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  • So when you bring your hamster home for the first time you may not know what to expect with bringing them home.

  • Or you might not know what to do next once you bring them home.

  • So that's what we're gonna talk about in today's video.

  • So when you're bringing your hamster home for the very first time, one of the things I actually would recommend is bringing a plastic carrier instead of just using the cardboard box that they give you when you bring your hamster home.

  • A lot of hamsters are known to actually end up chewing out of these and that's not good because your hamster can end up in a small space in your car under the seat and it's just going to be a very stressful situation.

  • So using a plastic carrier can definitely save you some stress.

  • Another thing is make getting the hamster your last stop.

  • Don't go to a bunch of stores after you pick up your hamster, because you want to get them at home as soon as possible.

  • You don't want to have them sitting in a carrier for hours and hours while you're doing shopping or anything like that.

  • So when you arrive home, the very first thing you're gonna want to do is put your hamster in their new enclosure.

  • So you need to make sure before you get your hamster their enclosure is all set up.

  • This just makes the time shorter for them to have to wait just like you shouldn't stop at a bunch of stores after you pick up your hamster.

  • You basically just want to get them into the enclosure as fast as possible from when you pick them up to when you get them home.

  • And if you have to set up their

  • cage they might have to sit in the travel carrier for a longer amount of

  • time which it can be stressful for them because it's a completely new

  • environment for them when you're putting your hamster into their new enclosure

  • I would suggest letting them crawl out on their own or if you need to take

  • something and scoop them out and kind of let them crawl out into their cage

  • instead of trying to stick your hand in there and get them out and stressing

  • them out more now the next thing is going to be one of the hardest things

  • for a new hamster owner to do and that is leave your hamster alone without any

  • human interaction for two to three days this just minimizes any extra

  • stress your hamster is going to be feeling keep in mind they just came all

  • the way from a place that was familiar to them to a brand new

  • home where they have to get used to the sounds the smells and everything else

  • that goes around in your house so it can be very stressful they don't understand

  • what's going on so if someone is coming in as soon as they get to their new

  • enclosure and they're trying to pick them up and like tame them and things it

  • can be terrifying and stressful and stress leads to a lowered immune system

  • which then makes sicknesses and illnesses very very easy to infect your

  • hamster now during the 2 to 3 day period of no human interaction yes you

  • can still change out their food and water if absolutely necessary just

  • trying to do it when they are sleeping rather than when they're awake that way

  • they're not going to get scared when your hand goes in to change anything it

  • also is okay to sit by the enclosure and watch them or quietly talk to them or

  • even just do some work near their enclosure so that they kind of get a

  • little bit used to the movement around the cage as well as your voice once that

  • 2 to 3 days is up you can then choose to start the taming process which I have

  • done a couple of videos on if you would like you actually can leave your hamster

  • go a little bit longer if necessary some hamsters may need more time to adjust to

  • your home because sometimes two to three days just isn't long enough so if they

  • need a little bit more time of getting adjusted to your environment then that

  • is okay please keep in mind that some hamsters are absolutely petrified of

  • humans due to the fact that a lot of hamsters are born in rodent mills which

  • is basically a large factory that breeds hamsters with no care of their health or

  • their temperament so if you get a hamster and anytime you enter the room

  • or you try to go into their cage they hiss they bare their teeth or they even

  • scream at you this doesn't mean they hate you it just means they're terrified

  • and understand that they're just a small little prey animal and you're this giant

  • thing to them it's like if an alien came down who was ten times bigger than us

  • we don't speak the same language so if an alien starts to try and pet me I'm outta

  • there I'm probably gonna bite them like I I don't want you touching me I don't

  • know who you are so it just takes some time for them to adjust and kind of

  • figure out hey this thing isn't going to hurt me another thing is a hamster

  • acting frantic in a new enclosure is a common behavior keep in mind they just

  • went from a familiar place to a place they've never been so if they are kind

  • of acting a little bit crazy and seem a little bit stressed they probably are

  • also keep in mind that monkey barring and bar chewing are also signs of stress

  • from a too-small of a cage so if those symptoms last more than two to three

  • days it is recommended that you upgrade your cage a tip I have for new hamster

  • owners is to just simply not worry there are a lot of hamster owners who you get

  • your new hamster and you've never had one before and I definitely know how it

  • feels to feel like something is going wrong and you don't know like is this

  • behavior normal they could just be like grooming themselves and you're like

  • are they okay are they dying so try not to worry too much about your new

  • hamster as long as they're eating drinking or active they are going to be

  • fine you also most likely will not be able to

  • see your hamster drinking any water within the first couple of days

  • that's because hamsters once again are prey animals and they might just not

  • feel comfortable around you to come out and drink in front of you so if you

  • don't see your hamster drinking it doesn't necessarily mean they're not

  • drinking at all hamsters also are desert animals so they don't need to drink too

  • much water but they of course still need water they're mammals but they're

  • probably coming out when you're sleeping or you're just not around to see them

  • drink as long as your hamster has access to a working water bottle or a water

  • dish they will find water when they are thirsty

  • another thing is pouching bedding the amount of people who have said oh my

  • gosh my hamster is eating its bedding what do I do

  • Keep Calm your hamsters not eating its bedding your hamster has two cheek

  • pouches on each side of its cheek these are great for storing things like

  • nesting and food so that they can bring back to

  • their nest so when your hamster starts sticking bedding in its mouth doesn't

  • mean it's eating it it means they're taking it back to their nest so they can

  • make a nice big comfy bed you might also not see your hamster as

  • often because as you may already know hamsters are nocturnal / crepuscular so

  • this means they're most active during the night so when you're sleeping

  • they're most likely going to be coming out some hamsters will wait until you've

  • turned off the light and have gone to bed to literally come out some are just

  • too scared to come out when that light is on because they just don't feel safe

  • enough yet so if you're not seeing your hamster it's probably because they're

  • coming out when you're sleeping so I really hope this video is able to help

  • anybody who is going to be bringing home a new hamster don't forget the most

  • important thing is just give your hamster time to adjust and settle in and

  • it is okay to make a bit of noise in your home your home doesn't have to be

  • dead silent they will eventually adjust to what your household sounds like if

  • there's a radio constantly playing it's not going to stress them out too much

  • they will eventually get used to things like that so don't worry too much about

  • your new hamster they most likely will be okay

  • so ya guys thank you so much for watching bye

So when you bring your hamster home for the first time you may not know what to expect with bringing them home.

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