How to teach a hamster to use the toilet, hands and drinkers

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Cute fluffy hamsters are the most ideal animals to keep in the house. They are unpretentious in food, they do not need to walk two or three times a day on the street, they do not scream and do not ask for your attention at a time when you are busy. Caring for this rodent does not require much time, effort and expense. If the above arguments helped you make a decision in favor of getting a hamster, we invite you to read the further information provided in the article. From it you will learn all the main points of animal care: how to accustom a hamster to the toilet, to the feeder and drinker, to the wheel. We hope that this material will be a good hint and guide for you.

Educate a culture of hygiene in the rodent

How to toilet train a hamster? This important hygienic point will be discussed in the first part of the article. From the first day, as soon as you brought the rodent into the house and settled in the cage, pay attention to where it goes to the toilet. Hamsters, settling in a place, choose for theirphysiological needs of a certain area. This is where the toilet should be. Pour a special filler or sawdust into it. But not the fact that your pet will immediately go there to defecate. You can force him to do this by applying a tricky move. How to toilet train a hamster? Put some of that bedding on the filler. which was removed by you from the corner where the rodent initially satisfied its physiological needs. The smell of urine and feces will serve as a clue to him that this is the place for the toilet. The hamster walks around this equipment, sniffs it, and the urge to defecate will make him go there. In this way, your pet will understand where and how to meet their needs.

We make a toilet for a rodent at home

Equipment of this kind is sold in pet stores. It has a triangular or square shape, fits well in the corner of the cage. But you can easily and quickly build a toilet for a hamster with your own hands. How to do this is described in the following instructions.

Choose a small plastic container with a lid. On one side of it, above the base, cut a hole about 2.5 centimeters in diameter (1.5 cm for dwarf hamsters). Step back about 1 cm from the bottom of the box. Thus, during the entrance and exit of the rodent to the toilet, the litter will not spill into the cage. Sand the edges of the cut hole so that they are not sharp, and the small pet is not injured. Pour filler into the toilet and install in the right place. Such do-it-yourself equipment will need to bechange, as plastic absorbs the smell of urine, which is completely impossible to remove, no matter how carefully you wash the container.

Another type of homemade rodent toilet is the glass jar. Place a 0.5 liter wide-mouth container (250 ml for dwarf hamsters) in a horizontal position in the desired corner of the cage. Pour some filler into the jar. Everything, it remains only to regularly wash and change the internal contents of the container.

How to train a hamster to use the toilet, how to make this type of equipment with your own hands, you learned, and then we'll talk about other equally important points of raising a rodent.

Feeder

Food is best poured into a bowl for a rodent. It should be stable and not very light, so that the hamster does not turn it over when he leans on his paws or climbs inside. You can buy a feeder or make your own, for example, by cutting a plastic bottle or adapting doll dishes for this purpose.

As for drinkers, drinking a hamster from an ordinary bowl is not very convenient. He will turn the water over all the time, as a result of which he will be all wet and moisten the bedding. Here it is better to use special equipment.

Water fixtures

Option 1 - standard plastic cup. It is attached to the bars of the cage so that the flask itself with liquid remains outside, and only its spout is inside. Such a drinking bowl the rodent will not turn over andwon't bite.

Option number 2 - automatic drinker. It is a plastic container equipped with a steel spout with a vertical valve or two balls. Due to these devices, water is retained in the drinking bowl, and when pressed, it flows out. The main advantage of such equipment is that the water in it is not polluted, and it needs to be changed less often.

How to train a hamster to drink? Bring its nose to the muzzle of the rodent so that a few drops fall into its mouth. After repeating these manipulations a couple of times, the animal will understand what's what, and will start drinking water on its own. You can spread the metal tip of the cup with what the hamster likes to eat (jam, cheese, butter). While the rodent will lick the spout of the equipment, water will drip into his mouth. The animal will understand what to do when you want to drink.

Rodent apartments. How to house train a hamster?

In this case, you need to act in the same way as when accustoming the animal to the toilet. For the first two days, observe in which part of the cage the rodent will go to bed. Then put a house in the place chosen by him. Place fresh bedding there and a little of the one that was in this area before the installation of the equipment. Having smelled the smell of his lair, the hamster will go into the house.

But there are times when the animal does not want to live in this equipment at all. What exactly does he not like? There can be several reasons: poor ventilation of the house, an unpleasant smell, humidity. Consider these points, try changing the equipment. If the rodent does not likeplastic house, put a wooden or just a cardboard box.

Hamster Fun

One of the essential elements of equipping a rodent cage is a wheel. It is used not only to ensure that the hamster has something to do with himself. Running in a wheel contributes to the prevention of obesity in a rodent. Therefore, at night, when the animal is most active, put this equipment in a cage. How to train a hamster on a wheel? Put in it a piece of the product that the rodent loves. When it gets into the wheel, spin it a little. From the first time, the animal may not understand what happened. Repeat these manipulations several times. As a result, the hamster will start to enter and run in the wheel.

How to train a hamster to handle? Show patience and care

Hamsters are timid and shy creatures. Teaching them to handle is difficult, but possible. You need to act slowly and gradually. To get started, just go to the cage and stand near it. While you are pouring food, changing water and bedding, talk to a small pet. Try to treat him with a treat: a piece of apple or cheese. When the rodent becomes bolder and begins to take food from your hands, stroke it lightly with your finger on the back. Repeat these steps for several days in a row. Well, then take the animal in your hands. If he resists, let go and try again later. You already know how to accustom a hamster to hands, to a house, a drinking bowl and other things, and caring for a little fluffy will now be simple and easy for you.

Conclusion

So, step by step, you will teach your pet to live in his own cage and use its equipment for its intended purpose. But the most important thing is that he will start to trust you. Show patience, love and care, and the hamster, however, like any other animal, will respond in kind to affection.