part) a wide berth. When you cut the nail part, the translucent part of the nail, make sure you leave at least as much nail as the pink part.
That means if there are 2 grains of sand of quick, then you should leave 2 grains of sand of transparent nail on your hamster. It might be hard to do, if your hamster isn’t used to this kind of operation. And he probably isn’t so don’t be surprised if you can’t manage to get all of his nails clipped in one day.
Giving your hamster a treat after each nail successfully clipped is going to help him learn that everything’s okay, he’s safe, and you’re not hurting him.
Seeing a vet for professional help
Getting your hamster to a veterinarian to help trim his nails is probably the best decision. I say this only because finding the quick, and keeping the hamster still so you don’t cut into the quick are 2 hard things to do.
A vet will have more experience with clipping a pet’s nails, and he will notice the quick very easily. Also, in the case of a bleeding accident, he will have a solution to stop the bleeding and disinfect everything.
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Preventing overgrown hamster nails
Preventing is always much easier than treating. This is true for everything, and it’s also true for keeping your hamster’s nails filed down.
But for this we need to look at why hamster nails can become overgrown in the first place. A hamster’s nails always grow, much like our human nails. Usually hamsters wear them down with their day-to-day activities in the wild.
But in their warm, safe cages this doesn’t happen as much.
Pet hamsters have fairly soft beddings, and they don’t get to dig into the earth a complex series of tunnels. This means the hamster’s nails have not very much to hit against. Wood shavings or paper bedding are much too soft for hamster nails, and they’re loose and move around.
The objects around the cage will help wear the nails down, like the hideout or a couple of toys, but that’s it. So you will need to provide your hamster with a few hard, rugged surfaces to walk over or climb onto.
For example a few flat stones from your garden (rinsed and dried, of course) arranged around his cage are going to help. each time he steps over those stones, his nails will wear down a little bit.
And if you place the stones in many places, he will step on them often. For example placing them right around the food bowl will make sure your hamster walks over them to get to his food.
Home exercise for your hamster’s nails
Another idea, aside from the flat rocks is an emery board. That’s the kind of material used for filing nails, and even in jewelry making. Make sure your get the smallest sized grit, so you do not hurt your hamster’s paws.
Get a board big and wide enough so the hamster has room on it. You can also find emery paper and tape it to a small board.
Place one of your hamster’s favorite treats at one end and put the hamster on the other end. Slowly start tilting the board, keeping it at an angle, with the treat on top.
The hamster will dig his nails into the board to get more stability and a better grip. This will file down his nails, and in the end you’ll level the board again so he can get his treat.
Or, you can keep the board perfectly horizontal, and only have a treat tied to a string or on the end of a stick. This is teasing, yes, but the hamster does get the treat in the end. Simply make him walk over the board a few times, and let him have his treat.
Always check to see if his paws are okay. If you get grit small enough, he should be fine.
You can try this exercise every 2-3 weeks, to make sure your hamster keeps his nails short.
A word from Teddy
I hope you found what you were looking for in this article. Us hammies usually take good care of our bodies, so our nails are usually pretty trim. It’s just that some of us need a little help from time to time.
If you want to know more about us hamsters you should check out the related articles below. You’ll learn how to keep us safe and happy, and what we need for a good life. [...]
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A Word On Keeping Hamsters With Rats, Or Hamsters With MiceA hamster isn’t all that different from a mouse, or a rat, since all 3 are rodents. You might argue they can all live together, or at least get along during playtime.
As it happens, these 3 animals are in fact very similar. But it’s the key differences between them that mean they’re not as good a match. If you want a more detailed comparison between rats, mice, and hamsters, you should read this article here.
Table of Contents
ToggleSo can hamsters live with rats ?Can hamsters live with mice ?About the hamster’s personalityAbout the rat’s personalityAbout the mouse’s personalityDifferences in food for hamsters, rats, and miceCage size differences between the 3 rodent typesPlaytime and other habits that might conflictA word from Teddy
So can hamsters live with rats ?
No, hamsters can’t live with rats. A hamster is territorial, solitary, and will try to attack anything that crosses his path.
A rat is much larger, calmer, and very social, loves to live in groups. However it will bite back if the hamster attacks, and it won’t stop until the hammy is dead.
