How to tame a hamster – Most hamsters are social and enjoy being held so that they can be tamed easily and quickly with gentle handling, treats, and a comfortable living space. While taming your hamster, you have to ensure that the stress and anxiety levels are low, otherwise the risk for the hamster’s bite increases.
Taming can help your hamster be happy and comfortable around you only if you do it the right way. If you begin without understanding, you’ll end up scaring your pet and making him anti-social. So, continue reading to learn how to tame a hamster without threatening him.
How To Tame a Hamster – Step By Step Guide
If you don’t want to get injured by hamster bites, follow the steps mentioned below to tame your hamster:
Provide Your Hamster a Comfortable Living Space
A comfortable living space should always be the first step in your list to tame your hamster. When you adopt a hamster, he needs time to adjust to his new surroundings. Most hamsters take a week or more to adjust to their new home.
During the acclimation period, a comfortable living space can speed up the process. Provide your hamster with a big-sized cage with good bedding and all other necessities. Place your hamster’s cage at a place where he will be least disturbed.
Loud noises, the presence of many people, and other pets can irritate your hamster. If your hamster has too many distractions, he’ll take more time to adjust. Hence, the taming time will also increase.
Ensure that you don’t disturb your hamster for taming training while sleeping. This will turn off your hamster’s mood badly and will make taming difficult.
Feed Him His Favourite Food Regularly
Most of the time, hamsters are hard to tame because they are afraid of their owners. Regularly giving your hamster his favorite treats will help him learn that you’re not a predator.
He’ll start trusting you with time.
By giving your hamster his favorite treats, you can build a healthy and strong bond with your hamster, which will make taming easy. You can also rub his favorite food on your hand and allow your hamster to smell it. This will help him recognize your scent early and understand that you’re his protector. You can continue doing this for a few days.
Help Your Hamster Recognize You By Your Voice
Introducing and making your hamster used to your voice will help you tame your hamster. To do this, go near to your hamster’s cage several times a day and try to speak gently. Your hamster will be afraid of you initially, but he’ll learn to recognize you by your voice eventually.
When you feel that your hamster is comfortable with your presence, you can try lifting the lid of his cage. This will help your hamster hear you better and make recognition easy. Just make sure that he doesn’t consider this as an opportunity to escape.
Give Your Hamster Time To Settle
You can’t tame your hamster in a few hours. You have to give him time to settle in a new environment, recognize you and his cage. Giving this time to your hamster is important; otherwise, he’ll remember you as a threat which isn’t a good thing.
While your hamster settles to his surroundings, continue pampering him with his favorite treats and speak to him regularly.
Try To Hold Your Hamster
When you feel that your hamster trusts you and isn’t afraid of you anymore, you can try to hold him. But don’t force this if your hamster isn’t comfortable.
To hold your hamster, you can place a treat on your hand and take your hand inside the cage. Your hamster will come to you if he is not scared of you. To help your hamster learn that your hands are safe, you can begin with adding treats with your hands in the cage occasionally.
With time, your hamster will become comfortable with jumping on your hand to get a treat.
Make Your Hamster Comfortable While Holding
When you hold your hamster, make sure he is comfortable. Allow him to move around and keep your other hand at his back to save your hamster from falling. The best way to start holding your hamster is just above your lap or some other soft surface to ensure his safety if he falls.
FAQs
The following questions will help you tame your hamster more quickly:
Yes, hamsters are easy to tame if you’re consistent with your efforts. You have to be patient and gentle during the process to make it easy for your hamster and yourself. If you shout at your hamster for not learning things, then you’ll make it hard for both of you.
The taming time varies for different hamsters. Some can get used to new things and people quickly, while others find it hard to adjust to new surroundings. So, on average, the time required to tame a hamster is anywhere between days to a month or even more, if required.
No, all hamster breeds don’t need the same effort to tame. Some dwarf breeds can forget interactions quickly, in less than 24 hours, so you have to interact with them regularly. Syrian hamsters have a sharp memory; they can recognize you even after a week. So, the effort you have to put in to tame a hamster depends upon the hamster breed you own.
Taming Hamster Concluded
Training pets is the hardest thing pet owners do. You can’t communicate your hamster things by speaking to him as they don’t understand your language. They can understand the gestures and efforts you put in over time. So, to tame your hamster successfully, first prepare yourself for a lot of effort, and once you’ve started, stay consistent and patient!
