How to Set a Routine for Your Hamster

Last Updated: November 25, 2020

Hamsters can make sweet and adorable pets, but they have a tendency to overeat and stay up all night making noise. Your hamster's daily schedule isn't set in stone, though. You can adjust it until you find a daily structure that benefits both you and your hamster. Work on its sleeping, eating, and exercising routines to make your hamster the healthiest it can be.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Establishing a Sleep Routine

1
Watch your hamster’s sleep patterns. Hamsters are nocturnal, so they will likely only wake up for short periods of time during the day and then they’ll be active at night. Keep track of when your hamster is awake by writing it down or adding it to a daily planner. Eventually you should notice trends in its sleep routine.
- An example of a possible sleep routine is rising at dawn and dusk to eat and exercise for a few hours before going back to sleep. Your hamster will also wake a few times during the day to snack.
2
Make gradual changes to its waking time. If you want to wake your hamster earlier than it normally rises, you'll need to make gradual changes so that it can adapt to the new schedule slowly. If, for example, it wakes at 8:00 and you want it up at 7:00, start waking it at 7:45 for about a week. Then move to 7:30 for several days, and follow this pattern until it's waking up at 7:00.
- Don't try to adjust your hamster's sleep schedule by more than an hour. This will stress it out and potentially cause illness.
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3
Place fresh food outside the cage to wake your hamster. To prompt your hamster to wake up at an earlier time, place a small bowl of food just outside its cage. It will smell fresh veggies, fruits, or seeds, and it should begin to stir.
4
Wake it earlier by blowing on it or talking to it. If food doesn't inspire your hamster to get up, blow on it lightly until it starts to stir, or talk to it so it becomes aware of your voice. Don’t reach into the cage and pick up a sleepy hamster, or you might get bitten.^{[1]
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5
Respect its nocturnal schedule. If you've tried several methods to change up your hamster's sleep schedule without success, you may need to accept that it isn't meant to be a daytime creature. Trying to force a hamster away from its nocturnal schedule can result in a grumpy and unhealthy pet.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Following a Meal Schedule

1
Offer dry food in the evening. Place a bowl of your hamster's pellet food in the cage at the same time every night to help get your hamster on a schedule. This will keep you from disrupting their normal sleep routine during the day, and it also allows your hamster to do its foraging at night, the way it would in the wild.^{[2]
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2
Offer some greens at the same time every morning. Hamsters can have a small amount of greens every day, and offering them at the same time each morning can prompt your hamster to wake up, just like the dry food will at night. Offer about 1 square inch (2.5 square cm) of vegetables like celery, broccoli or peas.^{[3]
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3
Remove old or rotten food once a day. Hamsters are food hoarders. They’ll often stuff their cheeks with new food, then carry it somewhere else in the cage and hide it. Look over the bedding (and dig through it a little if you need to) at least once a day to see what got left behind that has now gone bad or stale.
- Look in its bed and any areas of the cage that are opposite its bathroom area, since hamsters often try to avoid eating where they urinate.
4
Refill the water bottle while it's awake. Hamsters should always have access to clean, fresh water, so make sure the water bottle is always full. To avoid startling it or upsetting it, change the water while it's already awake and exercising.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Creating an Exercise Routine

1
Buy an appropriate wheel for its cage. Some wheels are too small for hamsters to get good exercise on them, and if they're uncomfortable, they may avoid exercising altogether. Buy a wheel that’s at least 6.5 to 8 inches (16 to 20 cm) in diameter and is a solid piece of plastic rather than metal bars so that its feet can't fall through.
2
Put your hamster in a clear exercise ball once a day. During one of your hamster’s wakeful periods, place it into a clear exercise ball and allow it to roam your home. Try to do this at the same time every day when it's already awake, such as in the evening. Just keep a close eye on it so that it doesn’t push the ball down stairs and injure itself.^{[4]
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3
Play with your hamster before you go to bed. Do not remove a noisy wheel at night, since this is when hamsters need to exercise. Instead, play with your hamster before you go to sleep so you can wear it out as much as possible in the evening. Pick it up and handle it, play with toys, and have it run around in its exercise ball.^{[5]
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- If your hamster is still wired after your evening play session, move its cage to another room rather than taking anything away from it.
4
Offer a treat after some exercise. Treats should be given sparingly to hamsters, but a good time to offer them is once a day after they’ve run on their wheel or in their ball. This way, you’re rewarding it for exercising. Try a slice of apple, a few pieces of sugar-free cereal, or a spoonful of cooked pasta or rice.^{[6]
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