While both the rat and the hamster are good pets, hamsters simply can’t share their space with another. They only seek another soul when they’re ready to mate. Any other time would be a deathmatch.
We’ll cover the main characteristics of hamsters and rats in the rest of the article, so you will get a more thorough answer to your question.
But if rats being larger are a problem, what about mice ? Good question, let’s look into that.
Can hamsters live with mice ?
No, hamsters can’t live with mice either. The hamster is territorial, solitary, and likes to keep his food to himself.
A mouse is smaller than a Syrian hamster, but much faster, and agile, and will end up stealing the hamster’s food. If you keep just one mouse and just one hamster, the hamster will end up killing the mouse. The size helps there.
However if you’ve got at least two mice and a hamster, they will gang up on the hamster, turning the fight in favor of the mice.
It’s really not a good idea to combine hamsters with any other animal. At all. Even another hamster is a bad idea half the time, let alone a different animal.
Let’s see why hamster and mice can’t really get along, even if they’re closer in size than rats and hamsters.
About the hamster’s personality
A hamster is a very territorial, solitary animal. Even the hamster breeds that can live together in pairs – more on that here – can end up fighting to the death.
This is the reason I’d recommend keeping all hamsters separate, not just the Syrians or Chinese.
Hamsters like having their own space, their own food, and keeping away from other animals. A hamster will mark things as his own with his scent glands.
He will try to be the dominant one in any setting, and hamsters housed together can end up bullying one another.
You might argue that your two Dwarf hammies get along just great. They might, but because they were introduced as babies, and grew up together.
They grew up of the same size, species, and scent profile. They have the same type of reactions, and will know how to read one another properly.
A hamster will be jumpy and scared most of his youth, while he learns the new sights, smells, and sounds in your home. He’ll even get scared of you walking past his cage when he’s in his first few weeks. A scared hamster is unpredictable, and is very likely to nip.
There’s a lot more to hamsters than just what I said here. You should check out this article, on what it’s like to own a hamster and why they can be good pets (also a few cons of owning a hammy).
And this article here, to understand the difference between the two main types of hamsters, and thus the general disposition of hamsters.
About the rat’s personality
A rat is a very opportunistic animal, and a smart one at that. Of the 3 rodents we’re discussing today, the rat is the smartest. They’ve often been compared to dogs in terms of affection and comprehension of human intent.
That being said, rats make for good pets, it’s just that they need lots of handling or a buddy. They’re highly social animals, and they like playtime.
Actually rats bond with their owners much more than hamster or mice, and actually like it when their owners hold them.
When it comes to food, rats will eat almost anything. This means they will eat about equal proportions of meat, grains, veggies, and fresh fruit. They will steal the hamster’s food if they think it’s tastier, or it’s something they like.
Very important to note, rats tend to attack and view as food anything smaller than them. That includes the hamster, and the mouse too actually.
Back to the rat’s intelligence, they’re able to learn tricks and they get bored easily if not given enough stimulation. So they’ve got a big advantage over hamsters, and would be able to rick them if they wanted. A bored rat next to a skittish hamster does not sound good.
About the mouse’s personality
The mice are a bit harder to tame than the rat, since they’re so small and all over the place. They too are social animals, but they need to be in same-sex pairs, female if possible.
Male mice can get along, but it’s like with the Dwarf hammies. Only if they were kept together as babies, need a very big cage, and they still might fight.
Aside from that, mice have much of the same diet as rats. As in, they can and will eat nearly anything, and will steal bits of food whenever they can.
Mice are fairy skittish, and need a lot of patience from their owners when being handled. They don’t jump out of your hands as often as the hamster. But they still can.
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Differences in food for hamsters, rats, and mice
Food is something these 3 would argue over, and here’s why.
While mice, rats, and hamsters are omnivores, hamsters still tend to eat mostly grains and veggies. So giving them the same feed will leave the dietary needs of the other ones unmet.
And there will be food thefts, which can become a major problem. A rat stealing from a hamster can make do, although the hamster might fight back.
