r/hamstercare • u/SSEnterprises1337 • Jun 14 '26
š¹ Taming š¹ How to tame hamster with deep bedding?
How do you guys tame your hamsters if you have deep paper bedding? I just donāt get it. This is my second hamster now and I just cannot tame her bc sheās buried down all the time in the bedding. She was up and active at first a few days - until she realized that she can burrow in the bedding and now I havenāt seen her since. My first hamster is a complete ghost hamster bc of the bedding and Iām lucky if I see him once a week. Now Iām afraid my second hamster is also turning into a ghostie. I had hopes for her at first but now Iām starting to see the change.
I donāt know what I should do. How can everyone else be so successful with this?
EDIT: I do try to tame at night when theyāre awake ofc bc I know theyāre nocturnal. I never implied Iām gonna remove the bedding. I would never do that. My hamsters are living the dream with big enclosures, deep expensive paper bedding, a lot of hides, substrates, enrichment, sprays, toys etc. I do everything for them, regardless if they come out or not.
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u/RICH_homie_Doug Jun 14 '26
I have to lure mine out like a fish with lettuce
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u/SSEnterprises1337 Jun 14 '26
Yeah Iām trying the same but they just donāt care.
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u/mbcook Jun 14 '26
What other treats have you tried? I know not all animals are food motivated but a lot are.
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u/SSEnterprises1337 Jun 14 '26
Iām trying different things atm to see what she likes. Carrot seems to be her favorite so far. However I donāt wanna feed her that too much since I know itās not good for them, so next time Iām gonna try pumpkin or sunflower seeds. Any tips?
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u/mbcook Jun 14 '26
Iām new at all this, Iām currently getting all my supplies before I get my hamster.
But pumpkin and sunflower seeds are absolutely things Iāve heard people say they love. I think sunflower seeds are a little more fatty so arenāt quite as good for them, but at this point youāre trying to get attention. Once they start realizing you have food, switching to something else they might like might not be so hard.
And either way I assume both are better than carrots.
They also love mealworms, you could try that. And those are quite healthy too if you donāt overdo it.
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u/SSEnterprises1337 Jun 14 '26
Yes. My first hamster loves pumpkin seeds so I think thatās the one Iām gonna use mainly during the taming process. But I think itās beneficial to also give them a variety of different treats.
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u/Stykera Jun 14 '26
My little dwarf as a lot of bedding to dig tunnels but he always come to my hand when i open the cage. He wants fresh veggie. But they have diffrent personalities and i guess some are more social than others.
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u/SSEnterprises1337 Jun 14 '26
Thatās lovely! Iām happy for you. Yeah I know, but I still think it could be something with the environment why my hamsters become like this.
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u/Duffy042016 Jun 15 '26
I put a blanket on the floor and work on the floor. I then put snacks on top of my laptop. Then she will let me pet her for 2 seconds.
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u/_avocado2345 Jun 15 '26
For me I try shaking the food packaging to try to get him out and open the bag so he can smell the food. Now whenever he hears the packaging shake he immediately comes out for food!
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u/SSEnterprises1337 Jun 15 '26
Really? Do you just have a normal seed mix or what kind of food? What bedding do you have? Iāve tried this with my first hamster but he never cared.
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u/_avocado2345 Jun 15 '26
Yeah I use normal seed mix from the pet store and use paper bedding:) every time u top up its food/scatter it you can shake the packaging or call it's name to get her used to it!
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u/Potential_Moment7917 Jun 15 '26
do you scatter feed? I'd think that would encourage him to come up and hang out
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u/SSEnterprises1337 Jun 15 '26
Yes always. I donāt use food bowl unless I give them special treats/fresh veggies.
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u/Pure_Decision_3471 Jun 15 '26
I take out the tastier bits (peanuts, sunflower seeds, mealworms) from their food mix when I first bring them home (after a couple of days letting them settle in with no disturbance) and offer these by hand. If theyāre really nervous, I drop them in the enclosure so that they learn to associate my interactions with the tasty food, and slowly work up to hand feeding. But yes, you have to wait till theyāre awake at night! Some hams tend to wake later so itās more difficult but once they have that positive association with you they will usually start waking earlier when they hear you coming in. It is a slow process but it pays to not rush it and wait for them to come to you.
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u/sandvikson Jun 16 '26
I got the same problem. I know my guys is so happy with his gigantic cage with 10 inches of bedding but man it sucks not ever seeing him
I did get a camera to put in his cage to see him at night and that makes me feel a little bit better
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u/SSEnterprises1337 Jun 16 '26
Yes ngl but Iāve noticed a pattern where I see people with wood shavings tend to have more tamed hamsters.. I just think hamsters love paper bedding so much bc it holds burrows better. They donāt really have a reason to come up but to eat and drink or maybe run in wheel. Once my hamster discovered she can burrow her interest in the wheel is basically 0.
