Gizmo's little quirks

[nightminder]

Hi Guys, just got a couple of questions about Gizmo's behaviour.

We have started noticing a couple of things when we are trying to handle him. We have been handling him out of the cage for a couple of weeks, and out of his ball, but over the past couple of days he has started flipping on to his back to attack our hands every time we go to handle him. He is quite happy to take food from the hand and is quite inquisitive with his ball, but seems to have gone off me! Any ideas? Or should we just start over with his taming from scratch?
Many thanks!
Nightminder and Gizmo

[jayne]

Hello :)

From what you have said and from my experience of a hamster going on their back, it sounds to me like he may be a little bit scared. Maybe take things a bit slowly again and try from scratch might help.
Have you tried sitting in an empty bath yet and letting Gizmo run around and over you? Maybe trying a different taming technique to what you used previously and hopefully that should help. It is strange that he is acting this way but if it's only been a few weeks then he may need a bit longer.

Hope this helps :)

[pophammy]

Yes, I would agree that he is a bit scared. Have a look at this article on the wiki ~ http://www.hamstercentral.com/wiki/Taming_tips ~ it gives lots of helpful hints on taming your hamster. :)

[nightminder]

Thanks guys, gonna try with him in the bath with me to see how he feels climbing around me. Also, in the wiki article, what is the cage called in the first picture??? I have seen one in a pet shop and was going to get it but its gone! Really want Giz out of this wire cage and into something bigger... Many thanks again, will let you know how the taming goes ;)
Nightminder and Gizmo

[souffle]

The cage in the pics is a Gabber Rex. I think they have stopped making these cages in Italy but there are still some around often called Montagna Rex. They frequently come up on E Bay under large hamster cage/ Gabber/Rex/Montagna and they can occasionally be found in the on line pet stores. All our hammies love them though most will chew the roof bars. There is a review in the 'Cage Review ' section.