Proud of my hamster

Question
My hamster (Ebony) will be a year old on April 15.  When she is in her ball, and it time for me to put her back in her cage, often I am sore, so I will call her to me.  Sometimes she will leave the corner that she is interested in, turns around to face me, and comes walking quickly towards me.  I am so proud the my hamster is obedient! I'm sure she comes to me when I call her more than half the time.  Ebony is my first hamster.  Do hamsters generally come when they're called, or do I just have a great bond with mine?  Every week when her cage is cleaned out, I always leave 2 plain peanuts in the shell in her cage, or a store bought hamster treat, or a small slice of fresh apple.

Also, I realize that pets don't know how old they are, but I like to celebrate their birthdays.  Since Ebony absolutely loves to burrow in my planters (much more so than chinchilla dust). I have her old cage bottom.  I want to half fill it with unfertilized dirt just so she can burrow in it.  Last summer, I cut boxes and taped the gap on the bottom and sides of my balcony.  I sat out there while she ran free.  She really seemed to love it.  This year I want to have the dirt out there too.

Answer
Hi Jinene

I think it is great that you have such a fantastic relationship with your hamster.  I've had some like this - they seem to know their name - always come out of their nest when I'm around etc. and recognise my voice.  One of my hamsters managed to get out of her cage, escape from the lounge and climb the stairs - I found her sitting on the floor outside my bedroom door!

Not all hamsters are as friendly as this but generally Syrians tame well providing they haven't had any bad experiences early in their life (i.e. mistreated or come from huge breeding farms where no one has handled them).  The earlier they are handled as babies (around 2 weeks of age) the better as they seem to calm down a lot faster and start to trust humans.

I strongly believe that they learn to recognise humans.  Their eyesight is poor so they rely on sound and smell.  

Enjoy having such a wonderful little friend.

Regards
Sheila