one of the biggest questions I see is how do I bond with my hamster
or how do I get my hamster to like me?
now if you're coming onto this video expecting a solid answer
that is going to tell you how to bond with your hamster in one day
you are sadly in the wrong place
there are no magical or secret tips I'm going to share today
first things first you cannot compare your hamster to somebody else's hamster
we often will see videos on YouTube, Instagram, Tik Tok of these hamsters sitting in their owner's hands letting them pet them
or they fall asleep on their lap or they even come when called and you're like
I want my hamster to do exactly what that hamster is doing
that's just not likely to happen
animals are all individuals so they're all going to have different personalities
and your hamster is likely not going to behave the same way another hamster is going to behave with their owner
another thing i want to touch on is "heart pets"
and "heart pets" are essentially a pet that you bring home and almost instantly you have this
special bond and connection with them that is on a whole nother level it's like they're your soulmate pet
and you've just never had this type of bond with any other pet
this can of course can happen with multiple pets that you have but it usually doesn't happen with every single pet you own
when bonding with a new hamster the first thing I'm always going to recommend
is letting them settle in
the amount of days you wait to let them settle in, is really going to depend on a bunch of different factors
that is depending on is the hamster already seeming comfortable with you?
have they already been in a home where they've been interacting with humans?
do they seem really skittish or timid? have they had any traumatic pasts? or have they come from a pet store where
they were never handled by any other humans?
a hamster who was previously in a home with a family and they're used to humans likely is only going to need a day or two to settle in
whereas a hamster who is super skittish or had something traumatic happen in their life may need
a little bit longer time to settle in
the reason we want them to settle in is because a pet that is acclimated to their environment is going to be much easier to bond with
than a pet who has just gone to a new environment and is super overwhelmed
this can cause different reactions
like the animal may be so overwhelmed that they try to bite you or they're just hiding away
the next tip kind of goes along with letting them settle in and it is just getting them used to
yourself, the way that you sound, the movements that you make and your smell
hamsters have really great sense of smell so you could just take a little bit of toilet paper rub it on your hands put it
in the enclosure and that is just going to help them get used to your scent and it's not going
to be something new and scary when you go to put your hand in to the enclosure
you can also sit in the room the enclosure is in or sit right next to the enclosure and just do some normal things like
if you read books go ahead and sit and read a book you can even read it out loud in a gentle voice so
that they start to recognize and get used to your voice or you can do
some stuff on the computer or do some homework just something that is going to involve
you having to sit next to the enclosure so your presence is there
one of the best tips I can offer is create a routine with your hamster
structure is really important in any pet's life and when you're creating a routine with your hamster
say you are going in and feeding them at the same time, every day or you're going in
and changing their water or spot cleaning or doing something that involves their care
your hamster is going to start to learn this routine
they may realize that you come in at a certain time to feed them so they may even start to be awake a little bit earlier
to wait for you to come in and bring that food or bring them a treat
the next tip i have is kind of going to depend on the hamster and whether or not they are already comfortable coming into your hand
if they don't want to go onto your hand just quite yet
highly would recommend practicing lifting them out of the enclosure with a mug or a measuring cup
you can put a treat into there and just hold it below and allow them to climb in and then slowly lift them out of the enclosure
and then just put them right back in let them climb out
this is going to get your hamster used to that feeling of being lifted
because they naturally aren't animals that are going to often leave the ground
and the only reason in the wild a hamster is leaving the ground is usually because they are another animal's meal
once your hamster has gotten used to being lifted from the mug, measuring cup or
even climbing onto your hand they're going to start associating this as a positive experience
because this is when they get to leave their enclosure
they're realizing that hey this is the only way that i am able to come out
and so they're going to want to willingly go onto your hand or climb into that mug so that they're able to go somewhere else to explore
a great bonding tool can be snuggle sacks or kind of fabric pouches like the hoodie pockets or if
you even wear your sweater backwards and have the hood at the front
these can make really great just tools for bonding with your hamster if you want to sit with them somewhere you have kind of like a
safe pocket for them to sit in and feel comfortable it's going to be dark and soft
and it's not going to be too open so that they're not going to be kind of too intimidated by the space
now some hamsters like snuggle pouches and some hamsters don't so this is just going to depend
on your hamster but they can be a very helpful tool if you just want to take your hamster out
to sit with you
the next tip is one you've probably already heard about and that is bathtub bonding or free roam
bonding I'm going to call it
this is basically just when you sit in an area that is hamster safe
and this allows the hamster to be able to explore but also come up and climb onto you
and kind of explore you, climb on your legs, climb on your arms, stomach whatever
and get used to you not being a scary thing but rather just something that they don't need to be scared of
it is important to note that not every hamster is going to enjoy
bath to bonding or coming out into a open space it might be too much for a hamster
some hamsters may start showing some erratic behaviors while in the bathtub or free roam
and if you're noticing these things it's best to bring them back to their enclosure
the next tip is treats this is going to be probably one of the best
bonding tools that you can use
if you have a picky hamster
I am so sorry it is going to be a lot harder to try and bond with them, if they are not willing
or wanting to take food or treats from you but if your hamster is willing to take food and treats from you
but if your hamster is willing to take food and treats from you
this is going to be super-duper helpful in bonding with them because
feeding your hamster a treat is going to help them recognize you as the bringer of food which is a positive thing not a negative thing
you don't necessarily need to use treats to give your hamster every time
obviously, when you're bonding with your hamster you're likely to give more treats during this time because you want to continue to reward them
and that can start to get a little bit too much you obviously treats are meant to be treats, not
full-time meals
so instead you actually can just use really healthy things like you can try dried vegetables
or fresh vegetables that are cut into really tiny sections
or you can just use your hamsters regular seed mix
as a treat
this way you can give as much as you want and not have to worry about your hamster getting sick or gaining any weight
and the last tip that I can give is just have time and patience with them
like I mentioned earlier you're not going to be able to create an instant bond with your hamster the first day you get them or if you do that is
a rare occurrence
it's going to take days, weeks, months sometimes even years to get a really good bond with your hamster
and you have to keep at it. Definitely don't give up if you don't interact with your hamster for long periods of time then they're likely to not bond with you as well
just a quick editor's note if you are noticing that your hamster isn't making any improvements with bonding
it is quite possible that you have a ghost hamster
I have a full complete video about ghost hamsters here that you can check out
so i hope this video was helpful and i will see you guys in my next video bye