How-To: Come with Kai

Want to teach your pet hamster to come when you call him like Kai does below?



First, gather your supplies. You will need a playpen, click pen, and your hamster's favorite treats.

*Important Notes*: Your hamster should be somewhat comfortable with you before you begin to train him to come. If he is not comfortable with you, you could possibly end up scaring him, which could harm your relationship.
Also, you don't want to lose your hamster while you are training him so make sure you keep him safe! His cage/bin, a playpen, or hamster proofed room are all safe places to practice.

Here are the steps to teaching your hamster to Come!

Step 1: Set up your hamster safe place without any toys. The smaller the space the better at the beginning. I started in a pen.
Step 2: Place your hamster in the hamster safe place.
Step 3: Have a treat in your hand ready to go.
Step 4: Call your hamster to come, followed by kissing noises until he reaches you. Don't give up if he doesn't come right away, your hamster doesn't have great eye sight and he will need to hear you in order to find you. Keep making nonthreatening noises until he finds you.
Step 5: Once your hamster reaches you, click your click pen and give him a treat.
Step 6: Remove your hand from the pen, let your hamster move away from you and try again.
Step 7: Keep practicing until your hamster can come when there are toys inside his hamster safe place. Then practice in a larger area.

Pros and Cons: Hamster Ball

Kai eating inside the ball.

There is a lot of controversy on hamster balls. Some people like them and some people don't. I tend not to use hamster balls. However, I did get one for the boys since every once in a while they both wake up at the same time. This allows me to place one into their playpen and, using the ball, prevent the other from just going back to sleep in his bin. This way we can switch half way through our play time and I can be sure both get playpen time. Sharing is Caring!

Here's a little information for you to decide whether you would like to use one with your hamsters or not.

Dillan running in the ball.

Pros
-  Better than being in their cages all day and night and never being able to come out to play.
-  They can explore more freely than just being held the whole time.
-  They are enclosed so they can't run away and get lost.
-  Owners don't need to watch them as much.
-  Can get a track which will diminish crashes.
-  They look cute running around in their balls.

Kai resting in the ball. He's not a big fan, though getting better.

Cons
-  They can't get out to rest.
-  Their toes might stuck/caught in the air vents.
-  Crashing into a wall is like crashing a car. The sudden jolt could injure your hamster.
-  There is not enough ventilation in the ball.
-  They do not naturally run the way they run inside the ball. On the ground they run with their noses along the ground so they can sense what is coming. In the ball they often run with an arched back and their noses high towards the sky.
-  They don't have good eye sight as it is, so even a clear ball reduces their sight even more.
-  Dwarfs tend to go to the bathroom inside and the ball and your floors can get messy.
-  They could chew through the ball.

Wee! Look how fast I can go. I love this ball!

I believe if you get the correct size ball for your hamster, a track, keep in mind that after about 5-10 minutes your hamster will probably need some water and a break, and watch your hamster so he doesn't stop the ball, chew it and escape you can very safely let your hamster use a hamster ball. However, if you are looking for a more fun way to bond with your hamster allowing him to walk freely and explore without the cumbersome of a ball I believe playpens are the best way to go.

Hi From the Crazy Boys!

The boys have been up for a long time tonight. Usually they get up in the early evening for a bit and then settle in until late night, 2 or 3am. Tonight they are outta control so I let them each write a little letter for the blog.

Kai

Hi Guys!

Mom thinks I'm getting fat. I'm not though, I'm just a little chubby. Anyways, tonight I got to spend a lot of time in the playpen. I don't mind it too much as long as mom keeps giving me seeds and some time to rest. She makes me run over the teeter totter over and over. The seeds stopped at one point so I just ran around trying everything. Eventually I tried walking over the teeter totter on my own and she started giving me seeds again. Yay! I think I'm starting to get the hang of this. It's so much fun. I'll do anything for a seed.

- Kai

Dillan

Hey Everyone!

Dillan here! I got to play in the playpen twice tonight. Mom says I was acting very crazy, but I just wanted to get outta my house so bad. I couldn't help but try to climb the walls. Mom gave me a bunch or seeds tonight. She doesn't make me work as hard as Kai. He's so stupid. All you have to do is act scared and Mom will basically give them to you for free! But some nights I like to let Mom think I'm getting less skittish so I walked onto her hand on my own about 5 times. Gotta keep her guessing.

