Hamster Care for Beginners

Quick answer

Hamsters are solitary rodents that are active at night, and they need far more space than most pet-shop cages give them. One hamster needs a large enclosure with deep bedding to burrow in and a solid wheel of the right size. Feed a varied diet of good hamster food with small amounts of fresh food, and let it sleep undisturbed during the day. Handle it gently and patiently, close to the ground.

Choosing a hamster

For a first hamster, a lot of people find a Syrian easiest. It's bigger and slower, so it's simpler to handle. Hamsters are nocturnal and fragile, which makes them a better fit for older children and adults than for toddlers.

The enclosure

Size

The small, brightly coloured cages often sold for hamsters are too small. They can lead to stress behaviours like bar-biting and endless climbing. Welfare guidance varies, but many hamster organisations recommend at least around 100 cm × 50 cm (40 in × 20 in) of unbroken floor space, and bigger is better. Large glass tanks, bin cages and purpose-built wooden enclosures are popular because they can hold deep bedding.

Bedding

Hamsters burrow. Give them at least 20–25 cm (8–10 in) of bedding in at least part of the enclosure so they can dig proper tunnels. Paper-based bedding and aspen shavings both work well. Avoid pine and cedar shavings, whose oils can irritate the airways. Also avoid fluffy cotton "nesting wool": it can tangle round limbs, or block the gut if eaten. Plain unscented paper or hay makes safe nesting material.

Essentials checklist

• Wheel: solid running surface (no rungs or mesh). The hamster's back should stay straight while running; this usually means around 28 cm (11 in) or more for Syrians and about 20 cm (8 in) or more for dwarfs.
• Hides: at least one multi-chamber or solid hide, plus extras.
• Sand bath: a dish of chinchilla sand (not dust) or clean play sand.
• Chews: untreated wood, cardboard, hay cubes, to wear down teeth.
• Water: a bottle or a heavy, shallow bowl; check daily that it works.
• Enrichment: tunnels, cork, cardboard tubes, scatter feeding.

Put the enclosure somewhere away from direct sun, radiators, draughts and loud noise. A steady room temperature of roughly 18–24 °C (65–75 °F) suits hamsters best. Cold can push them into a torpor, which can be dangerous for a pet, so keep them out of cold rooms.

Diet

Scatter the food around the enclosure instead of relying on a bowl. Foraging keeps them busy. Hamsters stash food in the nest, so take any fresh food out of the hoard within a day, before it goes off. Don't feed citrus, onion, garlic, raw beans, chocolate, sugary or salty human food, or anything sticky that can lodge in the cheek pouches.

Handling and taming

Give a new hamster several days to settle before you try handling it. After that, build trust slowly:

1. Talk softly near the enclosure in the evening when it is awake.
2. Offer a treat from your flat hand inside the enclosure.
3. Let it climb onto your hand on its own.
4. Scoop it up in two cupped hands, or use a mug or tube to lift it.
5. Handle low over a soft surface; a fall from standing height can badly injure a hamster.

Never wake a sleeping hamster to handle it. Never grab it from above either, as that's how a predator strikes. Short sessions, often, beat long ones. A bite usually means the hamster is scared, or your hand smells of food.

Cleaning

Every few days, spot-clean dirty areas and the toilet corner, and wash the food and water containers regularly. Don't change all the bedding too often. Clearing everything out wipes away familiar smells and wrecks the burrows, which stresses the hamster. Many keepers do a partial change every few weeks instead, depending on enclosure size, leaving some clean old bedding behind.

Health: what to watch for

Hamsters age fast and hide illness, so small changes count. For the basics of keeping other small pets, see the Small Pets Guide.

Contact a vet who treats small mammals if you notice:

• Wet tail: diarrhoea and a wet, dirty rear end, especially in young hamsters. This is urgent.
• Not eating or drinking, or rapid weight loss.
• Overgrown or broken teeth, or difficulty eating.
• Lumps, swellings, or swollen cheek pouches that do not empty.
• Hair loss, scabs or constant scratching.
• Runny eyes or nose, sneezing or noisy breathing.
• Lethargy, wobbliness or a hunched posture.

One of the simplest ways to catch problems early is to weigh your hamster every week on kitchen scales.

Common beginner mistakes

• A cage that is too small, with shallow bedding.
• Housing two Syrians, or two dwarfs that turn on each other.
• Wheels that are too small or have rungs.
• Placing the cage in a child's bedroom where night activity disturbs sleep, or in direct sunlight.
• Too many sugary treats.

Set up properly, hamsters are fascinating to watch and can get surprisingly tame. If you're looking for a hamster from a responsible seller, you can browse small pets on Paalo.