Everyone has their own ideas about taming and every hamster is different.
This page contains my tips which have worked well for me, and an article by Leanne Amos
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Before handling your hamster, wash your hands and then rub your hands in the cage bedding. This will make your hands smell familiar to your hamster. Take the top off your cage so you have easy access to your hamster.
When I start handling my babies, I put the cage on the floor and lift them up keeping my hands just a few inches over the base of their cage. That way if they jump (which they ususally do) they will only drop a couple of inches into their own cage and they won't panic. Never pick up a sleeping hamster, give it time to wake up or it may bite you. Watch for their ears to come right up into the normal position, then they are properly awake. |
Once your hamster has got used to you picking it up for a few seconds above the tray of the cage you can progress to taking the hamster onto your lap. Scoop it up with both hands and lift it onto your lap. Let it walk (or probably run) around your lap and just prevent it from jumping off by blocking it with your hands or scooping it up again and putting it back into the middle of your lap. Always sit somewhere safe so the hamster can't fall if it jumps. A young or nervous hamster will be jumpy and may jump off your lap onto the floor. Don't panic, just scoop it up again with both hands. Hamsters will not normally bite unless they are afraid and as long as you don't hold on too tight or squeeze, this method of handling should not frighten them. Talk to your hamster gently all the time and stroke its back. After a couple of minutes, scoop the hamster up in your hands and put it back into its cage. Let it walk off your hands. Don't handle your hamster for too long at a time while you are taming it, little and often is better because they will start to get a bit hyper-active after a few minutes.
Once it is used to being picked up, make a tunnel with your hands and let it run through one hand to the next, to the next. Keep handling the hamster for a few minutes several times a day and it will quickly become tame and be waiting at the cage door to come out and play with you.
Once it is used to being picked up, make a tunnel with your hands and let it run through one hand to the next, to the next. Keep handling the hamster for a few minutes several times a day and it will quickly become tame and be waiting at the cage door to come out and play with you.
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If scooping your hamster up with your hands worries you, you can use an exercise ball or an old icecream container to lift your hamster out of it's cage. Most hamsters will readily walk into an exercise ball. Cover the hole with your hands and let the hamster walk out onto your lap. Another way of lifting a hamster is to have a small wire grid which it can walk on to. I find if I place a grid at an angle in front of any hamster, they will always walk onto it and can then be lifted up out of the cage. You can leave them on the grid and stroke them and let them get used to your hands - then lift them off the grid back into their cage. I have found this to be a very successful way of handling hamsters which are scared of being lifted up.
Many people tame hamsters with treats but I don't do this. I don't like them to associate my hands with food!
I talk to my hamsters whenever I am near their cage so they are used to me. I will also open the door and give them food in their cage or tissue to tear up or a toilet roll holder so that they know my hand comes into their cage.
I don't give them a house when they are young, because they will hide in it and can be quite difficult to get out. I just give them a pile of tissue to make their nest with. I also don't give them cages with tubes and hard to access lofts when they are young. I like a cage with a lift off top so I can access the whole cage and handle the hamster easily.
Good luck - and remember to wash your hands after you have finished playing with your hamster.
Many people tame hamsters with treats but I don't do this. I don't like them to associate my hands with food!
I talk to my hamsters whenever I am near their cage so they are used to me. I will also open the door and give them food in their cage or tissue to tear up or a toilet roll holder so that they know my hand comes into their cage.
I don't give them a house when they are young, because they will hide in it and can be quite difficult to get out. I just give them a pile of tissue to make their nest with. I also don't give them cages with tubes and hard to access lofts when they are young. I like a cage with a lift off top so I can access the whole cage and handle the hamster easily.
Good luck - and remember to wash your hands after you have finished playing with your hamster.
This article was featured in the October 2007 edition of the Journal and is written by Leanne Amos. Leanne has kindly given me permission to use it on my website
Taming your Hamster
Depending on where you got your hamster from, you may need to tame it, especially if it is a rescue or from a pet shop. If you purchased a hamster from a breeder it will more than likely already be tame and you will just need to maintain and develop the taming process.
Syrians especially will need to be left alone for at least 24 hours after you have brought the hamster home and placed it into its new environment as they are susceptible to stress induced wet tail.
