Taming your hamster is an important part of owning a pet. The process can be very time consuming, but it will make your experience with the animal much more enjoyable.
Many people have a pet hamster at their home but don’t know how to tame them. How do you win your hamsters’ trust? How can you make sure that they are not afraid of humans? In this article, I will help you answer these questions and more! Read on for a step-by-step guide on how to tame your hamster with success!
Hamsters, like any other animals or human beings, do not come with an instruction manual. With the right time and patience, though, you can learn how to tame your hamster so that it becomes a friendly pet for life.
Importance Of Taming Your Hamster
Taming your pet is an important part of owning them because it ensures their safety, well-being and happiness. You want to be able to hold or handle them without worrying about being bitten or scratched! Here’s how:
One thing to keep in mind when looking for a pet is whether you are capable of spending enough time with it. If you have an extremely busy schedule, training your hamster might be difficult, so consider this before buying one!
The most significant advantage that comes from taming your pets is that they become more comfortable and feel at home in their new environment. This can sometimes lead to an improvement in health as it reduces stress levels, leading them to be happier and healthier hamsters!
It also helps you get closer with your pet hamster by allowing you to form a bond of trust which will last for years to come.
Hamsters are naturally skittish creatures, which means that they are not the easiest pets to have. I will provide some simple methods for successfully taming your furry friend in this article!Let’s get started!
Step No.1 Assist Your Hamster To Settle In
It’s important to make sure that your hamster feels comfortable. If you introduce yourself in the wrong way, it can be very difficult to win their trust!
First of all, make sure that the hamster is in an environment where it feels safe. If they are in a cage or tank, do not pick them up straight away. You want to allow them time to get used to their new surroundings and understand that they are not in any danger.
It is very important that you keep them in a dark and quiet room for at least 24 hours. This allows them to feel safe and secure in the new surroundings, and they become more relaxed.
Make sure there are a lot of dark and protected areas where they can feel safe inside the cage. Do not try to interact with them yet.
Step 2: Introduce Yourself And Hand Out Treats
Once you feel like your hamster is comfortable with its environment, it’s time for you to meet them!When introducing yourself, make sure that the room is quiet and dimly lit if possible.
Keep a ready stock of tasty and yummy hamster snacks. They are going to be your best friend during this entire bonding and taming process.
Remember, never wake up a sleeping hamster. You have to have the patience to wait for them to become active on their own. You can dim the lights and try to reduce noise in and around the hamster cage as much as possible. This will encourage them to boldly come out and explore their new surroundings.
Once you see that they are out and sniffing about in a relaxed manner, slowly approach the cage and allow them to sniff out your hand. Feed them some treats right after they sniff your hand. This will go a long way towards gaining trust. But remember to feed the treats in moderation.
You have to remember to be completely quiet and refrain from making any sudden movements. Hamsters are very easily startled and any sudden movement or loud noise coming from you will frighten them.
This whole process can take a few days, and it’s quite possible that they may not immediately come and sniff your hand and accept the treats that you are offering them. It’s a slow and gradual process. But if you follow everything in the right way, sooner or later, your hamster will start trusting you and accepting treats from you.
After a few days, you notice that your hamster is by itself approaching you for treats. This is a clear sign that your hamster has started to trust you.Well Done!
Hamster Self Approaching!
Pro Tip : Rub your hands on a piece of toilet paper and place it inside your hamster cage. Hamsters’ strongest sense is their smell, and it is their sense of smell that drives them through all their daily activities. This piece of toilet paper that smells like you will make your hamster get accustomed to your smell. So that next time you put your hand inside its cage, it is already used to your smell and doesn’t get scared or frightened.
Step No.3 Guide Your Hamster To Your Palm
After you have successfully introduced yourself to your hamster and fed them treats, it’s time for the next step.This is probably one of the trickiest steps in taming your hamster, but if you persevere through this stage, then something amazing can happen!
Slowly start placing treats in the palm of your hand and try to get your hamster to come and eat those treats. You have to slowly lead your hamster right into the middle of your palm. This process again might take a few days. Hamsters do not trust that easily and it will take quite a bit of patience to get them eating out of your palm.
Pro Tip :If you’ve just eaten, always wash your hands before you touch your hamster. We do not want your hamster to mistake your hand as a tasty snack.
Step No.4: Picking Up Your Hamster
After a few days of getting your hamster to eat out of your palm, they are ready for the next step. When you see that your hamster is completely trusting you and is sitting still on your palm, cup your hands gently around your hamster and pick it up. Do not make any jerky or swift movements. Lift them slowly because there are chances that they might still get scared and jump out of your hands.
