Hamsters can be great pets for families with kids or any household. Their communication is more subtle than that of cats or dogs but there are ways to interact with hamsters and they are quite intelligent.
Hamsters are smart and curious animals in their natural habitats. They have strong instincts and can navigate complex environments to survive. As pets, they learn their names, recognize the owner, and learn new skills and problem-solve. Hamsters need cognitive stimulation and toys, and they enjoy exploring their environment.
ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE
Spatial Intelligence
There is an entire study dedicated to the spatial intelligence of hamsters, and, interestingly, hamsters are very bright in this regard.
As a part of an experiment, hamsters were introduced to a maze with food in some parts of it. Hamsters were allowed to explore and their behavior was observed and recorded.
It is fascinating that hamsters did not eat the food until they explored the maze. Then they collected and consumed the food and did not revisit the parts of the maze they had already gone to.
Hamsters remember where they have been. It is also remarkable that they chose to explore first and then consume food, which sounds quite strategic.
Instinctive Intelligence
Instinctive intelligence refers to how hard-wired an animal is when it comes to the skills they need to survive.
Hamsters preserve their sleep cycle, their hiding, and burrowing behaviors, and food storing habits, even as household pets. There is even the gruesome fact that hamsters often eat their offspring if the litter is large. Doing so allows at least some offspring to survive if resources are scarce in the wild.
Hamsters as a species have strong instincts.
Working Intelligence
Working intelligence is the ability to acquire new behaviors and skills, as well as understanding words, or combinations, as a way to communicate.
Hamsters are capable of learning from their environment, and us.
Like with other pets, the mechanism that allows hamsters to learn from interactions with human beings is conditioning. A hamster could learn some behaviors in response to threats. Many hamsters can learn the command “stand” by being treated every time in the beginning. Eventually, your pet will respond to the word “stand” without a treat for a reward.
HAMSTERS NEED TOYS AND COGNITIVE STIMULATION
Being bright and curious, hamsters do need to keep their minds active.
They like to explore and they do need toys and a spacious enough habitat. It is good to allow the animal to venture out of the cage occasionally, to explore the room. However, it is important to supervise your pet closely, because hamsters are notorious for getting lost inside a home. They like to burrow, so they can hide in the laundry or cushions or some other space where one might not even think to look.
HOW TO TEACH A NEW SKILL TO A HAMSTER
Pick The Right Time
You will know that your new pet is ready to interact if it is engaging in normal hamster behaviors:
- being active in the evening and night,
- eating and voiding appropriately
- generally showing signs of exploring the habitat, moving around
With any animal, pick a time when your pet is calm and alert and seems interested in food. If your hamster is not receptive to your teaching at first, that is okay. Do not challenge the animal, try another time.
Use Treats
Remember that hamsters are prone to overeating, so don’t use too many treats to avoid overfeeding your pet. That said, treats are the best way to motivate your hamster to learn, at least in the beginning.
You could use treats you buy at pet stores or vegetables and fruits cut into small pieces easy for the hamster to chew on.
Teach The Hamster His/ Her Name
Teaching your hamster his or her name is a good way to start. That way you help your pet get used to you and begin to associate you with good things.
Pick a time when your hamster is active and bring a treat. Make sure your pet knows you are there before you offer the treat.
The hamster does not exactly learn what its name is. Your pet learns to associate the combination of sounds you utter while giving treats. Therefore, it is also helpful to use the same tone and volume, at least to begin with.
Call your hamster and give the treat at the same time. Repeat the same process a couple of times a day for a few days. Then try to call your hamster but do not offer a treat. You could start giving a treat every other time. Eventually, your voice saying your pet’s name will be enough.
Using A Clicker
You could try using a clicker or a pen that makes a distinctive clicking sound to condition your hamster. It is a simple sound followed by a treat and it helps reinforce the association between the behavior and the threat that follows.
So, you would call out the name. When the hamster comes, you use the clicker and then give the treat. Once the hamster learns, you can eventually stop using the clicker, along with not offering treats for the behavior anymore.
Teaching Other Skills
When your hamster already knows the environment and comes to you when you say its name, your pet could be interested in learning some tricks to earn more tasty treats.
You could use the clicker to teach skills, too. Conditioning your hamster is the core for teaching any skill, so the principle for teaching any skill will be the same as teaching to respond to a name.
If your hamster is not learning a particular behavior, keep trying patiently. If he never learns, then maybe the skill is too challenging for your furry friend.
To Conclude
Hamsters are highly responsive to treats and food in general, like most household pets.
Their intelligence is mostly based on associations but that is how these animals make sense of the world around them. Hamsters are bright enough to learn skills and they need to have toys and opportunities to explore the space around them.
