How do I get my hamster used to me?

Question

I've had him for a few months, and I've had hamsters previously, but this one seems different. He hasn't become used to me picking him up yet, and for most of my hamsters, it only took a couple of weeks or so. Could the breed matter? If so, he's a Dalmation Hamster. Or could it just be his personality? The woman at the pet store said he's always been fine with being handled...

Answer 1

Well, different hamsters are like different people, so they have different personalities. Just give it a little more time.
Most hamsters can become tame in a very short space of time with gentle regular handling. Hamsters normally only bite because they are frightened.

If your hamster is a bit jumpy or nervous it is a good idea first of all just to get it used to your hand before attempting to lift it out of its cage. Try gently stroking the hamster while it is in its cage and offering it pieces of food from your hand. It will soon realise that it has nothing to fear.

Next try placing your hand in the cage and letting the hamster investigate, and step onto your hand, whilst keeping your hand still.

Once it is happy that there is nothing to fear, take off the top of the cage if possible or open the door of the cage, and gently scoop the hamster up in both hands. Do not hold it too tightly or squeeze it as this may frighten it.

Don’t lift your hamster too high as if it jumps from your hands and falls it may injure itself. It is always best to handle your hamster whilst you are sitting down so that if it does jump it does not have far to fall and will simply land in your lap.

Once you have taken your hamster out of the cage, and are sitting, face the hamster towards you - they seem less inclined to jump if facing towards you. Let the hamster walk from one hand to the other. If your hamster does attempt to jump, let it and then simply pick it up again. It is better to do this than try and hold onto the hamster which may cause it to become frightened. Once it is happy to step from one hand to another, gently start to curve your fingers around it’s body so that it can begin to get the feel of being held.

Before long your hamster should be happy to walk from one hand to another with your fingers wrapped around its body and you can then start facing it away from you whilst you are sitting down and letting it walk again from one hand to another.

Some hamsters are more nervous than others and may take a little longer to become accustomed to being handled. Be patient and gentle and your hamster should become very tame.

If your hamster is really frightened or has had a bad experience being handled and bites whenever handled, try handling it whilst you wear a pair of gloves and handle it as indicated above. The wearing of gloves will help your confidence which in turn will help the hamster. Once the hamster stops biting you can move to handling the hamster without gloves.

Don’t handle your hamster directly after you have been handling food. Hamsters have extremely poor eyesight and rely on their sense of smell - if you’ve just been eating an apple, the hamster will smell this on your hand and think that your hand is an apple and may have a nibble!

Syrian Hamsters are quite easy to handle because of their larger size. Russian hamsters tend to be a little more lively and are not quite so easily handled by small children. The Chinese Hamster is often a delight to handle as they just sit on your hand and use their paws to cling to your fingers - it is often difficult to remove a Chinese from your hand! Another point worth noting about Chinese is that if they are nervous they have a habit of emptying their bladder on your hand! Roborovskis are extremely lively and fast and therefore not a pet that is easily handled. They need to be cupped in your hand to avoid them running away, but they very rarely bite.

Younger children should be supervised when handling hamsters as they may unintentionally squeeze a hamster, causing it to nip or injuring it.
Most hamsters can become tame in a very short space of time with gentle regular handling. Hamsters normally only bite because they are frightened.

If your hamster is a bit jumpy or nervous it is a good idea first of all just to get it used to your hand before attempting to lift it out of its cage. Try gently stroking the hamster while it is in its cage and offering it pieces of food from your hand. It will soon realise that it has nothing to fear.

Next try placing your hand in the cage and letting the hamster investigate, and step onto your hand, whilst keeping your hand still.

Once it is happy that there is nothing to fear, take off the top of the cage if possible or open the door of the cage, and gently scoop the hamster up in both hands. Do not hold it too tightly or squeeze it as this may frighten it.

Don’t lift your hamster too high as if it jumps from your hands and falls it may injure itself. It is always best to handle your hamster whilst you are sitting down so that if it does jump it does not have far to fall and will simply land in your lap.

Once you have taken your hamster out of the cage, and are sitting, face the hamster towards you - they seem less inclined to jump if facing towards you. Let the hamster walk from one hand to the other. If your hamster does attempt to jump, let it and then simply pick it up again. It is better to do this than try and hold onto the hamster which may cause it to become frightened. Once it is happy to step from one hand to another, gently start to curve your fingers around it’s body so that it can begin to get the feel of being held.

Before long your hamster should be happy to walk from one hand to another with your fingers wrapped around its body and you can then start facing it away from you whilst you are sitting down and letting it walk again from one hand to another.

