Do Hamsters Have A Good Sense of Smell?

You’ve lived with your hammy for quite some time and one thing you noticed they love doing is sniffing out things. This got you wondering if your little furry friend really has a strong nose.

So, Do Hamsters Have A Good Sense Of Smell?

Yes, hamsters have a very good sense of smell. In fact, their exceptional noses help them to determine a lot of things, including the safety of their surroundings, the availability of food and water, and even breeding and mating.

While they don’t have the best eyesight, hamsters make up for it through their sharp sense of smell. In fact, smelling serves as the primary sense for hamsters.

One of the most important things they are able to do is recognize places where they have been before by picking up scents in the air, which is called chemosensation.

Just How Good Are Hamsters At Smelling?

A study found that hamsters had around 200 million olfactory receptors (scent cells) in their nostrils. To bring you into perspective, a human only has about 5 million smell cells in their nose. Other pets such as cats have around 220 million olfactory cells, and dogs have around 300 million.

True, the olfactory cell count of hamsters is lower than that of cats and dogs, but considering the significant differences in the nostril sizes, it’s easy to see that they really have a very honed sense of smell.

How Far Can A Hamster Smell?

It is believed that a hamster will smell things as far as thirty meters away. When in the wild, hamsters will use their noses to get a sniff of danger and other things that could be a threat to them.

When it comes to food, these little beings can also smell the difference between good and bad food, and will only eat the good stuff – which is how they know if it’s safe or unsafe to eat.

So, the next time you offer your pet some delicious food and they smell it for a few seconds before eating, you’ll know that they are just being cautious. After all, your hamster friend has more reason to be careful with what they eat than you do.

Can Your Hamster Smell You?

Yes, hamsters can recognize their owners by scent, much more like other animals such as cats and dogs.

They will follow the scent of their owners while they go about their everyday lives, and will even wait at a certain part of their cage just to get a whiff of you when you come home from work each day.

How Unique Is A Hamsters Sense of Smell To Humans?

A hamster’s sense of smell is very unique because it works a bit differently compared to a human’s. For them, the part of their brain responsible for smelling is not connected to the one responsible for tasting food.

This is why you will never see your furry friend salivating when they smell something delicious. Instead, they will just sniff it out without any other reaction.

Why Do Hamsters Smell Everything?  

It is believed that hamsters sniff everything in order to gather information about their surroundings. The same way humans talk to each other, these little furballs use their noses to converse with the world around them.

Therefore, the next time your furry friend starts sniffing around the corners of its cage, rest assured that it is not trying to find ways to escape. Instead, this means that they are already figuring out whether the environment is safe or not.

What Smells Do Hamsters Hate?

Hamsters generally hate strong and unpleasant smells. They tend to shy away from anything that has a really strong and pungent smell, which is why it’s best not to place things like scented soap, onions, garlic, citrus fruits, and spices in their cages.

If there is too much of any foul scents inside the hamster’s cage, they will often get stressed out – and this will be bad for their health.

So, if you have any air fresheners, perfume, or any other strong-smelling thing, always ensure that you keep them far from the cage of these little critters. That will help keep the nose healthy and ready to sniff out whatever comes their way.

Again, always wash your hands thoroughly before you touch your hamster. Hammies will smell different scents on their owner’s hands, and if there’s anything smelling like food, they likely will bite. Hamsters trust their noses more than their eyes.

What Smells Do Hamsters Like?

It’s safe to say that hamsters like the same scents as most animals – such as those of flowers and fruits.

You will find that your little one has a positive and happy reaction when you give them fruits and vegetables to eat each day, as these hammies’ favorite foods will give off a nice smell that your furry friend will love.

Mixing scents of fruits and flowers will also help create a positive environment for your hamster. They will be less likely to bite if they feel that their surroundings are pleasant enough.

Do Hamsters Like The Smell Of Other Animals?

When it comes to other animals, hamsters don’t seem to mind the smells of dogs or cats. If anything, they just show interest in smelling them because it’s a new scent for their little noses.

There is a catch, however – hamsters don’t like the smell of other hamsters. That’s especially true if you have a Syrian hamster, although it still happens with other breeds. In the wild, they would be competing over food and space – especially if their territories overlap – so it’s normal for them to react negatively when they smell another hamster nearby.

With that said, if you have more than one hamsters, ensure that you get several separate cages according to the number of hamsters you have. Keeping each hamster in their own private cage will ensure peace. 

Can Hamsters Smell Diseases?

It’s not just smelling food sources that these little creatures use their noses for. They can also tell if there is something wrong with you, just by smelling your breath and body odor.

Hamsters will easily tell when their owners are suffering from conditions such as colds, flu, and even diabetes. This is because these illnesses will give off a different smell that can be detected by their acute sense of smell.

In fact, when someone has flu, hamsters may stay away from them until they recover. That’s how sensitive their noses are.

Can You Train Your Hamster To Smell?

It is believed that hamsters can be trained to smell, but it’s not easy. The same way you cannot force your pet to eat vegetables or fruits that they don’t like, you would have a hard time getting them to smell something new.

However, if you do manage to train these little creatures to use their noses, the positive effects could be enormous. For example, if you teach your hamster to sniff for bombs and drugs, they can easily help humans in the police force and military.

It is possible; it just takes a lot of patience and time to get them used to such tasks. They might not be as fast or accurate as trained dogs, but these tiny little creatures can do it.

In Conclusion

Smelling foods isn’t the only thing your hamster will do with her sensitive nose. Hamsters can also smell some sicknesses, danger, and other things. In other words, hammies use their noses to perceive the world around them, and we can’t help but envy how good they are.

They can also excel in smelling things if their humans train them to be good at it. It just takes a lot of patience and dedication, but in the long run, your hamster will surely thank you for it!