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.