18 Things Hamsters Hate

In this video, we’ll discuss the top 18 things that hamsters hate and you should avoid.

Loud Noises
Loud noises are stressful for your hamsters because they have much more sensitive hearing than humans.
The sound of slamming doors, vacuum cleaners, horror movies, loud vehicles, blenders, or hair dryers can be terrifying for your little pet.
Bathing them
Hamsters are known to be very clean animals who groom themselves often. Therefore, they don’t need to a bath. These animals also have sensitive skin, and baths may result in dry fur coats and skin problems. Bathing them can send a hamster into shock.
If your hamster has dirt in a certain area of its body, you can spot-clean them using a damp washcloth.
Sand bathing is also something most hamsters love. Provide your pet with a container of pet-safe sand.
Waking them up
Hamsters are nocturnal slash crepuscular. This means they naturally sleep during the day and are more active at dawn and dusk. This means you should not wake up your hamster to play with them.
Instead, plan your interactions for late afternoon or early evening after they've had their proper rest.
Strong Smells
Hamsters have very keen sense of smell. This is why hamsters hate overpowering smells such as perfumes, deodorants, strongly scented soaps, lotions, garlic, and some air refreshers.
Essential oils are another thing hamsters dislike. Don’t keep them around your hammy, especially if not diluted.
Hamsters also despise the smell of citrus as well as olive oil.
Likewise, make sure not to use pungent cleaning products in their living space.
Cotton fluff bedding
Never use cotton fluff for nesting. Cotton fluff is harmful because it is not digestible. If your hamster accidentally swallows it, it can cause blockage in your pet’s digestive system and lead to death. Cotton can also get wrapped around the limbs and cut off circulation leaving the limbs dead.
Too much change too often
Hamsters hate any type of change if it happens too often. That’s why they are very scared when brought to a new home. They will need time to adjust to the new environment.
A dirty or smelly living space
Hamsters are very clean animals and they appreciate a clean, nice environment. Dirty and smelly homes will create mental and physical health problems for your pet.
Make sure to clean your hamster’s cage regularly.
Sharing their territory
Because hamsters are so territorial and rather solitary animals, it's generally best to only keep one hamster per enclosure.
Most hamsters don’t like to share their territory with another hamster.
Small children
Young children are unpredictable and impulsive. They can sometimes harm or frighten a hamster.
Keep in mind that hamsters are sensitive to mishandling. A hamster could be put in danger of being mishandled due to their special touch and support requirement.
Make sure every interaction between kids and hamster is supervised.
Not enough space to exercise
Although hamsters are small, they need plenty of room to exercise, burrow and explore tunnels. Hamsters are high-energy animals and their bodies are built to run. In the wild, hamsters run up to six miles every single night to search for and gather food.
So be sure to provide your hammy with an environment as large as possible with the enrichment they need to stay happy. Keep in mind that hamsters are burrowers, so your little pet needs at least 6 inches of bedding to dig, burrow, hide and stay occupied.
Socializing with predators
You may think it’s cute to introduce your little pet to cats or dogs, but these are predatory animals, and they can be very frightening for your hammy.
Visitors and strangers
As prey animals, hamsters are very skittish animals. They are fearful of unfamiliar people and weird new smells. Therefore, strangers or visitors are often perceived as scary, which generates a stressful experience for your little friend.
Having nowhere to hide
Hamsters are prey animals and open spaces without a place to hide makes them feel nervous and vulnerable.
It is important for your little pet to have a safe place to hide when they feel threatened or are spooked.
Being picked up
Hamsters are prey animals, and as such are not comfortable with being picked up.
But hamsters can be trained to enjoy being held. The key is making your hamster comfortable around you and used to your hand.
Traveling
Hamsters hate traveling because they would rather be at home where they feel safe. Being outside of their known environment makes them feel anxious and vulnerable.
Chasing After Them
Although chasing after your hamster may seem like all fun and games from your perspective, it can be devastating for your pet.
When chased around, your pet gets frightened and their heart rate could skyrocket.
Living with guinea pigs or rabbits
Hamsters, guinea pigs and rabbits are similar in size and all are prey animals but they should not be kept together in the same enclosure.

[Chipthecatdip]

Who else is watching this without a hamster?

[kirby]

So glad hamsters are finally getting the love they deserve! Hamsters need a lot more than people think. In fact, those terrible small barred cages that most pet stores sell are actually illegal in some countries because they're so inhumane! Wish some people would do a little more research before buying "fast food pets, " like hamsters.

[Trunghuynh]

As an introvert, I can relate with the hamster.

[itzs.xm]

Wow, thank you for the advice! I didn’t know that some of the things I am doing right now could be disliked by my hamster. With this advice, I am able to have my hamster, loving me instead of disliking me!

