Ghost Hamsters
This is a great article written by Hubba Hubba Hamstery. This can be a "controversial" topic in the hamster community, but I firmly believe what is cited in this post. This is what I have practiced with all of my hamsters, and it's been successful each time. I do want to add that digging them out of their burrows can startle them and cause them to bite in fear, so be very careful and do it slowly. Don't just stick your hand straight into their burrow. Wear gloves if you're nervous. Once you start moving the bedding around, most hamsters will start peeking their head out to see what's going on. I've always then placed a cup with a small treat in it near them, and they tend to climb right in. With time, they'll allow you to scoop them up without the cup.
*Do not dig them out in the middle of the day. As stated below, do this close to the time they would normally wake up.
Ghost Hamsters
As an ethical hamster breeder in the USA, I’ve seen a recent trend in the way people think about their hamsters which I see as problematic. I am one of the many people who don’t believe in the concept of “ghost hamsters” (a hamster which doesn’t want to come out of their burrow because they inherently want to be left alone).
So, if your hamster isn’t coming out of their burrow when the household lights are on and you don’t get to see them or interact, why is that? Often the reason is because you have a completely normal hamster who is comfortable in their cage! As crepuscular prey animals, hamsters are naturally active at dawn, dusk and sporadically throughout the night. It is natural for them to wait for low light before emerging from their burrow.
Some hamsters tend to be very active and difficult to keep content in their cage. That restlessness can result in them breaking with instinct to emerge from the burrow and move around at times they would likely avoid in nature. The “ghost hamster” phenomenon was not something regularly seen before current improved cage sizes and care became standard. That means many of us have a history of owning hamsters we kept in small cages who acted less like natural hamsters and spent more time out and about. Having a hamster who stays in their burrow longer may mean you are doing a great job keeping them happy in their cage!
Reasons apart from simple contentedness that may keep your hamster from coming out of their burrow in the presence of people or in the light include having a hamster who is not yet tame enough to trust that it is safe to come out with people around. You may also have a calm, lazy or old hamster who needs to be given a good reason to get out of bed early.
So how to deal with this if you still want to see your hamster? Wake them up! Do this near the time they would normally get up. For example, if your hamster normally wakes up at 10 pm wake them up at 9:30pm. This will help them adjust to your schedule more easily if done regularly. The easiest way to wake a very well-adjusted and tame hamster is to talk to them and lure them out with treats. If your hamster is not so tame and well adjusted, you’ll want to dig them out of their burrow.
Do hamsters like being woken up or having their burrow messed up? Usually not. Do they like getting out of their cage to have treats and explore? Yes! Overall, they benefit from being woken up for handling and time exploring outside of their cage. A well-adjusted hamster will often start to get up in your presence to get treats and time out of the cage within the first week of doing this, so they quickly end up with a more enriched life without needing long term intervention.
The less than perfectly tame hamster may struggle a little with being dug up, however, they have the most to gain from this. The truth about taming hamsters is that they won’t become tame without human interaction. It is possible that digging them out to tame them causes some stress, and it is also possible that the stress of spending their lives afraid to come out of their burrow because people are scary is stressful. Additionally, those hamsters miss out on the enrichment they’d gain getting out of their cage and the improved quality of care a hamster gets when their owner knows them well. Don’t worry about their burrow, it takes most hamsters about a minute to repair the damage done by waking them up. Once your untamed hamster has been dug up, give them a minute to wake up before proceeding to bathtub taming. I find that even if taming takes a while, your hamster may develop a level of comfort in your presence that encourages them to come out of their burrow during times you are around.
*Hubba Hubba Hamstery August 9, 2022