Some hamsters are more nervous than others and may take a little longer to become accustomed to being handled. Be patient and gentle and your hamster should become very tame.

If your hamster is really frightened or has had a bad experience being handled and bites whenever handled, try handling it whilst you wear a pair of gloves and handle it as indicated above. The wearing of gloves will help your confidence which in turn will help the hamster. Once the hamster stops biting you can move to handling the hamster without gloves.

Don’t handle your hamster directly after you have been handling food. Hamsters have extremely poor eyesight and rely on their sense of smell - if you’ve just been eating an apple, the hamster will smell this on your hand and think that your hand is an apple and may have a nibble!

Syrian Hamsters are quite easy to handle because of their larger size. Russian hamsters tend to be a little more lively and are not quite so easily handled by small children. The Chinese Hamster is often a delight to handle as they just sit on your hand and use their paws to cling to your fingers - it is often difficult to remove a Chinese from your hand! Another point worth noting about Chinese is that if they are nervous they have a habit of emptying their bladder on your hand! Roborovskis are extremely lively and fast and therefore not a pet that is easily handled. They need to be cupped in your hand to avoid them running away, but they very rarely bite.

Younger children should be supervised when handling hamsters as they may unintentionally squeeze a hamster, causing it to nip or injuring it.
Most hamsters can become tame in a very short space of time with gentle regular handling. Hamsters normally only bite because they are frightened.

If your hamster is a bit jumpy or nervous it is a good idea first of all just to get it used to your hand before attempting to lift it out of its cage. Try gently stroking the hamster while it is in its cage and offering it pieces of food from your hand. It will soon realise that it has nothing to fear.

Next try placing your hand in the cage and letting the hamster investigate, and step onto your hand, whilst keeping your hand still.

Once it is happy that there is nothing to fear, take off the top of the cage if possible or open the door of the cage, and gently scoop the hamster up in both hands. Do not hold it too tightly or squeeze it as this may frighten it.

Don’t lift your hamster too high as if it jumps from your hands and falls it may injure itself. It is always best to handle your hamster whilst you are sitting down so that if it does jump it does not have far to fall and will simply land in your lap.

Once you have taken your hamster out of the cage, and are sitting, face the hamster towards you - they seem less inclined to jump if facing towards you. Let the hamster walk from one hand to the other. If your hamster does attempt to jump, let it and then simply pick it up again. It is better to do this than try and hold onto the hamster which may cause it to become frightened. Once it is happy to step from one hand to another, gently start to curve your fingers around it’s body so that it can begin to get the feel of being held.

Before long your hamster should be happy to walk from one hand to another with your fingers wrapped around its body and you can then start facing it away from you whilst you are sitting down and letting it walk again from one hand to another.

Some hamsters are more nervous than others and may take a little longer to become accustomed to being handled. Be patient and gentle and your hamster should become very tame.

If your hamster is really frightened or has had a bad experience being handled and bites whenever handled, try handling it whilst you wear a pair of gloves and handle it as indicated above. The wearing of gloves will help your confidence which in turn will help the hamster. Once the hamster stops biting you can move to handling the hamster without gloves.

Don’t handle your hamster directly after you have been handling food. Hamsters have extremely poor eyesight and rely on their sense of smell - if you’ve just been eating an apple, the hamster will smell this on your hand and think that your hand is an apple and may have a nibble!

Syrian Hamsters are quite easy to handle because of their larger size. Russian hamsters tend to be a little more lively and are not quite so easily handled by small children. The Chinese Hamster is often a delight to handle as they just sit on your hand and use their paws to cling to your fingers - it is often difficult to remove a Chinese from your hand! Another point worth noting about Chinese is that if they are nervous they have a habit of emptying their bladder on your hand! Roborovskis are extremely lively and fast and therefore not a pet that is easily handled. They need to be cupped in your hand to avoid them running away, but they very rarely bite.

Younger children should be supervised when handling hamsters as they may unintentionally squeeze a hamster, causing it to nip or injuring it.
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Answer 2

The employees at the pet stores are just trying to sell the pets as soon as they can...It's just the personality. Here's some tips:

Put your hand in the cage and put a sunflower seed on it. Keep doing that every day for about a week. Hamsters are very timid. If he still hasn't gotten used to you yet, let him sniff your hand and climb on it. If he goes on your hand, Lift him up very slowly and gently. Any sudden moves can scare the hamster. Pet the hamster a few times. Then put him back in the cage. Do this every day for at least 10 minutes until you feel that he is comfortable around you. Eventually, if you continue the process, he might climb on your lap or even onto your shoulder!
Just remember how you would feel if you were picked up by an enormous giant! Think of your hamster as an extremely shy and fearful friend.

