What is your hams personality?

[Zireling]

I keep reading about everyone's hams and how different they all seem. Is this based on species? Are certain species more timid than others? Are some more aggressive? What about ham/human contact? Do some prefer it more than others?

My ham is still trying to get comfortable with her new home. I have noticed she really enjoys running across her seesaw, running on her saucer, and climbing up on her ball just to jump off. She seems very energetic and curious but overall likes to keep to herself.

I'm wondering how everyone else's hams personality changed from when they first got to them to now. Does your ham have any special toys they like or hobbies they like to do? I'd like to hear about your hammies personality traits and what makes them so special!

[AmityvilleHams]

Species has nothing to do with personality in my opinion. That tends to be entirely individual so I don't think we can always expect certain species to act a certain way. I know there are tons of stereotypes out there,like Syrians being cuddly for example( I feel this is relatively untrue most cases,with a few rare exceptions)or even stereotypes based on where a hamster comes from such as pet shop hamsters being "aggressive" or impossible to tame which is yet again often untrue and entirely individual.

As for aggressive I personally don't think any animal including hamsters is truly aggressive. Behavior is learned or created as a reaction in most cases,for example someone could accuse a dog of being aggressive if they get bitten but in almost all case there's a good reason (such as they see you as someone invading their territory,in which case they're defensive really and not aggressive).

In terms of my own ham's personality,she is an absolute psychopath who happens to love lots of music(especially Marilyn Manson,in particular My Monkey).She never wants to stay still,but she has always been a very social hamster and from the first day I got her she was taking treats out of my hand and very soon she even accepted handling with no problems.She's a very odd hamster though,and I think this is rarely if ever seen in hamsters of any species

[xFluffyHamsterx]

These are my hamsters personalities:
Hammie
Hammie is somewhat slow, he's so gentle and inquisitive. I'm able to put my hand in his cage all the time, he won't wake up, if he's awake he'll walk up happily and sniff. I know that he won't bite me. I had a few taming issues with him, but he's settled down! I pick him up daily and routinely and he loves it! His favourite things to do are sand bathing, climbing on you, sleep, chew sticks and his wheel! He's the type of hamster who will perch and observe and wait for you to come!
This is normal behaviour (he has 2 sleeping spots) he always chops and changes after a cage clean and a few days later he goes back. I think this is cute and it's something he would do!
Bob
Bob is newer than Hammie, and completely different. He didn't settle well, but now happily takes food and lets us stroke. He's noisy, energetic and if you even go near his cage he's out and there. He's a massive climber too! He often disturbs Hammie and their in separate rooms! He takes change well, however when it comes to handling I wear gloves because he's nippy and if you put your hand in his cage he will bite, when hes out of his cage he's fine! Bob makes his sleeping den himself, and uses his house as a hoard and potty!!

Both my hamsters are completely different but love them unconditionally!

[Hamsterita]

I think that every individual has his own personality and that you can't make a general rule, in my opinion the way that they're handled from the beginning and their environment it's important, but I think that the specie and their genes play a roll too. For example robos and chineses can be social and tamed, yes, but If I have to bet I wouldn't put my money on them against other species as the most cuddly and confident hams.

My hamster is a syrian, I think he had a bad experience in his youth, as his ears are completely shred (he probably was attacked by his siblings), he wasn't handled in the pet shop and I think that I got him with 3 or 4 months (probably more). Maybe all that contributed to his personality. He's very shy, he's not very confident, and he's scared of the slightest noise, but he takes treats from my hands and he even climbs over me,however he hates being handled and he usually doesn't let you stroke him. You can't see him playing around at daylight and he comes out really late.

[Burakki]

I think the difference in personalities is the most visible when you see a bunch of hamsters at the same time. When I came to pick Marti up from her breeder, she was in the cage with her sisters, as they were still babies, and they all were so very different. Some jumped to meet and greet, one particular hammie was snoring without a care in the world, laying belly up. Some were just sitting confused at what was going on, etc. Marti, for example, was in her grumpy mood, hiding and sleeping in a hideout.
I also believe in the saying that pets resemble their owners. My Marti loves to sleep and will jump over her head for her favorite treats, she likes to be updated on what is going on, but doesn't like to be bothered too often as she needs her space.

[Crystalroborovski]

The species of hamsters doesn't really have anything to do with personality imo. There are some things that are more common in species than others (example: a lot of robos are timid and difficult to tame, but this doesn't apply to every robo of course). Here are my hamsters' personalities:

Key Lime
Species: Roborovski Dwarf
Age: probably not more than 3-4 months old but I don't know his exact age. He was definitely not fully grown when I got him. I think he may have been the runt of the litter as he was the smallest out of all of the hams at the store and he still remains to be smaller than his brother.
Personality: A very curious hamster. His curious personality was prominent and I noticed it right off the bat when I observed him and his 5 cage mates at the pet store. He is definitely more brave than his brother. As far as taming goes he is comfortable with my hand and whenever I put it in his cage he will come and give me lots of "whisker kisses" He was the one I think who was stirring up trouble with his brother before I separated them. He was always the dominant one but in the last few days they were together he became more of a bully than a boss.