Taming is a gradual process that requires time and patience. You may find the hamster is scared of you at first so to help get it used to you follow these tips: speak to it softly in your normal voice and pick a name and stick to it and call it by the name every time you go near, offer small treats from your fingers to get the hamster used to your scent and taking yummy morsels from you, and slowly stroke it’s back as it eats to get used to being touched. If the hamster does not want to be touched at first then persevere but don’t stress the hamster out by trying to pick it up if it is not used to you.
After a few days, encourage the hamster out of its cage using an exercise ball or empty clean tub such as an ice cream tub. Either place it near the open door of the cage or take the top of the cage off and place it on the bottom of the cage so the hamster can climb in of its own accord. Take the hamster to your bathroom and use a dry, empty bath tub with the plug in the hole or somewhere secure and hamster-proof such as a downstairs toilet. If using the bath tub, sit in it and open the exercise ball/place the tub on your lap and let your hamster crawl onto you. Don’t make any sudden movements or noises and remain calm as hamsters can sense fear. Gently stroke the hamster and let it sniff your hands. Offer it a flat palm to see if it will crawl onto it. Let the hamster roam you freely to get used to you and being stroked in a different environment.
When you have tried this for 4 or 5 days then you can start to attempt to handle your hamster (less time if your hamster is confident and not scared). Always handle a hamster close to the floor in case it jumps and be ready to catch it if it does. It is a good idea to handle it the first few times in the bath tub (remember to put the hole in the plug) or secure area. Pick it up slowly, supporting the underside and the top of the hamster or cup it in both hands (most hamsters new to handling do not like being approached from above). Slowly let the hammy wander from hand to hand and use one hand to stroke it to let it know that you are not a threat. Continue with this until the hamster no longer appears frightened. Don’t force the hamster to do what it does not want to do, and take it at the hamsters pace rather than your own.
When you are confident that your hamster is becoming tame then you can start to pick it up from its cage and handle it as normal.
Remember that every hamster is different and that it often takes a while to tame a hamster, it is rare to tame a hamster in less than a month (dependant on age). Don’t give up if you feel you are failing at it, persevere and you will see results.
Leanne Amos
Syrians especially will need to be left alone for at least 24 hours after you have brought the hamster home and placed it into its new environment as they are susceptible to stress induced wet tail.
Taming is a gradual process that requires time and patience. You may find the hamster is scared of you at first so to help get it used to you follow these tips: speak to it softly in your normal voice and pick a name and stick to it and call it by the name every time you go near, offer small treats from your fingers to get the hamster used to your scent and taking yummy morsels from you, and slowly stroke it’s back as it eats to get used to being touched. If the hamster does not want to be touched at first then persevere but don’t stress the hamster out by trying to pick it up if it is not used to you.
After a few days, encourage the hamster out of its cage using an exercise ball or empty clean tub such as an ice cream tub. Either place it near the open door of the cage or take the top of the cage off and place it on the bottom of the cage so the hamster can climb in of its own accord. Take the hamster to your bathroom and use a dry, empty bath tub with the plug in the hole or somewhere secure and hamster-proof such as a downstairs toilet. If using the bath tub, sit in it and open the exercise ball/place the tub on your lap and let your hamster crawl onto you. Don’t make any sudden movements or noises and remain calm as hamsters can sense fear. Gently stroke the hamster and let it sniff your hands. Offer it a flat palm to see if it will crawl onto it. Let the hamster roam you freely to get used to you and being stroked in a different environment.
When you have tried this for 4 or 5 days then you can start to attempt to handle your hamster (less time if your hamster is confident and not scared). Always handle a hamster close to the floor in case it jumps and be ready to catch it if it does. It is a good idea to handle it the first few times in the bath tub (remember to put the hole in the plug) or secure area. Pick it up slowly, supporting the underside and the top of the hamster or cup it in both hands (most hamsters new to handling do not like being approached from above). Slowly let the hammy wander from hand to hand and use one hand to stroke it to let it know that you are not a threat. Continue with this until the hamster no longer appears frightened. Don’t force the hamster to do what it does not want to do, and take it at the hamsters pace rather than your own.
When you are confident that your hamster is becoming tame then you can start to pick it up from its cage and handle it as normal.
Remember that every hamster is different and that it often takes a while to tame a hamster, it is rare to tame a hamster in less than a month (dependant on age). Don’t give up if you feel you are failing at it, persevere and you will see results.
Leanne Amos
