It's OK to wake your hamster

[kfleck10]

I keep reading all these post about people not getting to hold their hamsters much because they are always sleeping. I don't get it. Wake it up! Never startle a hamster because it will bite you if startled. Don't try to pick him up until he is fully awake and out of his bed. But do wake him up and play with him. Otherwise what is the point of having the dang hamster in the first place?! There are lots of nice ways to wake up a hamster. Personally I train my three year old daughter just to put a bit of food into his dish if she wants to hold him. It works every time. He hears the food hit the dish, smells it, and comes wondering out of his nest right into his dish where she can grab him. If we didn't do this she would never get to see our hamster either.

I've heard that hamsters can be trained to expect to be woken at specific times of the day. Like for example, after school. If you wake your hamster every day after school he will look forward to it and may not even have to be woken after a while. He may be awake at that time waiting for you.. especially if you give him food at that time every day.

So for goodness sakes WAKE them UP!!!

[LilSnooPydOG]

It sounds easy, but it really isn't just a matter of waking them up. Think of it this way, it's 2:30 am, and your asleep. Someone just comes in and wakes you up. Would you like it? Yes, it is harder to play with them if they are asleep, but I hate it when people wake me up for no reason so I don't think a hamster would like it. Hamsters wake up at multiple times during the day, so you could play with them then.

When I feed my hamster, she gets up to get some food and usually comes over and gets on my hand so I play with her then. But I wouldn't just go in and grab her.

[kfleck10]

It is as easy as it sounds. I've done it with every hamster I've ever owned. My girls wake ours up all the time. My youngest was only bit twice and both times it was because she put her hand right into his bed and startled him during a nap. She learned her lesson though.

They are rodents for goodness sake not people! Wake it up, play with it and then let it go back to sleep. They will get used to it and it makes them more tame the more you handle them. If you never handle your hamster because it is always sleeping while you are awake it will not want to be handled at all! It isn't mean to wake it up, and it won't hurt them. If you play with and/or feed it every time you wake it up, it will look forward to you waking it up.

[LilSnooPydOG]

Them being a rodent has nothing to do with it. I find it hard to believe that they don't mind us waking them up. I didn't say it was bad or anything, I said don't just go in and grab them.

I play with my hamster all the time. But I've never had to wake her up, she just wakes up on her own. I could play with her for almost 4 hours because she gets up at around 6:00 pm and plays in her cage. I know it is the only way to tame them, and they are so much better once they are tamed. But what I'm trying to say is waking them up is more than just grabbing them.

[Cookie]

Them being a rodent has nothing to do with it. I find it hard to believe that they don't mind us waking them up. I didn't say it was bad or anything, I said don't just go in and grab them.

I play with my hamster all the time. But I've never had to wake her up, she just wakes up on her own. I could play with her for almost 4 hours because she gets up at around 6:00 pm and plays in her cage. I know it is the only way to tame them, and they are so much better once they are tamed. But what I'm trying to say is waking them up is more than just grabbing them.

I so agree! You can't just wake him/her up when it suits you,i guess its ok after 6-7pm but no in the afternoon, they will jus be annoyed and cranky!
Poor Hams!
Love cookie (whos chewing frantically) nd sally

[kfleck10]

That's great if you get lots of time with your hamster when she wakes on her own. My post wasn't geared towards you then. I have read a LOT of posts on this board from other people complaining that they don't get to hold their hamster hardly ever because it is always sleeping. That is not good to never hold your hamster because it will not be tame and then what is the point of even having a hamster? This post was for the people who hardly ever are awake while their hamster is awake and are afraid to wake it up. I just wanted to point out that it is OK to wake your hamster so you can have some time with it. Of course it is NOT OK to badger it all day and constantly wake it up! They are nocturnal and prefer to sleep during the day. But they can get used to being woke at the same time every day.

[LilSnooPydOG]

Maybe I didn't fully understand your post. I got the feeling that you were saying it was OK to just wake them up whenever you wanted.

There is nothing wrong with waking them up, but there are probably people who wake them up constantly. I agree that sometimes you just have to wake them up otherwise you will never be able to hold them. I was just trying to say that their are ways to get your hamster awake, but don't just grab them while they are asleep. :)

[xocharxo]

I so agree! You can't just wake him/her up when it suits you,i guess its ok after 6-7pm but no in the afternoon, they will jus be annoyed and cranky!
Poor Hams!
Love cookie (whos chewing frantically) nd sally


I agree too. From what I've heard, rodents live a really stressful little life (not to mention short). I really don't think its right to wake up the poor little thing just for your own convienience. I wouldn't want someone waking me up when I wasn't awake. I think its okay for little kids to do that because they don't know much better, its the adults that bug me. Adults know much better. I'm sorry if I sound extremely oppinionated (spell check??) and bratty- like.

[LilSnooPydOG]

[QUOTE=xocharxo]I agree too. From what I've heard, rodents live a really stressful little life...QUOTE]
...And stress leads to wet tail. I hate it when someone wakes me up for no reason. Well, I just hate waking up unless unless I'm fully rested, lol.

I can understand maybe every few days or so waking them up, because that wouldn't add as much stress as waking them up each day. I could also understand if they were dwarf hamsters, because you NEED to handle them each day otherwise they will forget human contact. You could not hold a syrian for a week and they would still trust you as much as they did before.

The only pet of mine I will touch when sleeping is my dog, because she continues to sleep while I pet her. Waking up an animal for your convenience isn't the greatest thing for them. You can say "well how else can you handle them" but if you can't deal with them being nocturnal, then they probably aren't right for you. Don't mean to sound a know-it-all or a little brat, but this is my opinion.

[Tumbledown]

I've read a lot of books on hamster care and they all say don't wake up your hamster while it's sleeping,it can stress them out and shorten their life span.They are nocturnal which obviously means they sleep during the day and are awake at night.A lot of books don't recommend them as pets for really young children because of their sleeping habits.Kids come in from school and want to play with the hamster which will be cranky if woken up and this can lead to bites.