Tangerine
Species: Roborovski dwarf
Age: same as his brother, but he is a little bit bigger.
Personality: more of a timid robo. In the first few days I had the boys, key Lime came out to explore daily for the first week while Tangerine stayed in his burrow until the dead of night. He was more of the submissive one when Key Lime was establishing his dominance over him but he wasn't afraid to fight back if his brother was pestering him. Now that they're separated tangerine has seemed to really come out of his shell but he still has a tendency to hide whenever he hears a noise or if I open his cage. At night I like to watch both boys and Tangerine seems to be a frisky little ham, being super active, exploring his cage and running around in the cage and on his wheel. Apparently he does have a curious side but it didn't show until I separated the boys.

[Jennie F]

I think you are all aware of Khalis personality - loveable demon haha.

Right from the beginning she has always been a curious little scamp and a stalker. In the shop she was following the carry box around and then started to put her little paws on the glass, as well as licking it. I thought it was cute ( should have realised its a sign of oral fixation - we all know about that mouth she owns).

She looks like butter wouldnt melt but she can be a little..... monster some days. Actually its every 4 days when she is in heat. She drives me bloody nuts on her "special day". She turns into a trapeeze artist, swinging from the mesh and doing circus tricks.

She isnt necessarily a sit on your lap hamster as she is always on the go. But she is fully tamed, very friendly and good with strangers (even vets).

She loves to wind me up and destroy things, but I love her for it still.

[AprilPearl]

As for the whole species thing, it definitely does play a part. For example, Syrians are generally the slowest moving and easiest to tame. From what I've read, Campbells, Winter Whites and Chinese hams do tend to take a bit more effort, and robos are the hardest to hand tame. Those species also seem to be more zippy than Syrians, in particular robos. But, that's only a generalisation. There are plenty of exceptions, and of course individual hamsters all have different personalities anyway. Plus, with a little patience any hamster, regardless of species will make a lovely pet.

All my hamsters have been Syrians, but despite that each has had a distinct character (yes, they all happen to have been boys, for no particular reason and not by design).

Alfie
The first hamster I ever owned. When we first got him, he was such a skittish little thing. He even bit me once or twice during the taming process. It took about 3 weeks to persuade him to sit on my hand, and that was with the aid of broccoli. However, after that he came on leaps and bounds and ended up being the cuddliest and friendliest little guy. He was quite at home just sitting/snoozing in my hands and took life at a very relaxed pace. Alfie wasn't very active, even during floor time. He'd rather sit and be fed treats or wash himself.

Sooty
I got Sooty after Alfie died. He was much easier to tame. In fact, I chose him because he sat on my hand calmly in the shop on the very first occasion we 'met'. He matured into another lovely outgoing hamster, though wasn't one to just sit on you, like Alfie had been. He preferred to be out playing or running around.

Scamp
We adopted Scamp when his owners moved overseas. At that point, he was already over 2 years old. He had broken his back legs in a fall when young and did not have much movement in them, so largely dragged them splayed out behind him. That makes him sound like a very unhappy hamster, but he really wasn't. Scamp was full of the joys of life: enthusiastic about floor time, eager to explore and very friendly. Life had given him lemons but boy did he make lemonade!

Kevin
Kevin was actually one of my brother's hamsters, but he was such a character that I couldn't help mentioning him. He was the most active hamster I ever met, and the weird thing was, he never slept. I mean, literally never. He was up scurrying about his cage or on his wheel all day and all night. So, I guess you do get insomniac hamsters! He was perfectly tame, but didn't spend a moment still. He preferred to be exercising those legs during floor time or, otherwise, shredding whatever inanimate object he could lay his teeth on - several books fell victim to him that way (though he never even tried to bite a human).

Mushu
My current hamster. I was a bit concerned when we got him, because the shop assistant told me he had never been handled and refused to touch him herself (presumably for fear of being bitten) and instead sort of scooped him up with the cardboard box. But, he's always been very relaxed. When the shop assistant was taking him out, her main trouble was that he ignored her completely after glancing up to see what was happening and tried to continue sleeping. That made it difficult for her to herd him into the box without using her hands because he just wouldn't budge, even to try running away! Mushu has always been fine with being picked up and stroked. He often climbs out of his cage door into my hands, and sometimes likes to sit on my arm for ages. It depends on his mood though. Other times, he doesn't want to sit still at all and is more interested in playing/running on the floor. I've only had him 5 or 6 weeks, so I'm still getting to know him and watching his personality develop.