Hamster Central - View Single Post - Syrian suddenly more aggressive, and I may have lost her trust?

Distraughtlemon · 09-14-2020, 01:25 PM

I got my first hamster, 8 week old Syrian (female), Dio, two weeks ago. I did all the research I could, I gave her space, hardly handled her and did did my best to avoid mishandling her but I've made a terrible mistake...

I think I have lost what little trust she had in me. A few days ago I was carrying her in a container to take her back to her enclosure, however, there was no lid on the container and I had to hold it shut with my hand. She abruptly forced her way out of the container and into my hands. She got scared because she's never been held before and tried to escape. I couldn't let her go though because there was a metre between my hands and the floor, so I had to ensure she couldn't escape until I got to her enclosure. This happened in a matter of seconds but she's clearly been affected by it.

She hasn't been the friendliest hamster to say the least, even before this she'd always want to bite my hand. But now, she's worse. She occasionally hisses at me (even when I'm just looking into her enclosure) and she's more eager to bite me. She didn't even want to let me spot clean her cage last time, she attacked the cleaning scoop.

I'm genuinely anxious about even minor chores like changing her water or refilling her food dish now because I'm scared she'll hiss at me or want to attack me. It's not about getting hurt, I just find it heartbreaking that Dio sees me this way because I've wanted nothing more than to give her a loving home and a happy life and now I feel like I've screwed that up. The mistake I made has definitely upset her, I'm worried I'll never be able to get her to feel safe around me again. I don't mind if I can't fully tame her, as long as she's not stressed over minor things like me spotcleaning the cage or refilling her food, I don't mind if I can't handle her.

How would I go about regaining her trust? And how would I go about taming her after this, considering the fact that she's a bitey hamster? Is there any hope of me ever taming her at all? If anyone has any advice or similar stories I'd love to hear it..

09-14-2020, 01:25 PM
Distraughtlemon Newborn Pup Join Date: Sep 2020 Posts: 7	Syrian suddenly more aggressive, and I may have lost her trust? I got my first hamster, 8 week old Syrian (female), Dio, two weeks ago. I did all the research I could, I gave her space, hardly handled her and did did my best to avoid mishandling her but I've made a terrible mistake... I think I have lost what little trust she had in me. A few days ago I was carrying her in a container to take her back to her enclosure, however, there was no lid on the container and I had to hold it shut with my hand. She abruptly forced her way out of the container and into my hands. She got scared because she's never been held before and tried to escape. I couldn't let her go though because there was a metre between my hands and the floor, so I had to ensure she couldn't escape until I got to her enclosure. This happened in a matter of seconds but she's clearly been affected by it. She hasn't been the friendliest hamster to say the least, even before this she'd always want to bite my hand. But now, she's worse. She occasionally hisses at me (even when I'm just looking into her enclosure) and she's more eager to bite me. She didn't even want to let me spot clean her cage last time, she attacked the cleaning scoop. I'm genuinely anxious about even minor chores like changing her water or refilling her food dish now because I'm scared she'll hiss at me or want to attack me. It's not about getting hurt, I just find it heartbreaking that Dio sees me this way because I've wanted nothing more than to give her a loving home and a happy life and now I feel like I've screwed that up. The mistake I made has definitely upset her, I'm worried I'll never be able to get her to feel safe around me again. I don't mind if I can't fully tame her, as long as she's not stressed over minor things like me spotcleaning the cage or refilling her food, I don't mind if I can't handle her. How would I go about regaining her trust? And how would I go about taming her after this, considering the fact that she's a bitey hamster? Is there any hope of me ever taming her at all? If anyone has any advice or similar stories I'd love to hear it..