A hamster’s need is pretty straightforward. Providing their basic needs, feeding them the right diet, enough spaces in their home to roam around, exercise, and play, plus attention or cuddles if they want it.
However, making them feel wonderful is more complicated than you think. You must equip yourself with the means to keep them entertained, exercised, and nourished. Don’t know how to tell if your hamster is happy? Read our guide.
With some time, discipline, patience, and perseverance, you should bear no trouble at all. Here are some of the guidelines on how to keep a hamster happy. So, keep on reading.
HOW TO KEEP A HAMSTER HAPPY
Be Knowledgeable
Owning a pet is a great opportunity, and you should be knowledgeable about hamsters for it to result in a mutually beneficial relationship. You need to read all the essential facts about hamsters and look for answers to the things you are confused about and don’t know. Being mindful of this will ensure that you’re tending to their needs rightfully.
Keeping a pet at home requires appropriate safety precautions. You can do this by carefully choosing the best housing, food, water, health care, and the right affections for them. Hamsters can get in a depressing mood, so it’s up to you to keep them satisfied at all times.
Not taking the time to educate yourself as a new hamster owner is one of the biggest mistakes that you can do. Luckily, there’s the internet that produces so many resources nowadays.
ALSO READ: Find out what species of hamster you have or getting
Get a Large and Safer Hamster Cage
In choosing hamsters as your pet, you should prepare yourself for the space needed in your room for their cages. Hamsters are joyful when they have enough space, and a larger cage means more ground for running that keeps them stimulated. You can read this guide on how to choose the best big hamster cage.
The recommended space or minimum size of a cage (glass, wire, or plastic or a combination) is 100x50x50 cm (4000 cm2) or 39x20x20 in (450 square inches). However, there’s no limitation on how big you want your pen; in fact, the larger, the better.
You should also ensure that the bedding of your cage is dependable and have at least 3 to 5 centimetres of the bottom base. This is one of the basic hamster supplies that you need from day 1.
You can also opt for homemade bedding such as cardboard, paper, and toilet rolls. Take note that before adding bedding, make sure it is free from termites and other insects.
Let Your Hamster Live Alone
Hamsters are naturally solitary creatures. They tend to spend their time sleeping alone rather than socializing with other rodents. Some hamsters, when housed together, result in fighting and eventually lead to acute stress.
When keeping a hamster as a pet, you have to condition them first in getting used to human interactions. And even though they prefer to be alone, never leave them for more than 48 hours. Indeed, hamster doesn’t get lonely, but they need fresh water, replenishing their food bowl, and an eye to make sure they don’t hurt themselves.
Feed the Right Diet
A happy hamster has the right diet. Just like any other animal, proper food nutrition (protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water) will ward them from contracting diseases. Hamsters can eat a lot of leafy vegetables and meat. We have a list of the best hamster food here.
The feeding routine can be done twice a day, morning, and evening. It is also best to prepare fresh veggies and fruits. It is also a known fact that hamsters like hoarding food. They do this in the wild because there’s a limited supply of grains. So, if you find your hamster’s stash, don’t take it away.
Tame Your Hamster
Hamsters are creatures of the wild, so they are more likely untamed mammals. But once you’ve shown them the proper way of training or how to keep a hamster happy, surely, they could trust you in stroking its beautiful fur.
First things first, pets should feel safe and comfortable in their new house. Once you are confident that the hamster is now in a secure environment, give them an appropriate amount of treats. Treats are a superb way for you to start gaining their trust without hamsters getting aggressive but that’s not the only way to properly tame your hamster. Read this collection of how to tame your hamster step-by-step guide. Daily human contact will give them a feeling of companionship, which will keep them happy.
Get an Exercise Wheel
Hamster wheels can cover their primary instincts to travel miles and miles in the wild. They need this wheel to release their tremendous amount of energy in a limited space. Running is also their first exercise, which burns calories to maintain a healthy weight. Hamsters also love playing on their wheels since it satisfies their cravings for exploration.
Always remember that you should choose your hamster wheel with regard to how big your hamster will be going to get. You can get this in many pet shops and be careful in choosing. A hamster wheel should not be squeaking when being run upon, and this is to ensure that it will not bother you and keep you up all night.
Apart from exercise wheels, you should also add multiple different types of hamster toys. This includes climbing platforms, hideouts, and tunnels. We have a list of the best toys for Dwarf hamsters and toys for Syrian hamsters.
