Are Hamsters Friendly? (And Are They Good with Kids?)

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Hamsters are interesting little pets that many people enjoy. You probably already know that hamsters are popular pets, and that might make you want to get one for your family.

Of course, you want to make sure that a pet hamster will be right for your family before purchasing one. Are these pets friendly or do they prefer to be left alone?

Keep reading to learn about hamsters and what you should expect as a new pet owner. You’ll learn a lot about hamsters and how they interact with people.

It’ll make it easier for you to understand the needs of hamsters. Once you know everything, you can make an informed decision about whether buying a pet hamster makes sense in your situation.

Are Hamsters Affectionate?

Yes, hamsters can be affectionate, but they won’t be that way right away. When you first purchase a hamster, it’s going to take time for it to warm up to you.

Hamsters will be wary of humans in the beginning. Eventually, the hamster will learn to trust you and it’ll get used to your scent.

Typically, hamsters will get used to a couple of people that take care of them. So your hamster might get used to you and your significant other.

To get a hamster used to someone, it’s important to expose them to their scent. The hamster should become more comfortable around new people over time.

Hamsters show affection in various ways. They will allow you to pet them when they become comfortable with you.

Affectionate hamsters won’t act tense when they’re around you. If the hamster seems skittish, then it still hasn’t gotten used to you yet.

Are Hamsters Cuddly?

Once your hamster has become comfortable with you, it will indeed like to be cuddled. Hamsters will get used to their owners over time.

As time passes, the hamster will eventually enjoy being handled by you. This is assuming that you’re doing so carefully and keeping the safety of the hamster in mind.

Hamsters have been known to enjoy being cuddled and held by their owners. Just remember to be careful with the hamster so that you don’t harm it.

A pet hamster should enjoy being cuddled a bit. However, some hamsters do get a bit nervous about being handled in certain ways.

If your hamster doesn’t appear to like cuddling, then you shouldn’t try to force it. Handle the hamster gently and keep its feelings in mind.

You can build a rapport with a hamster when you take care of it well. Just be careful not to do things that the hamster won’t like or it could harm your relationship.

Are Hamsters Good with Kids?

Hamsters can be good pets for school-aged children, but children that are too young shouldn’t have hamsters. Typically, children under six aren’t going to be understanding enough to handle hamsters properly.

A young child might accidentally hurt a hamster by handling it too aggressively. It’d be better not to give a hamster to a child under the age of six.

Even if you’re giving a hamster to an older child, it’ll be important to teach your child how to handle the hamster. As an adult, you’re responsible for ensuring the safety of the pet.

Explain everything about handling the hamster to your child. Once they understand what they’re supposed to do, it won’t be so hard for them to handle the hamster from time to time.

It’s likely best for you to observe when your child is handling the hamster. If the child is mature enough to handle the hamster well, then it might not be as necessary to supervise things.

Don’t hesitate to get your child a hamster if you think they’re ready for the responsibility. It can help to teach them about how to care for animals.

Hamsters are relatively low-maintenance pets that are easy for kids to care for. You might need to help with some things, but it can be a very good experience.

How to Get a Hamster to Like You

Getting a hamster to like you isn’t going to happen overnight. Some hamsters might warm up to you faster than others, though.

To make hamsters feel at ease, you’ll want to provide them with an appropriate environment. Ensure that the hamster has everything that it needs in its cage to thrive.

This means giving it toys to play with, constant access to water, the right food, and a large enough cage. It might also be good to give it a sand bath so that it can have an easier time cleaning itself.

Your hamster will get used to your scent over time. Let it smell your hand and don’t try to handle it at first.

You need to let the hamster warm up to you before attempting to handle it. It’ll be a good idea to give the hamster treats so that it will start liking you.

At first, you might need to set the treats down for the hamster to eat them. Eventually, the hamster will become comfortable enough around you to eat treats out of your hand.

Avoid fast movements near the hamster since that will scare it. If you are careful and treat the hamster well, it’ll definitely like you.

Don’t take offense if the hamster seems skittish or scared for the first few days. These are prey animals that are naturally cautious until they get used to people.

What Types of Treats Do Hamsters Enjoy?

So you want to get your hamster to like you more by giving it treats. This is a great idea, but you need to know what types of treats to give the little pet.

It’s best to give hamsters food that they might try to eat in the wild. You can feed hamsters fresh veggies that have been rinsed under water.

People often give hamsters small bits of carrots or cucumbers. You can also feed them veggies such as cauliflower, spinach, romaine lettuce, squash, and certain types of greens.

As you might expect, there are also commercial hamster treats that you can purchase. It’s fine to give hamsters these types of treats, but you should do so sparingly.

