What do you actually do with a pet hamster?

[alexandre]

We got a pet hamster about 4 weeks ago. Not quite sure what we're meant to do with it and if anyone can offer advice we'd be so grateful!

We feed it obviously, clean out its cage, let it out to run about in one room where he can't escape but he just tries to dig his way out by digging up the carpet incessantly, we also have a ball he runs inside and have tried setting up various adventure playgrounds for him but but apart from that, what can we do? His prime motive is to escape and he spends all the time just digging or trying to climb out. We can't cuddle him apart form stroking him because he just jumps or squirms out of our hands.

Is this normal, are we doing something wrong? I would like to give him as nice a life as possible not really being a fan of animals in cages! Is it because he is still young, will he calm down so you can actually hold him?

Oooh you dont' want to ask that on mumsnet! Here they will persuade you to put it in a casserole and slow cook for 2 hours with a vegetable stock and bean medley.

we used to let ours run up and down a large cardboard poster tube, hours of fun.

Apparently the more you handle it, the friendlier it will be, but I'm of the opinion that hamsters are the Devils Spawn and are Evil so don't believe it myself. Our last one had one red eye and one black eye and used to lie in wait for me to open the cage, just so it could sink its rancid teeth into my knuckle bone. Evil geniuses of the rodent family.......

They do get friendlier if you handle them. A good tip is to get into the bathtub with them and let them run all over you--erm, minus the bathwater, of course! That way they get used to your scent. This worked with ours. He was very shy at first but is now much more cuddly.

We had roborovskis which a very fast dwarf hamsters with kamikasi tendencies. We used to get a big cardboard box and play with them over that.

Thanks all of you and I'm glad Herbietea that there is hope that our Syrian hammy (named Nora Buddle!) might one day sit quietly and be calm. He (actually it is a she but we can't stop calling him he because we had a he cat for 17 years) is just crazy, so full of energy and so intent on escape it is quite stressful! If we put her on the lawn she would be gone for ever. We got one of those metal enclosures but she got out of that within 2 seconds.

She has never tried to bite us Serenity - is a hamster bite really painful? The teeth look very long and sharp!