Hamster Central - View Single Post - Taming a very skittish jumpy hamster

AliceJayne · 10-01-2018, 09:09 AM

Hello Everyone!

I got my Syrian male hamster 'Cappuccino' on the 6th of September and at that time he was around 9 weeks old

I have had two hamsters years ago and both were very laid back and easy to tame, but I could tell instantly that Cap was not laid back. He jumped at every single sound and movement and seemed extremely scared all the time.

So I left him for about 6 days and then slowly started feeding him treats from my hands. He was actually very quickly trusting of me and took the food, but he remained to be extremely jumpy and skittish and any little noise would make him jump and shake, even noises that I didn't make or couldn't even hear. He would even jump so much that he would throw whatever he was eating up into the air! He would also jump so often that occasionally it would look like he was having a fit! (I am certain he wasn't but just to illustrate how much he would jump).

I have now had him almost a month and haven't made much more progress than in the first 8 days. He will sit occasionally on my hand and eat his seeds, but not long enough for me to lift him, however he is slightly less skittish.

I have tried the bathtub (or in my case shower) method 3 times now, and he is so frightened he just desperately seeks a way to escape. I am thinking of trying a taming bin now instead and I just put my arm in there?

So I am wondering what my next steps should be? Should I just start trying to pick him up or continue to wait? Any help or advice would be great!

Thank you!
Alice x

Also, he has not bitten me once yet!

He also lives in a 145 Litre bin cage, I believe the measurements are 80cm by 62cm so he has a lot of room!

10-01-2018, 09:09 AM
AliceJayne Newborn Pup Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: England Posts: 32	Taming a very skittish jumpy hamster - Need help! Hello Everyone! I got my Syrian male hamster 'Cappuccino' on the 6th of September and at that time he was around 9 weeks old I have had two hamsters years ago and both were very laid back and easy to tame, but I could tell instantly that Cap was not laid back. He jumped at every single sound and movement and seemed extremely scared all the time. So I left him for about 6 days and then slowly started feeding him treats from my hands. He was actually very quickly trusting of me and took the food, but he remained to be extremely jumpy and skittish and any little noise would make him jump and shake, even noises that I didn't make or couldn't even hear. He would even jump so much that he would throw whatever he was eating up into the air! He would also jump so often that occasionally it would look like he was having a fit! (I am certain he wasn't but just to illustrate how much he would jump). I have now had him almost a month and haven't made much more progress than in the first 8 days. He will sit occasionally on my hand and eat his seeds, but not long enough for me to lift him, however he is slightly less skittish. I have tried the bathtub (or in my case shower) method 3 times now, and he is so frightened he just desperately seeks a way to escape. I am thinking of trying a taming bin now instead and I just put my arm in there? So I am wondering what my next steps should be? Should I just start trying to pick him up or continue to wait? Any help or advice would be great! Thank you! Alice x Also, he has not bitten me once yet! He also lives in a 145 Litre bin cage, I believe the measurements are 80cm by 62cm so he has a lot of room!