Is Noodle hiding from me? :(

[leejarratt]

Hello there!

I am a 3 day old hamster owner and my hammy is called Noodle, I have rarely seen him, he is always in his bedroom sleeping. I know you'll say they come out at night, they sleep in the day but... I have hardly seen Noodles at night, late at night too, or in the day, I occasionally lift up his bedroom to see if he is alright, he's just under his bedding (maybe I put in too much?), this is new to me and I just want a hamster that I can love and that he can love me (does that sound sad?).

Sometimes I enter the room where his cage is, I turn the light on and catch him on the wheel or drinking water, after 5 minutes of me watching, he returns back to his little bedroom, is he scared of me?

He is a russian campbell dwarf male, the pets at home staff said he is around 8-10 weeks old. I understand I have to tame him, everytime I put my hand in and he is there, he bites me constantly, he doesnt bite if I pick him up using the ol'tube method though.

Sorry for the long post, thanks in advance,

Lee Jarratt

[cee]

He;s still getting used to his surroundings and still sorta sees you as that giant eagle thing thats gonna eat him...Pikachu was a bit like that and is a bit like that still but I've had him for 3 months now and he even comes up to the end of the tank to listen to me talk to him.

As for the biting in cage thing, Russian Dwarfs can be cage territorial, Pikachu is the same with me and I find he doesnt bite hard enough to draw blood but its irritating regardless..I have to get him out by either using his coconut hut or his tube or I have in the past managed to get him out by pulling my sleeve over my fingers and he eventually climbs on, once he;'s out of the cage he's fine though. just keep perservering with the taming and make sure your fingers dont smell of food etc...also try giving him treats or hand feeding him seeds, he will soon come round to you ;P worked for Pik!

[leejarratt]

He;s still getting used to his surroundings and still sorta sees you as that giant eagle thing thats gonna eat him...Pikachu was a bit like that and is a bit like that still but I've had him for 3 months now and he even comes up to the end of the tank to listen to me talk to him.

As for the biting in cage thing, Russian Dwarfs can be cage territorial, Pikachu is the same with me and I find he doesnt bite hard enough to draw blood but its irritating regardless..I have to get him out by either using his coconut hut or his tube or I have in the past managed to get him out by pulling my sleeve over my fingers and he eventually climbs on, once he;'s out of the cage he's fine though. just keep perservering with the taming and make sure your fingers dont smell of food etc...also try giving him treats or hand feeding him seeds, he will soon come round to you ;P worked for Pik!

Thank you for the reply, I just want to see more of him :(

I have a seed stick hanging from the top of the cage, but also I have a small food bowl for him too. The seed stick thing has been there since day 1, should I take it out for a while and re-introduce it in a few days?

Also, do you reckon he is sleeping while he's in his room or just there because he's too frightened to come out? If he's sleeping, he sleeps an awful lot!

Lee

[j-alexandria]

Like Cee said, he is probably still scared and getting used to his surroundings. And she is also right about the cage territorial part. I've owned 3 different Campbells (not including my new one) and a pair had babies so that makes about 10. Anyways they can be very territorial. All of mine NEVER liked me putting my hand in their cage and I had to get a tube or cup to take them out, but after they were out of the cage they were perfect little angels.
Try taking it slow at first and don't rush anything. The first thing I do in the taming process is just put a tissue in the cage that has my sent and let them get used to it. The next day for about a week or so I will just hand feed them treats. After they realize that the hand means food they will be more comfortable with your hand. Now seeing as how you have a territorial ham, you might not want to just stick your hand in the cage and pick him up. So skip that lol. Next I would get a tube or cup and scoop them out of the cage and sit them on my lap with a hoodie on so they don't nibble on me and let them run on me and get even more used to me. Sooner or later your ham should come around and start being nicer and coming out when they see you.

Good luck, and I hope all turns out well. :)

[souffle]

He is very new and needs time to tame and settle. Have a read at the Taming Tips article in the WIKI.
Remember hamsters do not have human emotions and he will not 'love' you in the human sense of the world but he can learn to trust you and enjoy interacting with you. Be patient and give him time then you will be able to teach him to get up when you call and you can start enjoying each others company. It can take some time.
He sound like he has cage aggression so you should always use the tube to get him out the cage.

[leejarratt]

Hello,

Thanks for your replies, I have took some of your words into consideration.. Noodle still sleeps/hides quite a lot but now I see him sometimes going for a quick spin in his wheel and doing various other things. It's great to see him :)

I carefully put my hand in, he did bite but I put my hand in again a few minutes later, he just stepped onto it and I lifted him out of his cage, I held him for a while, talking to him, he's very fast (like super fast!), I let him crawl into his ball for the first proper time and it looked like he was enjoying himself.

Finally on Day 4 of owning Noodle, I see that he is starting to come out more :) (I also fully cleaned out his cage and placed a hamster toilet.)

Lee

[j-alexandria]

See, he was probably still scared those other days. Its a good sign that he crawled onto your hand the second time without biting. That shows that he is starting to familiarize himself with you. That's a big step for you. Just remember to take it slow and I recommend rewarding him with a small treat after you have held him so he associates being held = getting treats! :)

[leejarratt]

:)

This morning he was up too, I made myself some porridge and gave Noodle a tiny bit off a small spoon, he really enjoyed it :)

Lee

[j-alexandria]

:)

This morning he was up too, I made myself some porridge and gave Noodle a tiny bit off a small spoon, he really enjoyed it :)

Lee

Well here in the US we don't eat porridge, so I'm not sure what the contents are so I'm not to judge on whether its good or bad. He seems like he is really starting to warm up to you though. :D
I think I'm going to start the taming process with Toki tomorrow. He seems like he is adjusting well. Its so funny because when he goes from cage to cage, he runs and hopes through the holes. I should take a video of it one day.

[leejarratt]

:)

This morning he was up too, I made myself some porridge and gave Noodle a tiny bit off a small spoon, he really enjoyed it :)

Lee

Well here in the US we don't eat porridge, so I'm not sure what the contents are so I'm not to judge on whether its good or bad. He seems like he is really starting to warm up to you though. :D
I think I'm going to start the taming process with Toki tomorrow. He seems like he is adjusting well. Its so funny because when he goes from cage to cage, he runs and hopes through the holes. I should take a video of it one day.

Porridge is just milk & oats (and I put a few seeds in for extra taste), I gave it a quick research and they are safe to porridge (apparently it can be included in their daily diet because of the grains also etc). I will feed Noodle it as a treat every so often though..

As soon as you take that video, upload it ^-^

Lee

[j-alexandria]

Lol I'll try to get a video of it. Its hard to catch him in the act of something, he is so quiet at night and when you turn on the lights he freezes then goes back in his little house lol.
He is so adorable! I already tried feeding him a tiny piece of boiled egg by hand. He just nibbled on the egg lol.

[Rach86]

Morrissey ( I have had him since Sunday) seems very similar to Noodle! It seemed like he kept hiding from me the first couple of days. Since then he has become more confident in his new home, exploring it and coming out and running on the wheel and eating when I'm near the cage. Got him out today and he is happy sitting on my lap in a ball (open) but won't come out of it willingly....guess it'll just take time??