However a hamster can’t really steal from the rat’s food, since it’s made up of slightly different nutrients. So that leaves the hamster at a disadvantage. Also the fact that the rat will protect his food and bite the hamster is another concern.
You can’t keep separate food bowls for hamsters, mice, or rats. They won’t know which is which, and will pick out what they like from whichever bowl they find.
Hamsters hoard food in their nest, as do rats and mice. However if the hamster feels unsafe in his hideout – and he will, with another rodent – he’ll keep the food in his cheek pouches.
This leads to a host of health problems, since those pouches are not meant as permanent storage.
Cage size differences between the 3 rodent types
Hamsters need a minimum of of 24 x 12 inches, and about 12 inches tall. That’s 61 x 30.5 cm, and about 30.5 cm tall. This is the minimum for a lone, Syrian hamster.
A single, male mouse will need a cage of 10 x 12 inches/25 x 30 cm. The same size will work for a trio of female mice. Males need more space of their own, but the larger the space, the more territorial they become.
Rats, on the other hand, need a cage about 25 x 12.5 inches/ 63 x 31 cm for one single male rat.
The more rodents your have the bigger the space you’ll need, if you want to combine the hamster with either one of them.
However I do not recommend putting hamsters in with any other rodent, even if your got them both as babies. They’re very different animals, even if they’re kind of related.
Playtime and other habits that might conflict
While some things might annoy your hamster, like cleaning his cage, they might be okay for your rat or mouse.
Cage cleaning can be postponed for up to two weeks for hamsters, since they won’t smell at all, they only have the one pee corner. Rats and mice habitats become smellier faster, and need regular cleaning once per week at the latest.
Playtime is another problem that might come up. Hamsters don’t like being handled all that much, while mice and rats are more comfortable with their owners.
Hamsters, mice, and rats alike need lots of exercise to keep themselves occupied. However hamsters are much jumpier than the other two, and will become defensive very fast.
So to sum everything up, and give you a very clear answer:
Hamsters should be kept alone, not even with another hamster.
Keeping a hamster with a rat, or with a mouse might sound like a good idea since they might be similar. But the differences between them will lead to very uncomfortable pets.
A word from Teddy
I hope you found what you were looking for here. I know us hammies might look related to mice and rats, but we don’t really get along. Rats are too big, and mice too small.
And they’re both very social, while us hamsters like to be on our own. Nothing personal, it’s just us being hamsters, that’s all.
If you want to know more about us hammies, you can check the articles below to find out how to care for us properly. [...]
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Can Hamsters And Gerbils Live Together ? An Owner’s GuideIf you’re wondering if you can keep a hamster and a gerbil together, you need to read this. They’re often mistaken for one another, but the differences between hamsters and gerbils are critical.
We’ll see whether these two rodents can live together, and what decides that fact. For a more detailed comparison between gerbils and hamster, you should read this article here.
Table of Contents
ToggleSo can hamsters and gerbils live together ?About the hamster’s personalityAbout the gerbil’s personalityMajor differences between hamsters and gerbilsHousing a hamster vs housing a gerbilA word from Teddy
So can hamsters and gerbils live together ?
No, hamsters and gerbils can not and should not live together. This is because the hamster is territorial, and will attack (and kill) anything that tries to come close, even their own siblings.
While gerbils can and do live together, hamsters do not. This makes hamsters unable to share their home with anything, especially not an animal that is not another hamster.
There are some very important differences between the two, and we’ll discuss them here.
About the hamster’s personality
Hamsters are small animals, about the size of a gerbil (without the gerbil’s tail) and they’re very much prey for other, larger animals. This means that they are skittish, will try to hide as often as they can, and do not react well to strangers.
Hamsters are more aggressive than gerbils, and they will attack anyone or anything that comes too close. There are some submissive hamsters that just cower in a corner or freeze in fear, but most will actually attack and fight to the death.
This means that housing a hamster with anything is a bad idea. Most of the time even another hamster is a bad idea, even if they’re siblings.
Hamsters sleep during the day, and wake up in the evening. They stay up all night, running in their wheel and playing in their cage. In the wild they’d be running from predators and looking for food at the same time, while fending off intruders on their territory. Busy little things.
A hamster doesn’t react well to stress, and is actually quite jittery and restless when handled. He will not stay put, at all, and will want to wander off and explore everything.
