How to Teach Your Hamster to Do Tricks

Training your hamster to perform tricks can be a lot of fun. Once you build a strong connection with your hamster, you can teach it simple commands like standing, jumping, and spinning. Running is a hamster's natural instinct, making obstacle course running a fantastic trick to teach.

Hold the hamster in your hands to create a bond. The first step to teaching your hamster tricks is to build a connection with it. Spend time playing with your hamster from the beginning so it gets used to your scent and voice. Take the hamster out of its cage, allow it to crawl up and down your arm, and speak to it softly.

• Use one or two fingers to gently stroke the hamster's back while speaking to it affectionately.
• If the hamster bites you or seems uncomfortable being held, return it to its cage and spend more time nearby. Talk to the hamster while offering its favorite treat as a reward. After a few days, try stroking the hamster again. It may take some time for the hamster to get used to you.

Find out what foods your hamster likes. Most hamsters are very excited about food. Sunflower seeds are often a favorite, but they can cause weight gain, so they should be used in moderation. You should experiment with different treats to discover your hamster's favorite while building a bond with it.

• If your hamster enjoys a particular treat, it will eat it quickly and wait for more. If it doesn't like a treat, the hamster will typically leave it unfinished.
• Some hamsters enjoy cereals like Cheerios, while others prefer small pieces of vegetables like raw carrot bits. You can try these to discover your hamster's favorite snack.

Hold the treat above your hamster's head to teach the 'stand' command. 'Stand' is one of the easiest commands to start teaching your hamster. Raise the treat above its head, out of reach, and say 'stand.' Your hamster will stand on its hind legs to reach the treat.

• When teaching your hamster a trick, you should go step by step. Start by getting the hamster to stand on its hind legs. Once it is familiar with the 'stand' trick, you can move on to others. Praise your hamster a lot when it succeeds!

Reward your hamster as soon as it stands and gently praise it by saying 'good job!' If the hamster doesn't stand up, don't reward it until it does.

• If your hamster seems uninterested in standing while you're waiting and repeating the 'stand' command, it might not be hungry. Put the treat away and try again later.
• If your hamster still doesn't respond after multiple attempts throughout the day, try using a different treat as a reward.

Teach each command individually and repeat it 2-3 times a day for 1-2 weeks. Typically, it takes 1-2 weeks of consistent practice for a hamster to learn a trick. Continue teaching the 'stand' trick daily, 2-3 times per day, until it seems to master it.

• Test how well your hamster has learned the trick by simply placing your finger above its head without holding the treat and saying the 'stand' command. If the hamster stands up, it has truly learned the trick. Reward the hamster for following the command.

Raise the treat slightly higher and move it upwards to teach the 'jump' trick. Once your hamster has mastered the 'stand' trick, you can start teaching it to jump. Hold the treat slightly higher and wait until the hamster stands up. Quickly move the treat upwards and forwards while saying 'jump.'

• If your hamster tries to jump for the treat, reward it immediately and say 'good job!'
• If your hamster doesn't jump, return to the 'stand' trick by bringing the treat closer, saying the 'stand' command, and rewarding it. Then try the 'jump' trick again. If your hamster still doesn't jump, put the treat away and try again later.

Use a hoop and treats to teach the 'jump through hoop' trick. In fact, some hamsters learn to jump through a hoop faster than they do a regular jump because they can see the object they need to pass through. Find a thin plastic hoop, a plastic or metal bracelet, or a spring-type bracelet. Hold the hoop in front of the hamster and raise the treat on the other side of the hoop.

• Say the command 'jump through the hoop' or simply 'jump' while holding the hoop and the treat. If the hamster jumps through the hoop, reward it immediately and say 'good job!'
• At first, be careful not to hold the hoop too high. Place the hoop low in front of the hamster, and if it seems easy for the hamster, you can raise it a little higher.
• Ensure the hoop is wide enough for the hamster to fit through easily.
• If your hamster doesn't jump through the hoop at first, go back to the 'stand' trick and reward it when it succeeds.

Hold the treat above your hamster's head and circle it to teach the 'spin' trick. Another trick that's slightly more challenging is teaching your hamster to spin. Hold the treat above its head. Initially, the hamster may stand up, but then move the treat in a circle, while saying the 'spin' command.

• If the hamster spins, reward it right away and say 'good job!'
• If the hamster doesn't spin, pull the treat back for a few seconds, then give the 'stand' command and reward it. If your hamster still doesn't spin, put the treat away and try again later.

Create obstacles using building blocks or food containers. You can create hurdles for your hamster to jump over using Lego blocks or wooden blocks. You can also use cylindrical food containers, such as those for sauces, for your hamster to crawl through. Start by placing a few obstacles on the floor where you plan to set up the obstacle course.

• Be sure not to make the obstacles too high; otherwise, your hamster will just run around them instead of jumping over them. If your hamster struggles with the blocks, try lowering the obstacles. If using food containers, you can start with narrower containers, like olive jars.

Add tunnels using toilet paper rolls or other cylindrical objects. Hamsters love running through tubes. You can use toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls, hamster tubes sold in stores, or bent plastic pipes. Place the tubes between the blocks in the obstacle course area.

• Hamsters often curl up to squeeze through tubes that seem too narrow for their bodies, but they enjoy it. Tubes with the diameter of a toilet paper roll are ideal.

Build a seesaw bridge with a board and a triangular piece of wood. Your hamster will also enjoy running up and down the seesaw bridge. You can make the seesaw from a thin board about 15-20 cm long and wide enough to match the size of the hamster. Place the board on top of the triangular piece of wood so that the lower end of the seesaw faces where the hamster will step into the obstacle course.

• Use a triangular wood block with a width equal to or larger than the board to achieve the best result. If the block is too narrow, the board might slip off to the sides.

Arrange the obstacles in a specific order and leave them that way. Once you have enough obstacles, place them in an order you think your hamster would prefer running through. Keep the sequence the same for a while until your hamster becomes familiar with the course and can run it independently.

Build walls around the course to guide the hamster's path. Use cardboard or building blocks to construct walls around the obstacles, about 15 cm high. Place the blocks close enough together so that your hamster doesn't try to run around them instead of completing the course.

• Large building blocks can create a sturdy wall. Large Lego pieces are ideal. If using cardboard, you can fold the pieces to stand upright or glue smaller pieces at an angle outside the wall for extra support.

Move the reward in front of the hamster as it completes the course. Once the walls and obstacles are set, place the hamster at the starting point. Hold the reward in front of it until it crosses the first obstacle. Continue moving the reward forward as the hamster completes each part of the course.

• When the hamster reaches a tunnel entrance, hold the reward at the opposite end of the tunnel so that the hamster has to run through it to get the reward.
• If your hamster gets confused and refuses to cross an obstacle, continue moving the reward forward in front of it until it gets past the obstacle.
• If the hamster gives up before completing all the obstacles, return it to the start and see if it can cross familiar obstacles. If it does, reward the hamster, then return it to its cage, and try again next time to have the hamster complete the entire course.

Place the reward at the end of the course once the hamster successfully completes it. When your hamster can complete the entire course following the reward, try placing the reward at the end of the course instead. Don't hold the reward; instead, use your finger to guide the hamster through each obstacle if needed.

• Sometimes, the hamster will quickly complete the course without needing finger guidance, as it remembers the reward is at the end. If your hamster does this, let it run the course several times before changing the order of obstacles.

• Avoid trying to teach your hamster tricks if it dislikes being held or tends to bite you. You should first build a strong bond with the hamster through other training methods before attempting to teach it tricks.