Content

• Steps
• Warning

You will have fun training a hamster to do tricks. Once you have a good bond with your hamster, you can easily teach him to follow certain commands like standing, jumping and spinning. Running is natural for a hamster, so obstacle racing is a great way to teach your hamster.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Teach the basic commands

1. 

   Hold the hamster in your hand for bonding. The first step in teaching your hamster to do tricks is to build a bond with it. Spend some time playing with your hamster in the first place so that it gets used to the smell and your voice. Get the hamster out of the cage, have it crawl up and down along the arms and talk to it in a gentle voice.
   • Use one or two fingers to gently caress the hamster's back, lovingly talking to it while talking.
   • If the hamster bites you or does not seem like it is to be held in your hand, place it in the cage and spend more time with it. Talk to the hamster while adding the hamster's favorite treat to the cage to reward it. After a few days, try petting the hamster again. It may take a while for the hamster to get acquainted with you.

2. 

   
   
   Find out what foods the hamster likes. Most hamsters are very excited about food. Sunflower seeds are a hamster's favorite, but this can make them fatter, so use them sparingly. You should experiment with various treats to find a hamster's favorite food while bonding with it.
   • If your hamster likes something, it will eat it quickly and wait for more. If you do not like something, the hamster will often give up that dish.
   • Some hamsters like grains like Cheerios, others like chopped vegetables like raw carrots. You can try these to find your hamster's favorite.

3. 

   
   
   Hold the treat above the hamster's head to teach the command to "stand". “Standing” is one of the easiest commands to start teaching a hamster to do tricks. Raise the normal top of the hamster's head out of its reach and say “stand”. Your hamster will stand up on his hind legs to reach the treat.
   • When teaching your hamster to do tricks, you should teach it slowly so that your hamster learns step by step. Start by having the hamster stand on its hind legs. Once your hamster gets used to standing, teach another game. Praise your hamster a lot when it's successful!

4. 

   
   
   Reward the hamster as soon as it stands up and compliment it by saying “good!If the hamster doesn't get up, don't reward it until it does.
   • If your hamster does not seem to want to stand while you wait and repeat the "stand" command, it is probably not hungry. Please put the reward away and try again at another time.
   • If you've tried several times a day and your hamster still won't respond, try another treat as a treat.

5. 

   Teach each command one by one and repeat it 2-3 times a day for 1-2 weeks. Usually it takes 1-2 weeks in a row for a hamster to learn a game. Continue to teach your hamster how to "stand" every day, 2-3 times a day until it seems like it's really mature.
   • See how good your hamster is at this trick by just placing your finger above its head without holding the reward and saying "stand". If the hamster stands up, it already knows the trick. Reward your hamster for following an order.

6. 

   Raise the reward a bit higher and raise it up to teach the "dance" game. Once the hamster has mastered the "standing" game, you can start teaching it to dance. To teach this game, hold the slightly higher reward until the hamster gets up.Bring the treat forward with a quick move, while saying “jump”.
   • If your hamster tries to dance to the reward, reward it now and say "good!"
   • If the hamster doesn't jump, get back to “stand” by bringing the treat closer, saying “stand” and rewarding it. Then you can try the "dance" again. If the hamster still doesn't dance this time, save the reward and try again later.

7. 

   Use hoops and treats to teach the game to "jump around". In fact, some pupil hamsters jump through hoops faster than conventional jumps, because they can see objects that must pass. Look for a thin plastic bracelet, plastic bracelet, metal bracelet, or spring bracelet. Hold the necklace in front of the hamster and hold the treat up on the other side of the ring.
   • Say the command "jump through the hoop" or simply "jump" while holding the hoop and the reward. If the hamster jumps over the hoop, reward him with a "good!"
   • Be careful at first, don't hold the bracelet too high. Keep the bracelet low in front of the hamster, and if it seems like it can work easily, you can lift it a little higher.
   • Be sure to use the ring wide enough for the hamster to get through easily.
   • If your hamster doesn't jump over the hoop at first, go back to "standing" and reward when it does.

