© Gina Cioli/BowTie Studio Always wait for a hamster to wake up
on its own before interacting with it. Hamsters are nocturnal,
meaning they’re active in the evening and sleep during the day.
Understanding and working with a hamster’s sleep schedule is
essential to developing a good relationship with it. Each
hamster is an individual, but a typical hamster schedule is to
fall asleep around noon, wake a couple of hours later for a
brief period, sleep some more, and then stay awake throughout
the night. It helps to be a night owl yourself if you want to
spend time interacting with a hamster. Trying to alter a
hamster’s sleep schedule is stressful for the animal and can
cause poor health and unfriendly behavior. A hamster that’s
disturbed frequently during the day will become cranky and is
likely to bite. The following steps help you accommodate your
hamster’s sleep needs: - Clean the cage, provide food and handle
a hamster in late afternoon or evening. - Learn a hamster’s
schedule, and handle and play with it du