Taming

[Basia]

Well I'm determined to do a better job of taming Sybil than I did Basil. Bad tempered dogs, horses, rabbits hold no fear for me but I have to admit I am nervous of hamsters I think it must be because I was badly bitten by a friends hamster as a child.
My children tamed our previous hamsters, by the time I handled them they were already tame. Basil is tame up to a point, he lets me stroke him and will run over me in the playpen but is very jumpy and fast if I try to pick him up. I am (understandably I think) nervous of him since he bit me a couple of times. I really don't think he was being aggressive, he is unbelievably greedy and sees me as a source of all treats. I think he was seeing if he could eat me, but it hurt and the damage has been done psychologically and I think I make him nervous now.
Well Sybil and I are doing ok I think. She is incredibly slow and placid. I have been stroking her and putting my hand on the floor in front of her so she walks on me since the second day really but today I actually held her, sitting on the floor and she walked (slowly) from one hand to the other. I think it helps that she shows no signs of biting me and is soooo slow. :)

[Holly]

Well Sybil and I are doing ok I think. She is incredibly slow and placid. I have been stroking her and putting my hand on the floor in front of her so she walks on me since the second day really but today I actually held her, sitting on the floor and she walked (slowly) from one hand to the other. I think it helps that she shows no signs of biting me and is soooo slow. :)

I'm glad it's going well :)

Exactly my experience with Mocha - which reinforces the idea that Silver-Greys are very calm and great for the nervous novice! I love the way you say your children tamed your previous hamsters, if I'm honest my son tamed Treacle and Custard - but Mocha calmly sat on my lap almost from the start (to the point where I thought he was frozen in fear!) and was a great confidence booster. He is a joy to have around. I can now happily handle all three of our hamsters and like to think that I wouldn't be as nervous with a new one.

I just hope Sybil hasn't inherited Moxy's chewing habit :roll:

[suga]

That's great news. A bad experience can be of putting and a good one has the completely opposite effect - i was soo nervous of holding mine originally and it took a long time to pick her up without being really nervous. Keep it up and you will both be fine I am sure.

[pophammy]

Glad to hear that Sybil is doing well! If you need any help with taming there is an article on HC called 'Taming Tips'. You can find it by clicking on the link below:

http://www.hamstercentral.com/user.php? ... ticle&a=44 (http://www.hamstercentral.com/user.php?action=viewArticle&a=44)

[Basia]

Thanks for the replies - no bar chewing yet Holly :wink:
I read the article Pophammy, I have also read other articles on taming and it have tried to do a lot of it, hence the sitting in the playpen (and the bath). Trouble is Basil is quite a nervy hamster, he runs at the speed of light and jumps and if I put my hand in front of him he nips. This has made me sort of pull my hand away when he comes up to it which in turn makes him nervous. With Sybil I have made myself leave my hand there for her to sniff and walk on but she has never tried to bite me and moves very slowly. I am beginning to trust her and vice versa. I am quite annoyed with myself, I have handled some really vicious rabbits in my time and they can bite a lot harder than a little hamster but I have rarely been bitten by a rabbit and I must have handled hundreds with stewarding at shows, visiting other breeders and my own many, many rabbits. It comes down to confidence I suppose. I am hoping if Sybil builds my confidence I might feel happier handling Basil 'cause he is a lovely little boy. :)

[Basia]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/gdb234/Sybil005.jpg
This is Sybil - does anyone know what colour she is?[/img]

[Holly]

This is Sybil - does anyone know what colour she is?

Well, she looks a lot like Mocha and the consensus of opinion here and on other forums is that he's either a Silver Grey or possibly a Sepia/Sepia Silver Grey.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o209/Holly_Day/IMG_4278.jpg

I'd say Mocha, in the flesh (fur!), doesn't look as brown/beige as his pictures make him look - I think he catches the flash a bit. Would you day Sybil is the same?

Anyway, she's beautiful :) ....I'm developing a real liking for grey hammies!

[Basia]

Mocha is so gorgeous, everytime I see a photo of him I think he is a particularly adorable hammie.
Sybil's picture is not quite as she is in the flesh due to the flash it seems to have made her more tan coloured. I think this photo is the nearest to how she really is.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/gdb234/Sybil004.jpg

[Hana]

Shr is very cute and does look like Mocha to me, I'm not very good at colours though. I have that cage for my winter white Snowy! :)

[Holly]

I think this photo is the nearest to how she really is.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/gdb234/Sybil004.jpg

I'd say that's awfully like Mocha's real colouring as well.

