Hamster Central - View Single Post - New hamster need help only had for 2 days

Pebbles82 · 05-18-2016, 12:37 PM

Hi there and welcome! They usually need 2 or 3 days without being disturbed to settle in

You probably scared her a bit by doing things in her cage. Maybe just leave her to settle for another few days now before doing anything in the cage, or changing anything - just put food and water out. Everything is strange and unfamiliar at first in their environment and they don't see well so they use scent to find their way around. She'll be scent marking everything to work out where everything is and so it feels familiar, so changing things can confuse her.

You could try the tissue trick which can help them get used to your scent as well, so taming is easier when she's ready and settled a bit. Put a few sheets of plain white toilet paper up your sleeve for a few hours, then tear it into maybe 5 or 6 strips lengthwise and put a big pile of the paper in her cage (adding this is ok lol). You should gradually see the pile of paper go down as she will pouch some and take it to build up her nest, so she'll have your scent in her nest.

The main thing is - don't clean anything for the first couple of weeks. If it starts to get a bit smelly you could spot clean the wee area by removing a handful of substrate and adding a new handful, but mix it in with the old so it still smells familiar. One tip i found helpful was to put a potty litter tray in the wee corner - they tend to use them and then the rest of the cage needs cleaning less often. But maybe wait a couple of weeks now before adding anything else.

She just needs a bit of time to settle in. She's probably just a baby and a bit scared. It's really hard when you want to start handling them, to leave them alone, but patience is the key

Meanwhile you could talk gently to her through the cage so she gets familiar with your voice, and offer the odd treat through the bars. So she gets used to your presence. Then you can move on to offering a treat on the palm of your hand with your hand just inside the cage door and see if she walks onto your hand to take it. Slowly and steadily. In a couple of weeks she'll probably be much more lively and wanting to come out.

They can get very freaked by having a hand in the cage - ours used to run at your hand and see you off lol. So best to do any spot cleaning when she's asleep.

Do you have a cage or a tank? Different tips maybe for treat offering with a tank.

05-18-2016, 12:37 PM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: New hamster need help only had for 2 days Hi there and welcome! They usually need 2 or 3 days without being disturbed to settle in You probably scared her a bit by doing things in her cage. Maybe just leave her to settle for another few days now before doing anything in the cage, or changing anything - just put food and water out. Everything is strange and unfamiliar at first in their environment and they don't see well so they use scent to find their way around. She'll be scent marking everything to work out where everything is and so it feels familiar, so changing things can confuse her. You could try the tissue trick which can help them get used to your scent as well, so taming is easier when she's ready and settled a bit. Put a few sheets of plain white toilet paper up your sleeve for a few hours, then tear it into maybe 5 or 6 strips lengthwise and put a big pile of the paper in her cage (adding this is ok lol). You should gradually see the pile of paper go down as she will pouch some and take it to build up her nest, so she'll have your scent in her nest. The main thing is - don't clean anything for the first couple of weeks. If it starts to get a bit smelly you could spot clean the wee area by removing a handful of substrate and adding a new handful, but mix it in with the old so it still smells familiar. One tip i found helpful was to put a potty litter tray in the wee corner - they tend to use them and then the rest of the cage needs cleaning less often. But maybe wait a couple of weeks now before adding anything else. She just needs a bit of time to settle in. She's probably just a baby and a bit scared. It's really hard when you want to start handling them, to leave them alone, but patience is the key Meanwhile you could talk gently to her through the cage so she gets familiar with your voice, and offer the odd treat through the bars. So she gets used to your presence. Then you can move on to offering a treat on the palm of your hand with your hand just inside the cage door and see if she walks onto your hand to take it. Slowly and steadily. In a couple of weeks she'll probably be much more lively and wanting to come out. They can get very freaked by having a hand in the cage - ours used to run at your hand and see you off lol. So best to do any spot cleaning when she's asleep. Do you have a cage or a tank? Different tips maybe for treat offering with a tank.