You don’t want to overfeed your hamsters because this can lead to health issues. Hamsters should be given no more than two servings of fresh foods per day.

It’s best to give hamsters one serving of either veggies or fruits. Then the other fresh food serving should be some type of protein source.

Many people only give hamsters special treats such as fruit once per week. Just try not to go overboard with the treats since the hamster’s health matters.

How to Pick up a Hamster Without Scaring it

Picking a hamster up is something that you want to do the right way. It’s especially important to be cautious when picking a hamster up for the first time.

First, it’s going to be wise to wash your hands before handling the hamster. You don’t want the hamster to smell food on you.

Some hamsters might attempt to bite you if your hands smell like food. This likely won’t hurt you badly if it happens, but it could cause you to drop the hamster.

If you drop a hamster, it could cause it to get seriously injured. That’s why you need to be careful.

It’s also best to wash your hands when you’re done handling the hamster. These animals aren’t going to be perfectly clean.

Hold your hand out with your palm facing up. Allow the hamster to crawl onto your hand and then place your other hand over the top of the hamster.

Curl your fingers a bit to keep the hamster firmly in place. You can then lift the hamster out of its cage and bring it to your chest.

Do this slowly to limit the chances that you’ll scare the hamster. Trying to do this fast might cause the hamster to panic and try to get away, and that increases the likelihood that the hamster will get injured.

If you keep the hamster oriented toward you, it’ll feel safer. Hamsters will bite if they get scared, but you shouldn’t yell if this occurs.

Yelling will just frighten the hamster even more. As you handle the hamster more often, it’ll get used to allowing you to pick it up.

So long as you always do things carefully, it’ll be okay to handle your hamsters. Just don’t handle the hamster aggressively because you don’t want to accidentally hurt it.

What Things Scare Hamsters?

There are all sorts of things that scare hamsters. Hamsters will become scared for so many reasons.

One thing that you should know is that other pets in your home might scare hamsters. Hamsters are prey animals and this means that they will be deathly afraid of predators in your home.

Remember that dogs and cats are predators. It’d be wise to keep your hamster cage in a part of your home where the cats and dogs won’t bother them.

Loud noises might scare your hamsters as well. Keeping the hamster cage in the same room as a loud stereo or television might not be for the best.

Fast movements have been known to frighten hamsters. You should approach them slowly to keep from scaring them.

Sometimes loud noises from the outside might frighten the hamsters. Sirens from ambulances or cars honking their horns could cause your hamster to get scared.

Just do your best to protect your hamster from things. If possible, keeping a hamster in a room that isn’t too noisy will be best.

What Hamsters Are the Friendliest?

What type of hamster is the best to buy when you want a friendly one? Most people choose to go with the Syrian hamster since it has a good reputation for being friendly.

These hamsters are well known to get along well with humans. They’re among the most common types of hamsters sold in pet stores around the world.

Since they have good temperaments, they’re going to make good first pets for many people. These hamsters are easy to find and you’re going to enjoy owning one.

These types of hamsters can become very affectionate toward their owners. If you want a hamster that will get used to cuddling and being handled, then the Syrian hamster is a safe bet.

Of course, there are other types of hamsters that will work out nicely. Russian dwarf hamsters are great options when you want to own friendly hamsters.

Buying Russian dwarf hamsters will be great when you want to own multiple hamsters, too. These hamsters get along well with humans and they also get along well with other hamsters.

Chinese dwarf hamsters are another good option that you might want to try. These hamsters are friendly and relatively easy to care for.

Other common hamsters that make good pets include Campbell Russian dwarf hamsters and Roborovski dwarf hamsters. Take the time to pick out the hamster that appeals to you the most.

Are Hamsters Hard to Take Care of?

For the most part, hamsters are considered to be easy to take care of. They’re relatively low-maintenance pets when compared to many other common pets.

You don’t need to do too much to keep your hamsters happy and healthy. However, you will need to spend time interacting with these pets to keep them happy.

If you work a lot and don’t spend much time at home, it might not be wise to buy hamsters as pets. So long as you have enough time to dedicate to caring for hamsters, these pets will be fine additions to your home.

Do Hamsters Smell?

Yes, hamsters do smell a bit, but they won’t smell quite as bad if you keep the cage clean. It’s important to take the time to clean the cage so that it doesn’t get too dirty.

Many enthusiasts suggest cleaning the hamster cage thoroughly on a biweekly basis. You can put the hamster in a temporary habitat while you clean its little home.

Cleaning a hamster cage isn’t difficult, but you will need to remember to do it. So long as you maintain a good cleaning schedule, everything should be fine.

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