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Idra · 05-01-2019, 04:12 PM

Hi, hello, how do you do?
I'm a first time hamster mom to a female Syrian named Mouse, after the shy demeanor she put up at the pet store (although I can safely now say, that was a facade!)
Mouse is a white hammy with a cream head and some cream spots on her butt.
I believe she's 8-10 weeks old? I was so excited I forgot to ask haha. I'll have had her for three weeks this Sunday.

I'm a working college student, and Mouse's expenses are completely on me, as my parents are not animal people and I had to work hard to get them to agree to her, so I'd appreciate any and all DIY suggestions.

Mouse's current set up is a 40 gallon breeder tank with a 12 inch silent spinner, a litter pan, about three cardboard tubes, and some hideaways (of course a water bottle and food bowl as well). I'm currently saving up to buy her some puzzle toys, maybe a little maze, and a playpen.

Mouse is a very friendly hamster. On her first day she was taking treats that I offered her and she always runs up to my hand whenever I'm rearranging something or scatter feeding her. She also loves burrowing and only recently started staying inside one of her hideaways because I covered it in a bend-a-bridge and added some bedding to the sides to make it look buried.

As of right now I'd say we only have two issues: 1. She won't run on her wheel. 2. I'm way to skittish about animals to continue taming her (a poor oversight on my part). Both of these are pretty much my fault, so oof.

1.On her first week, Mouse developed this fun habit of putting all her seeds on her wheel and then running on it. This ruckus made it almost impossible to sleep, so I'd lure her away with a treat and then shake all the seeds off her wheel. This sound would kind of frighten her. This happened every night for that first week, so the appeal of the wheel wore of for her, I guess? She'd only go on it for a little bit at a time and in more recent nights she hasn't been on it at all. Any advice on how to get her back on it?

2. Growing up I've had pretty traumatic experiences with most animals, so I'm a bit of a skittish person when it comes to animals. I expected that an animal as small as Mouse wouldn't freak me out but then I started reading about how much hamster bites supposedly hurt and it's made me a bit nervous. I do give her treats and I'm slowly becoming more comfortable with her sniffing me, but once her teeth grazed my fingers taking a pumpkin seed and it took all my self-control not to freak out. I know they nibble, which isn't meant to hurt, but all my brain tells me is abort mission, which I really don't want to do because she's such an absolute sweetheart. We're at a taming standstill because of my irrationality. The closest I've gotten to holding her is holding her in a cardboard tube. Any advice would be much appreciated!

Sorry for the giant text walls, I love to write, can you tell?

05-01-2019, 04:12 PM
Idra Newborn Pup Join Date: May 2019 Location: Southern California Posts: 4	Hi from a little scaredy cat xD Hi, hello, how do you do? I'm a first time hamster mom to a female Syrian named Mouse, after the shy demeanor she put up at the pet store (although I can safely now say, that was a facade!) Mouse is a white hammy with a cream head and some cream spots on her butt. I believe she's 8-10 weeks old? I was so excited I forgot to ask haha. I'll have had her for three weeks this Sunday. I'm a working college student, and Mouse's expenses are completely on me, as my parents are not animal people and I had to work hard to get them to agree to her, so I'd appreciate any and all DIY suggestions. Mouse's current set up is a 40 gallon breeder tank with a 12 inch silent spinner, a litter pan, about three cardboard tubes, and some hideaways (of course a water bottle and food bowl as well). I'm currently saving up to buy her some puzzle toys, maybe a little maze, and a playpen. Mouse is a very friendly hamster. On her first day she was taking treats that I offered her and she always runs up to my hand whenever I'm rearranging something or scatter feeding her. She also loves burrowing and only recently started staying inside one of her hideaways because I covered it in a bend-a-bridge and added some bedding to the sides to make it look buried. As of right now I'd say we only have two issues: 1. She won't run on her wheel. 2. I'm way to skittish about animals to continue taming her (a poor oversight on my part). Both of these are pretty much my fault, so oof. 1.On her first week, Mouse developed this fun habit of putting all her seeds on her wheel and then running on it. This ruckus made it almost impossible to sleep, so I'd lure her away with a treat and then shake all the seeds off her wheel. This sound would kind of frighten her. This happened every night for that first week, so the appeal of the wheel wore of for her, I guess? She'd only go on it for a little bit at a time and in more recent nights she hasn't been on it at all. Any advice on how to get her back on it? 2. Growing up I've had pretty traumatic experiences with most animals, so I'm a bit of a skittish person when it comes to animals. I expected that an animal as small as Mouse wouldn't freak me out but then I started reading about how much hamster bites supposedly hurt and it's made me a bit nervous. I do give her treats and I'm slowly becoming more comfortable with her sniffing me, but once her teeth grazed my fingers taking a pumpkin seed and it took all my self-control not to freak out. I know they nibble, which isn't meant to hurt, but all my brain tells me is abort mission, which I really don't want to do because she's such an absolute sweetheart. We're at a taming standstill because of my irrationality. The closest I've gotten to holding her is holding her in a cardboard tube. Any advice would be much appreciated! Sorry for the giant text walls, I love to write, can you tell?