Syrian hamsters are adorable, personable rodents. The friendly, intelligent creatures make excellent pets. Taming your Syrian hamster allows you to develop a special bond with your pet and makes them more amenable to training.
Building up trust is essential to taming a Syrian hamster. Gradually acclimate the rodents to their new environment and your voice and touch to tame them. You’ll need to practice patience as the hamster settles into its new home.
This article explains everything you need to know about making a lasting friend of your Syrian hamster. These simple steps ensure an enduring bond between humans and hamsters.
How Long Does It Take To Tame a Syrian Hamster?
Each hamster has their own training threshold. However, generally, taming a Syrian hamster requires several weeks.
Precisely how long depends on the hamster. Some are more sensitive than others and require more time to adjust to handling. Some adapt in as little as a week. Let your pet set the pace. Rushing the process will make the hamster nervous and inspire biting.
Your hamster needs to bond with you to be tamed. This means dedicating time to handling and working together.
Syrian hamsters are nocturnal, adding another wrinkle to timing. They take to bonding and taming best if you work on their schedule. However, not everyone has free nights, potentially prolonging the process.
Taming a Syrian Hamster
Taming Syrian hamsters is a simple and straightforward process. Ideally, you should be as patient as possible as your new friend is adapting to confusing circumstances. Follow the steps detailed here and follow your hamster’s lead. This develops a lasting bond with your tamed hamster in no time.
1. Let Your Hamster Settle In
You can’t tame a nervous hamster, so allow him to make himself at home and adjust to his new environment. Allow several days to ease his nerves.
Don’t pick him up or handle him during this adjustment period. Your hamster will show you he’s comfortable in his home and ready to start the taming process when he eats, drinks, and plays in your presence
2. Make Sure Your Hamster’s Home Is Comfortable and Well Maintained
Keep your hamster’s cage in an ideal location and ensure he has all the comforts for a happy existence. A welcoming environment eases the adjustment.
A happy, comfortable home makes your hamster more susceptible and open to the next training steps.
Once your hamster adjusts, relocate the cage to somewhere he sees you frequently. You want your hamster to get acclimated to your face and presence. Put him somewhere you’ll pass or sit near often, so you become a familiar sight.
Additionally, you want your pet to adjust to hearing your voice. Speak softly around your hamster.
However, keep your hamster away from loud noises, as the rodents have sensitive ears. Make sure to keep the cage out of direct sunlight in a draft-free room with a steady temperature.
Ideal Syrian Hamster Environments
Like most of us, hamsters react best to instructions when comfortable and happy. Creating the perfect environment means providing every basic need.
Check your hamster’s food and water twice daily. Additionally, make sure their cage is kept tidy. Clean up any waste. Check your hamster’s food and water bowls for wood chips and bile.
Include a wheel or spinning disk in your hamster’s cage. He needs to vent his energy and run around. Placing these in their cage allows them to get plenty of exercise and stay healthy without ever leaving their enclosure.
3. Wash Your Hands!
Handling your hamster is a large part of taming the rodent. Your pet learns to associate your scent with comfort and safety. Clean hands ensure a foundational scent your hamster reacts favorably to, as he comes to associate it with security and treats.
4. Introduce Your Hamster to Your Paws
Begin dangling your clean, closed hands in your hamster’s cage a few times daily for several days. Your little buddy should approach your hands and sniff them. This familiarizes him with your smell and lets him know you’re harmless and well-intentioned.
5. Begin Positive Reinforcement
Once your hamster is used to your hands and scent, it’s time to start bribing them. Place a treat in your palm and allow your pet to approach you and take the snack.
If your hamster doesn’t grab the treat, place it in his bowl for later. Repeat this process several times to develop trust. Always let your hamster come to you, as being too aggressive will spook it and slow down the taming process.
6. Observe Your Hamster Closely
He’ll tell you when he trusts you. If he responds well to the sound of your voice or rushes up to your hands when you place them in his cage, he’s ready for the next step. Don’t move forward until your hamster climbs readily into your hand.
7. Handle Your Syrian Hamster
Now that your pet trusts you, lower your hand into an accessible position and allow him to amble onto your palm. Gently cup your hamster, so he’s secure, and then lift him out of the cage.
Sit on the floor. Your hamster may bolt, and if he falls off your hand, you don’t want there to be a great fall that could injure him. Gently stroke his back. Do this daily.
Properly Handling a Syrian Hamster
Syrian hamsters need to feel secure and protected to be tamed. Handle your pet carefully, and provide them with plenty of support.
- Watch out for nips. Hamsters don’t usually bite unless they’re provoked. However, the rodents are known to bite when they feel threatened or insecure.
- Wash your hands. You need your hamster to recognize your scent so he knows you’re his buddy and he can trust you. Additionally, if your hand smells like food, he’s going to want to eat it, and you may end up nipped.
- If you are interacting with your hamster during the day or any time aside from their nocturnal schedule, allow them time to wake up. Talk to them, rustle their bedding, and just generally give them time to rouse before you pick them up.
- Be gentle. Syrian hamsters are touch-sensitive and very nervous. If you’re not careful, you might spook your pet. Avoid touching their whiskers and noses.
- Start them off slowly. Your hamster is a little fellow in a big world and a new environment. Handling your hamster gently for 10 to 15-minute increments every day relieves their anxiety and shows them that there’s nothing to fear. You should be gentle and brief when handling a new hamster.
- As your hamster grows to trust you, he may want to explore you. Let him crawl up one arm and down the other, or move between your outstretched palms if he wants to. He needs to know you’re safe and trustworthy, above all else.
- Avoid their faces. Syrian hamsters have poor eyesight and can’t identify your fingers. They may find your digits threatening and bite.
- Stick to a routine. Repetition is key to taming your hamster. Remain patient and provide plenty of positive reinforcement.
Syrian hamsters are solitary. If housed with others, they pick fights and get aggressive. Make sure your pet has a home of his own.
Once tamed, Syrian hamsters can be trained. The rodents can learn their names and routines. They can be litter trained and do basic tricks.
Conclusion
Syrian hamsters easily adapt to new environments and circumstances. But to make positive taming strides, you should display patience and calmness. Show the little furball that you’re someone to trust, and they’ll be comfortable around you.
The key to taming a Syrian hamster is making them feel comfortable and safe. The steps detailed in this article provide the framework needed to make your pet a friend for life.