Pro Tip:Always have one or two soft pillows around you when you are planning to pick your hamster up.Hamsters are very unpredictable and when you’re handling them, it is important that even if you somehow escape from your hands and jump down, they land upon something soft and don’t injure themselves.
Step 5: Handle Your Hamster With Care
After you have successfully picked them up, place your hands gently on both sides of their bodies and slowly transfer them to your arms. Hold him or her there for a few minutes so that they can get used to the new environment around them.
Remember not to squeeze too hard. Also, do not make any sudden movements with your hamster because this can scare them. Keep your hands as close to the floor as possible. Since this is still the initial stages, you do not want your hamster to jump out of your hands and injure itself.
You can even walk around with your hamster for a few minutes, but make sure that you are keeping the environment quiet and calm. Do not start running or jumping because it will stress out your hamster!
Most importantly, do not let anyone touch or try to handle your new pet until they have completely accepted you as their owner, because they might get frightened and run away. Keep your hamsters away from young children and other pets in your household. This is a very important requirement when you’re trying to gain the trust of your hamster.
Keep in mind that hamsters are very active and energetic creatures. They do not like sitting still or idle for a long time, so they might end up moving quite a lot when you are trying to handle them. Do not try to restrain them forcibly and allow them to do their own thing.
Step 6: Let Your Hamster Explore In A Playpen or Hamster Safe Room
Once your hamster is completely comfortable with you, it’s time to let them explore their new home. You can set up a playpen in the next room that they are occupying or perhaps even create an area where they can roam around safely without getting into too much trouble!
Introduce them slowly by placing some food and water in this safe room.You can slowly start stroking them using a special mini brush or even using your hands. This will relax your hamster even more.
Step 7: Maintaining Bonding Procedure Continuity
It’s very important that you do not stop bonding with your hamster after a week or two. Continue to maintain the same process and care as before for at least three weeks. This will help your pet get accustomed to you and make sure they trust you completely.
Remember, every animal is different, so it might take more than just a few weeks for your hamster to get completely comfortable with you.
Keep the interactions between you and your new pet gradual, fun and stress-free! You can play around with their toys or let them explore on their own, but make sure that they are safe while doing so.
Pro Tip: If at any point, things do not seem to be working out between you and your pet, do not force them. You can always try again in a couple of days or weeks’ time!
Wrapping Up
Hamsters are one of the most popular pet options for families with children. They’re also great pets to have if you live in a small space or don’t want an animal that needs grooming frequently.
But, like any other creature on this planet, hamsters do need attention and they aren’t domesticated animals by nature after all! Follow these steps correctly when trying to bond with your new furry friend (or friends!) and it’ll be well worth the effort spent.
Be patient while waiting for them to settle down into their new home; allow time for adjustment before rushing over to play with them; always provide plenty of food and water; make sure there’s enough room in their cage so they can run around without feeling claustrophobic; and never, ever put your hamster in any sort of danger.
Remember to keep the environment very calm when you’re trying to tame them because this will make things much easier for both of you. Avoid sudden movements or loud noises at all times!
Give them time to settle down and have patience; I promise that the rewards of bonding are worth it in the end!
XoXo
Genie
Related Questions
How Long Does It Take To Tame A Hamster?
There are many different factors involved in taming your hamster. How long it takes to tame a hamster will vary depending on how comfortable they feel around you and new surroundings as well as the general temperament of the animal.
A more docile, friendly type may be easier to handle than one that’s jumpier or nervous, which might require extra effort from your end!
The entire process can take anywhere from a few weeks to one or two months (for some extremely shy animals! ), so patience is essential.Don’t give up too soon, because trust me; this special bond with your pet is definitely worth all the trouble!
Do not forget that every animal is different, so it might take more than just a few weeks or months for your furry little critters to settle in!
Are Hamsters Easy To Tame?
Hamsters are a great option for first time owners. They’re not very easy to tame, but the good news is that you don’t need any special training skills in order to win them over!
Just like with any other animal out there, they require patience when it comes to getting used to your touch or presence, so expecting too much from them right away can be difficult.
The best thing that you could do is keep the environment calm and peaceful while bonding with your hamster and take things one step at a time. Just remember: every pet has its own personality, so how long it takes may vary depending on who’s being tamed!
The first few weeks or months will be the hardest, but once your pet gets used to you and feels safe around their new home, it’ll become much easier.
It’s also really important not to make sudden moves when taming them because this could scare them away! Give your hamster time to settle down in his/her new environment; don’t push things too quickly as that can lead to unnecessary stress levels for both of you.
Do not forget: trust takes a long time to build up, so just relax and take one step at a time. I promise that this process is definitely worth all the effort put into it!