Do Hamsters Get Bored? It’s time for a treat!

All caged up animals get bored, thats how i’ve always felt working in an 9–5 office job. It’s only natural for someone to think their hamster is bored. Should more time be dedicated to handling or giving your hamster a treat or some new apparatus to make your hamster less bored?

In this article we will explore whether hamsters can really get bored?

Is my hamster bored of me?

It’s actually unusual that Hamsters become bored of their owners, It’s more likely that your hamster is grumpy because you pick them up in the day time when they are suppose to be sleeping… Or sad/frightened of their human because they haven’t been tamed or picked up enough.

Other reasons for a sad or bored looking hamster can be from having a small cage and not enough fun things to play with such as a hamster wheel.

A day in the life of a hamster

Hamsters love to snuggle in their bedding during the day and become active during the night. When hamsters wake up they usually head to their eating bowl and sip some delicious water.

Hamsters like to store food in their pouches and hide the treats they find in their nest for snacking on later. In-fact hamsters hide all types of treasure in their nest, even bits of plastic from the cage that gets nibbled off some how.

At night time your hamster may enjoy spinning on the wheel all night. The hamster may stop to see if any other predators are around such as birds or cats. (This is a natural instinct that has kept the species of hamster alive in the wild.)

Hamsters will chew on everything and anything available, including fingers if the hamster hasn’t been picked up enough.

Hamsters like to keep busy, they have a lot of energy to burn and need a stimulating environment to prevent suffering with boredom.

What can make your hamster bored

Seeing your hamster asleep all day can come across as being bored to us, but this cannot be more wrong.

As hamsters become more active at night, you may not see them at their full potential. Humans naturally sleep at night hamsters naturally wake up at night.

If you were to stay up all night and just observe your hamster, you’d see a different type of hamster, a hamster on a mission, running around, gathering food and hanging on everything.

But, hamsters can get bored… And sad if they don’t have the following:

1. A hamster cage

A hamsters cage should be minimum of 24 x 12 inches. A bigger cage, is a better cage as long as there are some rooms available for the hamster to explore and nest. Hamsters love the darkest and most hidden places to hide.

2. A food bowl and water bottle

A hamster needs the food bowl and water bottle in a designated place.

3. A hamster exercise wheel

Most hamsters love to spin around in their exercise wheel and need to burn the calories and excess energy from all that delicious food and treats. A hamster must have a wheel to be happy or a big cage.

4.Hamster treats

Treats don’t just have to be the specific hamster store bought treats. Hamsters also love small quantities of greens, cleaned root vegetables and pieces of fruit such as apples. Don’t give them grapes or rhubarb, as these can be poisonous to rodents.

Does the hamster need a hamster friend to prevent boredom ?

Many people think hamsters will become lonely without a hamster friend, but this is usually an incorrect assumption. Hamsters can become viscous and fight to the death with other hamsters..and then possibly eat them!

If you do keep two hamsters or any other rodents together in a cage, make sure they are both well fed to prevent survival of the fittest and a fight. For hamsters to get on, they usually need to grow up together in a large cage for personal space and with lots of delicious food, treats and toys to play with. Introducing a new hamster later in the hamsters life is not usually a good idea.