As such, a big cage with lots of space is going to help the hamster feel more at ease, and less stressed.
About the gerbil’s personality
Gerbils are social animals, and they actually live in colonies of up to 20 individuals in a colony. This means that you can house together several gerbils and they would be fine, but their cage needs to be very large. The more gerbils you own, the larger the cage.
Since gerbils are social, this means they’re okay with sharing, but only with gerbils they know. Strangers, or even siblings that smell different are attacked on sight (well, rather smell) and it’s usually deadly.
Gerbils, like hamsters, will protect their own. It’s just that their definition of ”their” also includes their immediate family. Most of the time gerbils are kept only in pairs, partly because a cage big enough for 10 gerbils isn’t easy to find or fit somewhere.
Compared to hamsters, gerbils are more mellow, and are easier to tame. They can still be skittish, especially as babies, but not nearly as much as hamsters.
Gerbils too are very active animals (all rodents are), and they’re always exploring, digging a tunnel, making a nest, playing with a friend, or running on their wheel. Their energy is similar to the hamster, and as such they needs lots of stimulation.
Unlike hamsters, a lone gerbil will become depressed, and possibly ill from being so lonely. They need the stimulation and activity a colony (or at least another gerbil) provides, and they grow up happier if they have a friend.
Major differences between hamsters and gerbils
A hamster is fairly short, stocky, and has barely any noticeable tail. There are 5 types of hamster to choose from (Syrian, Chinese, Roborovski, Campbell, and Djungarian) and they look very different from a gerbil.
The only hamster that resembles a gerbil is the Chinese, with its long slender body and longer tail. Not as long as the gerbil’s tail, but definitely longer than the other hamster tails (which are just stubs).
Gerbils have longer bodies, and look like a bit of a cross between a mouse and a squirrel, minus the bushy tail. A hamster has a much shorter neck, and a wider body. It looks fluffier than a gerbil, and has more of a rounded face.
Both gerbils and hamsters love to run, but their needs are different. A hamster needs a minimum of 7 inches/18 cm for a wheel, but a gerbil will need a much larger one, since its tail is sensitive.
If the tail is injured or caught in something (and it can happen in a wheel) it can and will fall off. This is not easy on the gerbil, nor on you as an owner.
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Another big difference is the sleeping and activity patterns. While the hamster sleeps during the day, the gerbil will go about his business. He will take short naps throughout the day, but the main sleeping time is the night.
This annoys the hamster greatly, since he is trying to sleep. An irritated hamster that hasn’t rested well enough will be very hard to handle, and will snap at the gerbil.
Conversely, while the gerbil sleeps at night, the hamster will wake up and do his own hamster things. This will wake up the gerbil and he will not rest well, leading to other fights.
Food is pretty much the only thing hamsters and gerbils agree upon. They even share food mixes/pellets, since they both eat mostly grains, with some veggies and fruit, peanuts, and a bit of protein when they can.
Housing a hamster vs housing a gerbil
Two gerbils can live in a lone Syrian’s cage – 24 x 12 inches, and about 12 inches tall. That’s 61 x 30.5 cm, and about 30.5 cm tall. But a single hamster can’t live in a single gerbil’s cage, unless it is a Dwarf hamster.
All this means is that a gerbil and a hamster have different housing needs, and they will end up fighting over space anyway. This is because most cages aren’t large enough for a hamster and a gerbil together, but also because both animals mark their territory.
They both use their scent glands to mark what;s their, be it it with their bellies, hips, or faces rubbed against various objects.
This leads to fighting in the end, and there is no amount of toys and duplicate of cage objects that will keep that from happening.
Both the hamster and the gerbil love to chew, so in that respect they would need the same toys and hideouts. They would both end up chewing on the cage bars or trying to escape, so housing them together is not good.
A word from Teddy
I hope you found what you were looking for in this article. I know us hammies get confused with gerbils often, but we’re really very different. And we can’t live together, at all. We’d fight all the time.
If you want to know more about us hamsters you should check out the related articles below. You’ll learn how to keep us safe and happy, and what we need for a good life. [...]
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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.
Table of Contents
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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