Behavior and Taming; The Basics

 

Hamsters are very sensitive animals and are easily alarmed. Their behavior indicates many different things, such as illness, stress, fear, and discomfort. 

 

Body Language: 

• Calm and content: Ears are relaxed, back slightly arched when sitting. 

• Sleepy: slow moving, ears laid back against head, irritable

• Irritated: Chattering of teeth, cleaning very quickly standing on hind legs with mouth open

• Frightened; Ears foward, cheeks puffed out, standing on hind legs, snapping with teeth, hiding

• Angry: Hissing, standing on hind legs, cheeks puffed out, fur standing up

• Stressed: Quick and timid movements, very quickly washing, ears straight up

 

Taming: 

Many people are under the impression that hamsters are all the same with identical personalitites and don't need to be tamed. That is very wrong, all hamsters are very unique with their own personalities. Never will you find two hamsters that are exactly the same, so the taming process is different for each hamster. No matter how calm and relaxed your hamster seems, when you first take him/her home you must give your hamster at the very least 4-6 days (best to wait longer) to settle in and adjust to their new home. I just want to make it clear that taming can be a long process. Patience is the key, always take it slow and don't rush. If your hamster bites or gets frightened during the taming process, then leave him/her alone for a couple of days until your hamster has calmed down. Go back a few steps. It took me nearly two months to tame my current hamster, and a few weeks for my previous one. So don't lose hope if it is not going as quickly as you'd like. It is a good idea to start getting your hamster used to your smell and voice. During those four to six days, you can talk softly to your hamster so they get used to hearing your voice and can feel secure when they hear your voice, but you don't want to go beyond that step until the later stages. After that, to get your hamster used to your smell, you can rub some clean toilet paper (used for nesting material) on your arms or neck and place it in your hamster's cage so they can get used to having your smell in their cage. After you have done that for a couple of days, start sticking your hands in the cage (moving bedding around, adjusting wheel/water bottle, etc) so they will learn to trust your hands and no longer be frightened of them. Next, if your hamster is comfortable with that for a couple of days then you can start giving your hamster some food from your fingers so they can learn to trust you. If your hamster does not come right up to you and take the food immediately, don't worry. Taming a hamster takes a lot of patience and time. Just keep trying and eventually your hamster will come and take food from you. Once you feel your hamster is comfortable with that, then put some food on your hand, and let your hamster sit on your hand and eat. Once again if they don't do it right away, dont fret. It took me nearly a month just to get to this step, just give it time and keep trying. After that step, set up a playpen, or put some blankets and pillows in a bathtub and sit there with your hamster and let them crawl on you, and learn to feel safe and protected by you. Then finally, during this step you can finally try picking your hamster up and holding him for awhile. Congratulations! You have now tamed your hamster!