- Dillan

Playpen Fun

This post is long over due. It should have been up about 2 weeks ago. Anyways here it is, 2 weeks late and not completely accurate anymore since recently Kai has been bullying Dillan, but that's a different post and not what this one is about. None the less, this is a post that gives me hope, as I look back at the photos, that they can work through their differences and learn to share and to get along.

So onto some Playpen Fun! (2 weeks ago.)

The boys have been settling in. They still are a little unsure to come out when the lights are on, but they are getting better each day. They have been having some play time in their playpen. They've been wrestling and chasing each other. No squeaking or biting which is really nice, just play.

Here are some pics of their play time.

Dillan in the sand bath

Kai climbing the ladder

Meeting at a tunnel entrance 

Kai playing with the seesaw

& again

Dillan back in the bath

Dillan chewing on the string for the wicker ball

Nose to nose

Rest time

How-To: Training Hamsters 101

Training your hamster should be relatively easy once you know the basics. He will respond best to positive reward based training. What does that mean? When he does something you like, give him a treat. Don't harm him. Hamsters often scare easily and harming him in any way will hurt your relationship with your new friend.

Herbert eating a carrot

First thing you will need to do is find out what kind of treats your hamster likes best. These will be the treats you use to reward him for doing the behaviors you want and like. It will also sometimes be the treats you use to get him to do the behaviors you want. Each hamster is different so take the time to try different foods and find out exactly what are your hamster's favorites. Also, keep in mind that your new friend is very small. You will need to make your treats small too. You might need to break up your raisin or peanut into 8-10 pieces so you can get the most out of your training treat.

Herbert getting ready to train

Next you will need a clicker. A clicker marks the good behavior and is always followed by a treat. Often it helps training progress faster. Use something that is soft sounding, not loud. A loud noise might scare your hamster. I am currently using a click pen as a clicker. Every time I click the pen Herbert gets a treat. He loves it!

Lastly you will need a place to train your hamster. You can train him in his cage or in a training arena or playpen. I would start in his cage and once he is comfortable with playing in his playpen start training there as well. Once he knows how to do his tricks in those two places start to practice in even more places!

So there you have it. The basics for training. Now you can get started.

How-To: Making a Training Arena

Herbert on his Flying Saucer

When training with a hamster it is important to have a place to train them outside of their cage. I'd like to call this a training arena, but most people will call it a playpen so I'll stick with that. I currently have two places to train with Herbert, a bin and a homemade playpen. You can use also use a store bought playpen or your bathtub. Here are some pros and cons of each.

A new store bought playpen will cost you somewhere around $15 though you might be able to find a cheaper used one at a garage sale, in the local classifieds, or on a website. I originally searched  for one of these, but they are hard to come by in my area and I don't want to buy a new one. I searched Craigslist which is great because you can search your local area and Ebay which is great because if you can't find it local many people will ship it to you. Store bought playpens are nice because they are chew proof. However, there's no bottom so you will probably want a cloth or tarp to go underneath in case your hamster has an accident. Also, I've heard that some hamsters learn how to climb over the walls.

A bin is an alternative playpen that's relatively cheap, about $10. You can pick one up at Target or Walmart or anywhere that sells storage bins. I'd go for something 60qt or larger. What I like about bins is that you can use them to store you hamster toys in once you are done playing. A playpen and storage unit in one! Also, you don't need a tarp because everything is enclosed and you can add bedding so your hamster can burrow while he plays. Downside, if you have a really strong chewer or you put something tall near the edges you can end up with a hamster escapee.

Herbert playing in his new playpen

A homemade playpen is basically free. I love that with homemade playpens you can make them as big and tall as you want. I made my playpen 1ft tall. Most homemade playpens are made from cardboard so you will need to be diligent about watching your hamster as it is possible that they can chew through or possibly squeeze under walls if place on certain surfaces. Also, you will probably want a cloth or tarp underneath in case your hamster has an accident just like a store bought playpen. However, if you want to sit inside the playpen to tame your hamster, not a problem, just add more walls of cardboard!

Here's a video on how to make a homemade playpen.


Video by ChocolateColors26.

Your bathtub can also be used as a great playpen and it's also free. When using your bathtub make sure it is hamster safe. Is it clean? Did you plug the drain? Are all chemicals and products safely out of your hamster's reach? You can also use a cloth to help your hamster get traction as he climbs around and a pillow if you are planning to practice taming so he has something soft to land on in case he falls or jumps from your hands.

Well, that's it for training arena ideas. Hope you can use, make, or find some of these in your area and give your hamster play time and training time outside of his cage.