Here’s how you can choose the right hamster wheel based on your hamster’s size/species and learn why hamsters like and need to run on the wheel.
Give Treats
Hamsters love their treats as how humans love a new gadgets. Giving them foods they surely love will elope and develop a bond between you and your hamster. The moment they begin to feel your presence gets them very excited. However, always practice giving them minimal since it can affect their overall health. Hamsters are prone to diabetes, obesity, and other health issues.
You can also give hamsters a treat that is healthy for their diet.
Make a Deep Bedding
Deep bedding should be at least five (5) inches deep or more. This will allow your hamster to dig deep enough to hide their hoarded food, make a nice comfortable sleeping den, or simply feel safe and play around.
When changing the bedding, don’t change all of it at once, do it gradually to avoid stressing your hamster. Here’s a list of the safest hamster bedding.
Give Attention
You can do this by giving them ample time in your day. It’s either you schedule a playtime or hold them with a maximum of 10 minutes a day. And take precautions since they can jump away from your hands and hurt themselves.
You can also set up a playpen on your floor. You can purchase a rodent fence in pet shops and install it somewhere grassy and let them explore in it for a while. Make sure to keep your dogs and cats away because it can shock your hamster.
ALSO READ: How to take care of an elderly hamster; looking after ageing hamsters
Place the Hamster Cage in A Quiet Location in The House
Hamsters always need quiet time on their own. They sleep during the day, and it is best to keep their cage somewhere free from human activities. It is ideal to leave them alone to sleep during the day, a hamster is most active at night. When their sleep rhythm gets disturbed by any noise, their mood shifts from cheerful to grumpy and irritated, which results in fighting off other hamsters or worse, biting you.
Hamsters have fantastic hearing, so what’s loud to you is deafening for them. So, keep your volumes down when having a hamster in your house. Further signs of this may lead to chronic stress that eventually results in bad situations.
Get Chew Toys
Hamster loves to chew on something. One of the benefits of it is keeping a hamster entertained the main benefit is to keep their teeth at the right length. However, not all chew toys are safe, hence, do your research before buying one.
Read our recommended safest and best hamster chew toys.
Create Tubes and Tunnels
Hamsters create tubes and tunnels in their natural habitats. They burrow up connections of shafts to store food and protect themselves from predators. Meanwhile, incorporating a system of tunnels and tubes in their cages makes them more comfortable and thus live happily.
Sometimes the temperature at night drops, so hamsters need to warm up and instead burrow up on their tubes and tunnels. Tubes also provide space for your hamsters to roam around and get to their nest for hibernating. However, shy hamsters often stay for a while in a tube, and this is fine.
Groom Your Pet Hamsters
Hamsters are generally tidy rodents and don’t require extra grooming. However, hamsters with long fur-like teddies sometimes get very messy in their cages. Some dirt may get stuck in their body and can only be removed by a brush with delicate bristles.
Other hamsters enjoy being groomed and sit still for you, but some may try and run away. You can also cut their hair short and remove harmful particles that may cause parasites. Learning how to groom your hamster on your own might take time.
If you’re worried that your hamster is a bit dirty, you can also use a damp cloth (not too wet) as an alternative to brushing the coat.
TIP: How to choose the safe and best hamster sand bath
Build A Natural Habitat
Many hamster owners believe that providing them with a cage with resemblance to their natural habitat will furthermore increase their longevity. Building a natural habitat doesn’t require that much money. You can put rocks, grass, willow, hay, cork, soil, sand, and a variety of plants. You can build wooden bridges and hide spots out of stone or willow. Just make sure to clean them very thoroughly before placing them inside the cage.
It is also best to incorporate multiple layers on their cages. And the more natural-looking it is, the better. You can always look for other ideas of pens around Instagram or Facebook. Feel free to ask away, and surely, they will help a fellow hamster lover.
Hamsters, whether domesticated, are still bound by their instincts. Creating an extensive, safe, and natural feeling in their environment must be the priority of every person who wants to have one. There is no limit on how classy you wish to design their cages, as long as you stick with the means of keeping them satisfied and healthy.
We hope that this post about how to keep a hamster happy has been useful in giving out tips on how to keep your hamster happy, if you have questions or suggestions, let us know in the comment section below.
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