Hamsters are cute little animals, and having one crawl into your pocket will be nothing short of exciting. But hamsters are known to be territorial animals who don’t hesitate to use their teeth when they feel threatened. Does that make it unsafe to carry a hamster in your pocket?
You may be able to carry your hamster in your pocket, but many hamsters also object to this. Hamsters differ in behavior – while some will bite before you try to carry them in your pocket, some do like being carried around in pockets.
If you’re getting a hamster for the first time, it’s not recommended to carry it in your pocket immediately. This article will show you the essential first steps to ensure that your hamster doesn’t react aggressively when carried in the pocket.
How to Carry a Hamster in Your Pocket
Before trying to carry your hamster in your pocket, you want to make sure that it doesn’t react actively when you carry it ordinarily. After getting it to trust you, you can explore the possibilities of carrying it in your pocket.
It’s important to note that not all hamsters like being in pockets. If your hamster doesn’t fancy the idea, no amount of trust could bring it to tolerate being in your pocket.
Here are some tips that could help you get your hamster to trust you well enough to handle it and carry it in your pocket.
1. Wash your hands before touching the hamster
Hamsters watch out for strange smells and can bite if they deem a certain smell threatening. Since you handle many things, you don’t know if you have a threatening smell on your hands. Washing your hands anyways is always the safest option before handling a hamster.
2. Don’t sneak up on your hamster
Hamsters instinctively try to prevent themselves from harm. Many predators sneak upon hamsters, and they may bite if you’re as sneaky as a predator. Before trying to carry a hamster, ensure that it is aware of your presence to avoid unnecessary bites.
3. Let it crawl up to your pocket
After handling your hamster for a while, it should naturally crawl up to your pocket if it’s into it. Hamsters feel safer in enclosed places, and they actively seek them.
If your hamster doesn’t crawl into your pocket naturally, you can try putting them in there. If they crawl out every time, they may be uninterested in staying in your pocket after all.
Do Hamsters Need a Travel Cage?
While a travel cage will help your hamster while traveling over long distances, hamsters don’t need it. Hamsters are usually good travelers, and you should be fine by transporting them in their regular cage.
However, if their regular cage is too big to be carried in your car, you can resort to getting a travel carrier. Either way, you should take some precautions to make sure that the trip isn’t a terrifying experience for your hamster.
Before carrying your hamster in a car, you should modify its cage to ensure its safety for the journey, while providing enough food and chewy substances to last your pet through the trip.
Some of the modifications you should make include removing very hard parts that may hurt the hamster upon impact. A car isn’t still; there’s a very high chance that the hamster will get jostled against the walls pretty frequently.
You can also use a towel to shield the cage from the direct impact of sunlight. While doing this, you want to make sure that there are enough openings to allow efficient ventilation.
When carrying a hamster in a car, you should try to minimize all kinds of noise as much as possible. Heightened arguments, loud music, and even open windows can all make sounds that will frighten the hamster.
You can always find a hamster sitter around to look after your hamster if you’re going on long trips or if you simply can’t carry it with you.
Can You Carry a Hamster in Your Pocket?
This boils down to your specific hamster and how long you’ve had it. You can carry a hamster in your pocket, but that doesn’t mean you can certainly carry every hamster in your pocket.
Hamsters are very solitary animals, and they’re less unfriendly than most other pocket pets. Since they’re used to being attacked by predators, they may mistake you as one earlier on, attacking you when you attempt to carry them.
However, if you can get your hamsters to trust you with a regular carriage, you can attempt carrying it in more cramped containers like cups.
If your hamster tolerates being carried in a cup without constantly jumping off, you can try to carry it in your pocket to see how it reacts. If the hamster doesn’t object, you’ve successfully gotten yourself a pocket pet.
Most hamsters will allow you to carry them in your pocket, and some do enjoy it. If you’re not doing anything rough, your hamster may crawl into your pocket and sleep off, which is cute.
However, it’s important to note that there is a chance of not ever getting the hamster to tolerate pockets. If your hamster bites and tries to escape each time you try to pocket it, you should stop trying.
Do Hamsters like to be Carried Around?
It’s a thing to carry your hamster in your pocket, and another thing to move around while carrying it in your pocket.
Hamsters generally don’t mind being carried around, as long as you aren’t rough about it. They can tolerate being carried around for short distances in a cup or pocket without jumping off.
When transporting your hamster to a veterinary doctor, however, you should always use a hamster carrier. It is much safer and makes it impossible for the pet to jump out, making the whole process a lot easier.
You should always be careful when carrying a hamster around, regardless of how you carry it. When carrying it in your cup, pocket, or carrier, try to walk carefully so as not to scare the hamster. This reduces your chances of getting bitten by it.
When you’re handling the hamster, however, you should wear a glove try to keep your hands as close to the ground as possible. This way, the hamster would be safer if it were to jump out of fear. You can always discard gloves as you build more trust with your pet.