8. 

   Hold the treat over the hamster's head and spin it around to teach the game to "spin." Another slightly more difficult game you can try to teach your hamster is "spin". Hold the treat above the hamster's head. The hamster will probably stand up at first, but then move the treat away and move in a circle, saying the command "spin."
   • If the hamster spins around, you need to reward it right away and praise "good!"
   • If the hamster does not spin, collect the reward for a few seconds, then order it to "stand" and reward it. If your hamster is still not spinning, you should put away the reward and try again later.
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Method 2 of 2: Set an obstacle course

1. 

   Create obstacles with puzzle blocks or food jars. You can create obstacles for the hamster to jump over with Lego blocks or wooden blocks. You can also use cylindrical food jars such as sauces to let your hamster crawl through. Start by placing a few obstacles on the floor where you plan to set up an obstacle course.
   • Remember not to create the obstacles too high; otherwise, your hamster will run around instead of jumping over. If you find it difficult for your hamster to get past the obstructions, try lowering it. If you are using food jars, try a narrower jar at first, such as an olive one.

2. 

   Install additional tunnels using toilet paper rolls or other cylindrical objects. Hamsters inherently love to run through pipes. You can use toilet or tissue rolls, hamster pipes sold in stores, or meandering plastic pipes. Place pipes between obstructions in the obstacle course area.
   • Hamsters will often curl up to squeeze through pipes that seem too narrow for their body, but they like it. The toilet paper core diameter pipes are ideal.

3. 

   Make a rocking bridge out of a plank and triangular log. Your hamster will also love to run up and down the seesaw. You can make a rocking bridge with a thin board about 15-20 cm long and about as wide as the hamster's body. Place the board on top of the triangular block so that the low end of the seesaw on the hamster side will step up in the obstacle course.
   • Use a triangular block equal or wider than the plank for best results. If the block is too narrow, the board may slide down the sides.

4. 

   Arrange all obstacles in a certain order and stay the same. Once you have collected all the obstacles, place them in the order that you think your hamster likes to run. Keep the order of the obstacles for a while until the hamster gets used to the track and can do it on his own.

5. 

   Build a wall around the track so that the hamster runs in order. Use cardboard or building blocks to build walls about 15 cm high around obstructions. Place blocks close enough so that your hamster won't try to run around the obstacles instead of completing the run.
   • Large assemblies can form fairly solid walls. Large Lego blocks are ideal. If you are using cardboard, you can bend it so that the piece of paper can stand upright, or stick pieces of the outer side cardboard as support.

6. 

   Move the reward in front of the hamster when it completes the run. Once the walls and obstacles are in place, place the hamster at the starting point of the track. Take out the treat and hold it in front of the hamster until it clears the first obstacle. Continue to hold the treat in front of the hamster and move forward as the hamster completes its run.
   • Each time the hamster comes to the tunnel door, raise the reward on the other end of the tube so that the hamster has to run through the tube to get the reward.
   • If your hamster becomes confused and refuses to get over an object, keep moving the reward in front of it in the forward direction until the hamster clears the obstacle.
   • If the hamster gives up before overcoming all the obstacles, put it back on the starting line to see if it will pass the objects it knows. If so, reward the hamster, then return it to the cage and try the hamster to finish the run next time.

7. 

   Place a reward at the end of the run when the hamster has successfully performed. Once your hamster can complete the entire track following the reward, try placing the reward at the end of the track. Do not hold the reward but only use your finger to guide the hamster through each obstacle if it needs instructions.
   • Sometimes a hamster knows how to complete a track very quickly without requiring you to use your fingers, as it remembers that the end of the road has a reward. If your hamster can do this, have it run several times before changing the order of the obstacles.
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Warning

• Avoid teaching your hamster to do tricks if it doesn't like being held in your hand or biting you. You need to bond well with your hamster with other training methods before you move on to teaching it to be a game.