How to Bond with your Hamster - YouTube

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