Who doesn’t like a bundle of cuteness as their pet? Hamsters are small, round, furry, and beautiful animals that make great companions. Their antics will make you laugh and holding them will bring you greater joy.
But you’ll have to think about many things before taking a hamster as a pet. They are very timid animals that can be startled easily. They need to be properly tamed and trained before picking them up or playing with them. In this article, I’ll explain to you step by step how to pick up a hamster without scaring it.
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What Is The Best And Safest Way To Pick Up A Hamster?
There are a few things to keep in mind when you are trying to pick up a hamster. Let’s see step by step.
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Wash your hands.
Hamsters have a strong sense of smell. So strong scents distress and make them panic. Washing hands before picking up your hamster will make him feel less agitated. Also if you have more than one pet hamster, the smell of one hamster on your hands can make the other hamster feel threatened. So always wash your hand before you touch them. Unscented soap is better because the fruity smell in soap can make them feel like your fingers are a treat. Also by washing hands, you can protect your hamster from bacteria and microorganisms protecting them from infections.
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Keep your hand on the cage.
We should always make sure that our hamster is not startled. In the wildlife, no one picks up hamsters unless they are a predator. So hamster needs to know that you are not a predator. Keep your hand on the cage and let the hamster investigate you. Don’t make a sudden movement and let the animal approach you slowly.
You can first try with a clenched fist. As the animal becomes familiar with your hand gradually unclench the fist with the palm facing upward. Hamsters tend to nibble to test unknown, new objects to get to know them. So if your hamster nibbles you, don’t jerk your hand suddenly. It can scare the hamster and make him not approach you. Instead, gently take the hand away.
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Let your animal be familiar with your hand
Hamsters are wary animals. They are easily frightened. So before trying to grab and touch the animal let the hamster approach you first. Don’t make sudden changes in its environment. The animal must see your hand approaching. Place your hand near the animal for a few minutes till it approaches you.
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Give treats
Treats are always a good method to be acclimated to the hamster. Hamsters love treats. So if you keep a few treats in your hand the animal will be encouraged to get closer to you. It will make him less afraid of you and make him come to you willingly. If you are thinking about how to pick up a hamster without scaring it This is a very good trick to try.
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Make the hamster feel secure.
It’s very important the hamster feels safe when you are holding him. So when the hamster climbs onto your hand It is very important for your hamster to feel secure in your hands when you hold him. When the hamster climbed into your hand you can cup your hand to support him. Make sure that the animal can rest comfortably in your hand. If the hamster doesn’t crawl into your hand on his own you can consider using a scoop. You can scoop them by scooping them up with the beddings. This will make them less agitated and fearful.l
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Gently Lift your hamster out of his cage.
Being Lifted from the ground can be a frightening and new experience for your hamster. So you need to take extra care while lifting the animal. First, face it towards you when it’s in your hands, and then left him up in a very slow and gentle manner. When startled the hamster might bite you because he is frightened. So if the animal tries to bite your hand blow air into its face. This will confuse the animal for a bit, wondering what happened then you can set your hand free from its grip.
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Carefully put it back in the cage
When you are trying to put the animal back in its cage it may try to jump off of your hands. So pay extra attention while putting the animal back because they can hurt themselves. You can cup your hands around your hamster, so it can’t escape but make sure that you don’t squeeze the animal accidentally.
When your hands are inside the cage keep your hand on the floor of the cage and let the animal walk off your hand. Don’t drop or push the hamster back since it can scare it.
If you are wondering about how to pick up a hamster without scaring it these instructions will help you when you are handling your pet please keep them in mind. Hamsters are very timid and unsocial animals their steps will help you to get family there with your hamster.
How Often Should You Hold Your Hamster?
In the beginning, you shouldn’t hold the hamster for long periods. Animal will feel agitated because he is not used to the sensation of being picked up. Anyhow you need to pick up and hold the animal regularly so the animal can become used to the process of being held and allows you to them pick them up. Once a day is an ideal to hold your hamster but if they are handling it well you can raise it to three Times. If it doesn’t like to be held don’t stress the animal. Give your hamster time and train it gradually.
How Do You Get Your Hamster To Like Being Picked Up?
When you just bought or adopted a hamster it won’t like to be held a picked up right at the beginning. So give your animal a week or two in its new home and surrounding. Give the animal a proper cage and other necessities to make him feel at ease. Don’t disturb the animal when it’s sleeping during the day and wait for the animal to get comfortable in the environment. Then look for signs that indicate the animal is at ease. It will eat drink and play when you are around if he is not wary of you. You can quietly talk to the animal to get it used to your voice. also giving treats to the animals can make them like you even more. Practice these for a few weeks and then try to hold the hamster. If it’s reluctant give more time and don’t force it. If you follow the above steps gradually your hamster in warm up to you and you’ll be able to hold him soon.
Hamster Handling Gloves
As I previously mentioned hamsters tend to bite, when they are scared, stressed, or agitated. So if your hamster is not used to being picked up you can use hamster handling gloves to protect yourself from hamster bites.
Which Hamsters Like To Be Held?
There are mainly five types of hamsters kept as pets. They are Syrian hamsters, Russian dwarf hamsters, Roborovski dwarf hamsters Chinese dwarf hamsters, and Campbell Russian dwarf hamsters. Out of these breeds, only Syrian hamsters are mostly outgoing so they like to be held. if you need a cuddly hamster you should go for Syrian hamsters.
How To Hold A Robo Hamster?
Roborovski Hamsters (Phodopus roborovski) are the smallest and fastest hamster breed you can find. They are very common pets in the world and live the longest compared to other hamsters. Holding a Robo hamster can be a little difficult task since they do not like to be held and don’t trust humans easily. So if you want to hold a Robo hamster first you need to give it time and space to get familiar with you and the surrounding. After taming the animal for some time you can begin to hold him. Following these above-mentioned steps, you’ll be able to hold your Robo hamster without much trouble. Even then you need to be quick. Because they have the tendency to run away when you are trying to pick them up, you’ll have to be faster.
I sincerely hope that this article gave you an idea about how to pick up a hamster without scaring it. Let’s be knowledgeable because only if we know the correct way, we can give our pets the best life.
Hello, my name is James and I’ve been caring for tiny pets for over 14 years with a passion. I enjoy passing on my expertise to other individuals in order for them to have the same amount of enjoyment as I do.