[RoxasLovrEvr]

I'm so happy the video has hamster cages that are actually proper (BIG tanks, DEEP bedding, lots of chews, toys, and hides) with no awful bar cages!!!😭😭😭 But PLEASE don't ever use a metal mesh wheel or anything else with holes!!! They can get their little paws stuck and break them!!! 😭😭

[HeyShiningStars]

I thought this video was gonna be inaccurate because of the click-baity thumbnail but this is a very good video.

[eluspets]

My hamster would like to take a moment to thank you for spreading correct information about her online

[Simphny]

I’m glad you used aquariums and larger looking enclosures in the animations. Very informative video that’s hopefully saved some hamsters from bad/inadequate care

[rosemarieurwin]

i really enjoyed this, the mix of animated hamsters and real hamsters made this an excellent and very informative video.

[MyCuteHamster]

Wow, this is a well researched video! Great job! ❤ I would not expect this from a channel that isn't about hamsters or pets. There are small inaccuracies here and there not directly related to the list but all of the things you've pointed out are correct. I would just add two more things, a wheel of wrong size and type, and a hamster ball. A small wheel bends their spine in a U shape and can lead to permanent damage and a wire or mesh wheel can break their leg or foot. A hamster ball is stressful, has poor ventilation and often can break their foot. They should never ever be used.

[hamham]

My hamsters finally got saved by video, because I had no idea that I was hurting my hams.Thank you, you saved the day for my ham hams.❤😊

[cassicloud]

On my 8th birthday I went on a ASDA trip with my family, they stopped in front of the pet store saying that they are getting food for my dog. I asked if I can have a hamster. They kept trying to keep it going and eventually said "that's what we're here for.". That's when I got Star (I called him Starby fsr), I had him for 3 years! When I found out he died I was devastated, but I'm better now xx

[pumkinthehamster]

This video is so well done and I was very surprised it would show such great hamster care! The animated cages shown in the video looked amazing with deep bedding, sand bath, and so much detail with grapevine wood and cork logs! I don’t see these type of videos often done as well researched as this one. Great job !!💖🐹🐹

[makemelaughaturcommentchal]

The cages in this animation are amazing!

[justabanana]

Aaah thank you for this video! 🤩 always glad to see channels sharing proper hamster care, since there's so much misinformations out there sometimes! Hopefully this will help future or current hamster owners 😊

I'd also just add that the wheel at 5:48 is way too small (you can tell because of the hammie's back being curved, which will cause health problems!)

The wheel in the animation shown right after is also not good, but this time because it is a wired one (which hurts the hammy's feet, and can injure them if caught in the wires 😱)

So the best wheel is one that is full (aka not wired or meshed) & That has a diameter of around 30cm (12inch) for a syrian hamster, or around 20cm (8inch) for a dwarf hamster! :D

Oh and the enclosure/cage would be at least 100×50cm in size (which is around 39×19inch I think? 🤔)
I mean it's not the minimum in every countries, of course, but from what I've learned and seen, I personally think it's a good minimum size! ^^ (I bought a second-hand glass cage/tank with these dimensions for very cheap! There's also big cages DIYs on youtube! So yeah, hope that helps!)

((I also made a playlist of hamster care & infos, with videos from Victoria Raechel, SomethingAnimal, Munchie's Place, etc 👀 which I recommend their content if you love hamsters and other pets, or want to learn more! 🐹🧡))

[magivenderstudios]

My whole life is an hamster, that I realize why all these things makes relatable like cold and hot temperatures, loud noises, children’s being crazy, dirty to clean new environments and new people

[biryanilover]

For NO 16 the only reason you should wake a hamster up is for vet appointments and treatments and medications.
Also pet-safe sand for hamsters is reptile sand with no calcium and added dyes.
Edit: OMG, The hamsters back is curving!

[Sabishi]

That's a great video about hamsters! I was suprised to see so much correct information! :D

I would like to add some things tho:
- a hamster's cage should be at least 100x50cm (40x20 inches) big
- when buying a wheel it's impotant to buy one with a closed running surface. Also don't buy a wheel which could get your hamster trapped! Also the size matters: Make sure your hamster's back doesn't have to bent while they're running
- don't place your hamster on grids. It's hurthing their feet over time
- a good diet doesn't only consist of grains. Hamsters also need protein (mealworms, shrimps, eggs, yogurt) and veggies (no fruits for dwarf hamsters tho)
- hamster balls are NOT a good toy. Your hamster freaks out in them because he can't see properly and he's constantly bumping into things, which is very scary for them
- hamsters need access to a large playpen for at least an hour every day. Not every hamster enjoys it tho, so keep an eye on them and don't force them if they look to scared. If they DO like the playpen tho it's a great way to introduce them to new toys every now and then. Or just sit down and be a big toy yourself. :D

[ManShOwO]

I love how accurate this is! More people should know what hamsters actually need instead of what your average petstore says.

[walfredlim]

This is most accurate information about hamster by far! Absolutely loving it! It would be great if include min. wheel size & cage size for different spices of hamster. (Even though the video did mention about big space and size)