Keeping a hamster at home is a usual thing for pet lovers. We can have hamsters but can we actually tame them? Will the hamsters love us as and when they see us and live with us? We would like to answer the queries of the new hamster owners and here is our small guide for this purpose.
How long does it take to tame the hamster?
Hamsters may take longer than is supposed by the owners. So give it more time and see how easy it becomes for the owners to tame their pets. Do not expect the hamster to be immediately friendly when you bring it home. Give it at least 2-3 days to make it adjusted in your company. It will gradually love its new house and the new environment.
What is the fastest way to tame the hamster?
There are a few tricks that can help you to become friends with your hamster. The first thing that a hamster will notice about you is your voice. So you have to make the hamster adjust with the voice first. Do not try to lift it first but just speak to it.
Most owners do not feel the need of speaking with their pet, thinking it may not be able to understand those talk, but the reality is, may the words not be understood by the pet, but the voice and tone are quite well understood and felt by all the pets. When you will talk with the pet in a soft voice then it will gradually become adjusted to your voice and will start understanding you better.
Getting the hamster adjusted to your touch and specifically to your hand is your responsibility. As you will hold it by your hand, the pet should be well known in the area of your hand. It should recognize your hand from other people and thus it will be easy when you will hold it or lift it.
When it comes to holding the pet in your hand or making it recognize your hand of yours, you may start with placing a treat on your hand. As and when you keep a treat on your hand your pet will understand that you want it to come near your hand and ride it to get the treat. This way it will become smarter and closer to you.
When the hamster becomes friendly with you and recognizes your touch and feel, you can start holding it. But do not lift it at the first instance. First, let it understand that you are touching it without any intention of harming it. This way it will be confident regarding your touching and holding.
The hamster also needs to be taken out of the cage once in a while, so it can come closer to you. Holding and petting it can be done outside the cage and that will be ideal when you are trying to make a bond with it.
Taking it out of the cage and then trying to tame it is a good idea. When the hamster will be inside the cage, it will not feel the closeness towards you. It will have a sense of aloofness when it will be separated from you by the cage. So first take it out of the cage and make sure that the area where you take it out is safe. It should not have any exit point or some corner of furniture where it can run and hide.
After making it comfortable in the open space, try to play with it, touch it or pet it. See how it reacts. This way the bonding between your two will grow stronger.
How do you get your hamster to trust you?
When you first bring the hamster to your place, let it be free in a warm but quiet room. It will become adjusted to the new place and then you can allow it to come near you. Then you may walk near the cage of the hamster and try to make a call by its name. Keep the voice low so the creature does not get frightened.
The name should be repeated often so the creature gets used to it. Also talking to it in a soft voice and making the creature comforts in the most adjustable atmosphere is the right thing to make the hamster feel friendly and welcome. This way it will come out of its initial shyness and nervousness.
How do you tame a scared hamster?
The hamster needs to be placed in the most suitable atmosphere. It should feel easy and relaxed with a filled tummy and the right temperature. Trying to bond with a hamster that is physically unwell and mentally unstable is not the right decision. It may not be like to be friends with you in this circumstance.
Do not keep the pet in a place that has loud noise. Noise and light create an adverse effect on the hamster and it becomes anxious and stressed. Thus you should always make sure that the environment is calm and warm.
To begin the friendship, you have to make sure that the hamster does not get alerted by your presence. Instead of just putting the hand inside the cage of the hamster, keep the hand near the cage of the pet. Let the pet see and notice it, and react. If you try to grab the creature directly, the anxiety and fear will increase and that will spoil your chance of yours to become its friend.
Just letting the hand near the cage of the hamster will make the pet assured that you mean no harm to it. Let the hamster touch or smell it as its wishes. Do not force your hand onto it.
Next time you keep your hand near the pet, let there be some healthy treat. The treat will allure the pet to come near your hand and touch it if it already has not touched it. Hamsters are by nature curious. So if they are getting afraid of your extended hand then the treats will help you to be closer to the pet.
When the pet hamster will be comfortable in your presence and will touch your hand, try to lift it slowly. Do not grab it suddenly as that will again scare it.
The next step is spending time with it out of the shelter. When the pet hamster will be allowed to play outside the enclosure, it will be free to move around you. Then you can also feel that it has grown a connection with you.
How do you train a hamster not to be scared off?
Keeping a treat on the hand helps most owners to befriend their pet hamsters. However, some hamsters are shyer than others. So they may come and sniff the treat and then refuse to eat it. In such cases make sure that your hand does not smell of anything. Hamsters can smell to a great degree and if they doubt of anything or get some different kind of smell from your hand, they will not accept the treat from you.
So wash your hand with good quality soap but make sure that the smell of that soap does not stay in your hand. Odd smells do not mean bad odor, any kind of different smell will scare the hamster away.