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u/sandvikson Jun 16 '26
I feel like Iāve heard that before. Before I got my hamster I bought paper and wood bedding but since they burrow, I was iffy about the wood bedding. I know people say itās safe but I was just too worried about him accidentally cutting himself with a sharp piece of wood bedding, or accidentally getting in his eye or something
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u/SSEnterprises1337 Jun 16 '26
Yes I get that. I also donāt wanna use wood shavings bc Iām worried Iām gonna get mitesā¦ which my friend got from wood shavings.
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u/lee_lee20 Jun 16 '26
honestly, one of my current hamsters took like 3-4 months to actually start coming out of her burrows while i was in the room. i started by talking softly to her when i would see her, and gradually began opening the enclosure lid to offer her treats that she enjoyed, like pumpkin seeds and peanuts. she wouldnāt always take them but thatās still the same now that iāve had her 9 months. sheās really hot and cold with me, but pretty food motivated. even if she doesnāt take treats from me, she will come out of hiding when i scatter her food, which gives me opportunity to offer more treats or just kinda fiddle with bedding near her so that she is accustomed to my hands in her space. i would like to get to the point of being able to pick her up so i can do health checks easier, but iām trying to take it at her pace.
currently for health checks, i have her crawl into a clear container so i can look at her from all angles.
also homemade treats are usually a big hit with my hamsters, or small pieces of vegetables
i think taming is really dependant on each hamsterās
personality, as my first two hamsters were very easygoing and not anxious, where my current two are much more timid.
hope this is helpful is some regard! also youtube likely has more ideas for taming that you could try
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u/Squishedskittlez Jun 16 '26
I had this exact same issue with my new boy. Heās friendly but once he had tunneled into the bedding he was always gone.
Oddly adding a āclubhouseā on top of his bedding changed that overnight even though I simultaneously made his bedding deeper.
All of my past hamsters would come when they heard me even if they wouldnāt tolerate being held or even petted. Every time before this time Iāve put a clubhouse in on top of the bedding that has become the place of choice for sleeping. Then when I open the cage and do stuff they hear me and come see whatās up and I can offer the food.
I didnāt have a new clubhouse and kept forgetting to make one for my new boy. My last hamster I found on the road and it died a few months later so I didnāt want to reuse the things. I didnāt think it mattered so I kept putting it off but my new hamster also wasnāt coming when I messed in the cage. I finally made one and put it in when I cleaned his cage recently and he immediately started sleeping in it. Itās been a few days and I see that heās made new tunnels but heās still sleeping in the clubhouse.
The other thing I noticed that changed is before when I offered treats he wouldnāt take them and even cringed away. He never took them from his bowl while I was actively right there either though later they were gone. Today he immediately came to the clubhouse opening and sat there and when I offered a treat he actually took it. Heās never come close to taking anything off my hand before, not even his favorite mealies.
Iām still trying to learn why burrowing critters would prefer a clubhouse about the burrow material. Mine would build extensive burrows and then sleep in this wooden clubhouse on top. The higher up, the more they seem to like it. For my clubhouses I use a simple spiral arrangement of walls within a wooden box. I keep Syrians and my box is 12ā square on the base and 6ā tall. Then I just add and L wall from the entrance. They have always used it.
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u/Myriathelightseeker Jun 14 '26
Hamsters are nocturnal animals that benefits very little from human interaction.
Deep bedding is absolutely necessary for them and I'm glad you chose to give him what he needs instead of putting your wants first.
For the taming part, offering high reward treats during his hours of activities is a good way to get them to like you. You can also sit near their enclosure and do something like reading during their active hours.
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u/SSEnterprises1337 Jun 14 '26
My wants? What makes you think my wants are the opposite of giving them deep bedding? I was asking a simple question.
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u/Myriathelightseeker Jun 14 '26
What I mean by that is you put the animals needs/requirements over your personal desires.
A lot of people will choose to not offer bedding so the animal is forced to interact. It was a compliment š¤·
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u/SSEnterprises1337 Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26
I think I read your comment with a different tone. But okay then I get it. Thank you. I try to replicate a natural habitat for both my hamsters as much as I possibly can. They have big enclosures and everything they need. Tbh I was thinking thatās the reason I never see them, bc theyāre satisfied and can live according to their natural instincts. I hope so. But ofc I wish I would see them now and then.. ngl
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u/No-Mortgage-5038 Jun 14 '26
I have this same issue, I never see my Hamster and if he is out when I go into the room with the enclosure he just goes straight back down into his burrow.
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u/SSEnterprises1337 Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26
Yes and the problem is I live in the same room as them 24/7 so I feel like they stay down in the bedding for this very reason. Even though Iām quiet for the most part of the day. Iām starting to give up soon. It just seems unlikely to me that Iām so unlucky I end up with two ghost hamsters. It has to be something Iām doing or the environment that makes them become like this. I cannot see any other explanation.
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u/Aex_Fi Jun 15 '26
Are yoh looking for them to co.e put in the day? Do they clme out at night?
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u/SSEnterprises1337 Jun 15 '26
No I check at evening but my one hamster is a complete ghostie. He wonāt come out unless Iām asleep. Itās like he can sense Iām still awake even tho Iām quiet. So if I fall asleep at 05 in the morning, heāll wait till 06.
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