Answer 3

If you have something old and you don't care about it, wear if for a week without washing it. like an old sock tied to your wrist, not your feet, you want him to live, not die.
Let him lay on it. It will take a few more weeks.
Talk to him before you enter the room and while you are there, very softly.
Try some treats, but not to many, he will still run.
Hamster like the dark, maybe an old towel you dried off with a few times and placed over the top of his cage.
A familiar smell is a friendly smell.
Remember, your scent, not that of Cologne or deodorant.
If that doesn't help then see if someone else can handle him.
If he let's them do so, then the hamster has decided early on that he belongs to you, but you do not belong to him.
Either get him a hamster to play with or give him to some one that he likes.
Next time you are in a pet store, take home the hamster that comes and greets you in the cage.
He has picked you instead of you picking him.
That works for most pets.

Answer 4

There is nothing to do with syrian hamsters. Probably they just don't want to use it. I had 18 syrian hamsters at a time and they used hamster wheels very often. I'm not sure if you can train a hamster becasue they are not that clever as other pets. The best thing would be to leave them alone and some day they may just try it.

Answer 5

I think it might be you're hamster's personality. If you just got him a few months ago, you might still be new to him. New people are different than the people at the pet store and a new handler might be scary for a hamster because you are big and he is small. THe only way to get him used to you is to pick him up more often so he can get used to being handled. Cuddle him and tell him that you're not going to hurt him. Perhaps, try and give him a treat like a carrot from your hand. Hamsters will learn to trust owners that cuddle them and give them tasty treats!

Answer 6

I've never heard of a dalmation hamster, but it sounds like something is bugging the little guy. Do you have other pets you handle, maybe? They freak out sometimes from cat or dog scents. It could also be something else you are handling, like meat, or he could be sensitive to the perfume you wear or even the soap you use. Still, try following him slowly around in his habitat with your hand. If he still does not calm down in a couple of weeks of doing this several times a day, try changing soaps or handling him without wearing perfume or something (bathe first). Bribe him, too. Hold out treats and have him take them from your fingers. Try rubbing alfalfa betweenyour hands, too-- they usually love the scent. In time, he will get used to you. I had a gray and white named Seth who took a long time to calm down around me, but he was about the sweetest ever once he did. Give him time and be very gentle and understanding when he just doesn't want to be held. He'll appreciate that you care about his feelings, too.

Answer 7

Just do what you always did to your other ones and make your hamster comfortable. Or maybe you have to change something you used to do. maybe thats why your hamster doesnt want to be picked up.Maybe this hamster doesnt like to much attention so give the hamster some alone time and space.

Answer 8

After a while, you'll notice even when you go out for a bit or are away from him for even a few days at a time, when you come back, you may seem strange, but let him sniff you, then leave him and chances are he'll remember. He might also be sick. If he's acting hostile, or has any strange habits, take him to a vet. My dwarf hamster loathed me the first few days after I got him. He used to crawl up near his water feeder which was leaking and get all wet.

Answer 9

Hi - Ive had a lot of hamsters and have always found them fairly easy to tame, first week or so just putting my hand into the cage and gently stroking. Then after a week or so, maybe a bit longer, starting to pick up, just a little way off the floor of the cage. Kept going like this until they were used to being handled by me and havent had any problems. However, it might just be that your hammie doesnt like being handled. The last 2 hammies my Mums had have been jumpy, unsociable little buggers so maybe youve got one thats not very personable? But I say persevere and eventually he'll be used to you! Good luck

Answer 10

Personality and breed are factors naturally!

I would suggest picking him up and handling him quite often, if he
bites during this, try picking him up in a hamster ball...where he can still pick up your scent, but do little to no harm to your fingers! The more you handle him the better it should become!

Also, make sure he does have a hamster ball or something like this, this will get him used to his surroundings and see there is no harm to fear! I had one of those small fences that just fold up or unfold in your room for my timid hamster, it was just big enough for me to sit inside...but it allowed him to run around me and climb on me with his own free will, try this maybe, too!

Good luck!

Answer 11

It could just be a personality thing. I had two hamsters from the same litter, and they were very different. One of them liked to be handled, stroked and played with, while the other one was insane and suicidal (good fun though....never seen a hamster climb a set of shelves with the sole intent of jumping off the top). Guess which one died first? lol.

Keep handling it, but remember that hamsters aren't very clever. If it doesn't like it now, then it may never like it that much.