I'm taking him to Lymm in two weeks so I'll let you know what colour the experts say he is - Sybil is the same I suspect :wink:

[souffle]

I think they are both one of the greys either silver/dark/sepia but I have not seen enough greys to be sure. Jean Tye who is judging at Lymm will know for sure or Sheryl. Jean is a national judge and has quite a few unusual and rare colours herself and her creams are just stunning. :lol:

[Basia]

Our Pets@Home sell a great many hamsters. I go in there often because of my menagerie of pets and I always look at the hamsters, for years now I've been looking at them. I have never seen many greys, they have a lot of goldens and creams. A couple of weeks after I bought Basil though they had 2 HUGE grey females. They were a different grey to Sybil, much darker and greyer. I didn't notice any beige in them but they had very black flashes. They were really lovely. I haven't seen a grey since until last week when Sybil arrived. They had a lot of hamsters in that weekend and they were all sold by Sunday except for Sybil who I had looked at on the Friday and Saturday (said I go in there a lot :oops: ). I think she was meant to be for me.
On the taming front I have been reading the Dk Hamster book (I know its meant to be for children) and it shows a little frame with strong mesh attached to it. The hamster holds onto the mesh and its supposed to make it easier to pick hammy up, brush him, etc. It looked quite a good idea to me but has anyone used something like this? If so would they recommend it?

[Holly]

I think they are both one of the greys either silver/dark/sepia but I have not seen enough greys to be sure. Jean Tye who is judging at Lymm will know for sure or Sheryl. Jean is a national judge and has quite a few unusual and rare colours herself and her creams are just stunning. :lol:

Fantastic - this is partly (among many other reasons!) why we are coming to the show. I'm really looking forward to it (but a bit nervous as well!).

They had a lot of hamsters in that weekend and they were all sold by Sunday except for Sybil who I had looked at on the Friday and Saturday (said I go in there a lot :oops: ). I think she was meant to be for me.

I'm so pleased she was meant for you, I'm a huge believer in that sort of thing and am sure Moxy was meant for me too - we have three hammies, the two who belong to the confident boys are little live-wires and the one that 'chose' me is a gentle, quiet confidence booster :wink: ..because of him I'm confident with them all now.


On the taming front I have been reading the Dk Hamster book (I know its meant to be for children) and it shows a little frame with strong mesh attached to it. The hamster holds onto the mesh and its supposed to make it easier to pick hammy up, brush him, etc. It looked quite a good idea to me but has anyone used something like this? If so would they recommend it?

I have that book for my son so I know what you mean, I don't know if they make handling easier (I assume you mean for Basil as it sounds like you've got Sybil sussed already) but I know the judges use something simillar at shows to handle hamsters they don't know as I've seen pictures on the net and in a book.

One idea for Basil - we wash our hands and use a tiny drop of alcohol hand gel and, since we started doing that, our hammies have never nipped and take less interest in our fingers. We started doing it because I was a bit paranoid initially about bringing bugs home from work (I'm a nurse) and spreading any bugs between hamsters as well. They obviously now know the smell 'cos they quite happily climb on us but they obviously don't find it a tempting nibble!

[babyboos]

very sensible and true - hamsters really don't seem interested in hands cleansed with the no water antibacterial gel

[Basia]

Thanks, that sounds like a good tip. In retrospect I think I fed Basil too much by hand when I first had him to get him to like me. He now associates my fingers with food!
I decided not to do this with Sybil and got her used to being handled before I ever fed her a treat by hand so she doesn't see my hands just as a source of food.
You will enjoy the show I'm sure Holly, the hamster people all seem very friendly. :)

[Holly]

Thanks, that sounds like a good tip. In retrospect I think I fed Basil too much by hand when I first had him to get him to like me. He now associates my fingers with food!

I have to admit I was a bit paranoid if I'd fed them something by hand that they would smell it and nip me - they never have but then I always wash my hands/alcohol gel them if I do hand feed them so perhaps that's why I've never been bitten.

[Holly]

How's it going with Sybil, Basia? And did you try the alcohol hand gel trick with Basil?

[Basia]

Sybil is better some days than others. She is not jumpy but I think she can be frightened. Instead of jumping she freezes. I am not rushing her, just letting her walk on my hands when she wants to and not pushing her if she doesn't. She moves incredibly slowly - except on her wheel - and has never shown any inclination to nip. I pick her up but just onto my lap or over the cage at the moment. I wouldn't say she is really tame yet. As for Basil, what can I say? Given up! He runs all over me but he will not be handled, hand gel or not. Love him to bits though.
I would love a really tame hamster who likes to be handled and cuddled. I'm wondering if it is a bit like rabbits, if they are handled as soon as they come out of the nest they end up really soppy and tame.
Thanks for asking Holly - one day I will post a picture of me actually holding sybil for the camera hopefully! :wink:

[Holly]

Sybil is better some days than others. She is not jumpy but I think she can be frightened. Instead of jumping she freezes. I am not rushing her, just letting her walk on my hands when she wants to and not pushing her if she doesn't. She moves incredibly slowly - except on her wheel - and has never shown any inclination to nip.

She still sounds exactly like Mocha - I remember posting (on the other forum we both frequent) about how slow he was and how he appeared to be 'frozen' in fear.

Well the good news is that he doesn't do that anymore - he's now more like the other two and is always waiting to come out every evening (yes, evening - he's not even a morning ham anymore) and is lively when he does. Sybil sounds so like him, I'm sure Mocha was frightened and Sybil still is - but with careful and patient handling I'm sure you will get there with her.