New Syrian Hamster??

[AbiChan]

I'm no stranger to Syrians, as over the years I've had multiple of them {infact they're the only species of hamster I've ever had.} But this is the first syrian I've had in over four years!

I didn't go out to get him, he was more of a surprise present from my mom and sister, they said he was a troublesome rescue hamster from the pet store who had quite a personality, now completely forgetting everything I learnt four years ago, I put my hand in, let him sniff it and tried to pet him, then pick him up {Stupid decision!} and he didn't like this, shrunk back and made a shrieking noise, so I backed off immediately, and now I've had him for three days and hes slowly warming up to me and allowed me to hold him today and stroke him gently but he's still a very nervous hamster, my family thinks this could be because hes a rescue but I'm still worried, does anyone have any tips etc on how to get him more used to being handled and seeing that I'm not a threat? I've tried the usual, offer treats on my hand but he won't take them unless I put them down for him.

{Also, he hasn't bitten me at all so I'm guessing this is a good thing? And his name is Paddington, the pet shop named him that but he looks like Crowley from Supernatural so I jokingly call him "Crowley Paddington" but call him by Paddington so I don't unsettle him. He's also a few months old.}

Anyway, anybody got any advice or tips?

[kyrilliondaemon]

Could you try taming him outside the cage?

[cypher]

Hi & welcome to the forum
You haven't had your ham long at all yet so I think the main thing is to just take it slow & steady especially as he may have had a bit of a difficult history.
I don't know how much of this will be useful but these are my basic taming/getting to know your ham tips.
I always begin with the scented tissue trick, put a tissue or toilet paper up your sleeve or somewhere it will get your scent, leave it for a few hours & then put it in the cage. keep doing this every day until they are more familiar with you. I actually do this before I even bring a ham home so the cage already has my scent from the start.

For the first day or two just talk to your hamster quietly, don't try to handle or pick them up, just let them settle, allow them to get used to you being around without feeling you're a threat to them.

Try to avoid tubes in the cage, as well as possibly being unhygienic if they sleep in them it can be very hard to get them out if they're scared & it will only stress them out more if you have to struggle to get to them.

Once your ham is getting used to you being around put your hand by the open door & allow them to approach you.
You can try offering a treat such as a sunflower seed or mealworm first in your finger tips & then on the palm of your hand.

If your cage allows it always approach from the front rather from above as this will be a lot less frightening for them.

If they bite try very hard not to react, just continue doing what you were doing so they don't feel they are getting a reward for biting.

To begin with if they don't climb into your hand you can get them out of the cage using a ball, small cardboard box or tube & use that to carry them to a plastic bin or playpen. Put some substrate from the cage with their scent on & maybe a small house in the bin so they feel safer & then try picking them up or just offering your hand to them in there.
I find some hams can be more scared out of the cage but a lot of people find this the best way for taming. Some people use the bath in a similar way, I don't have a bath so I haven't tried it!

Always try to tame your ham at their own pace, don't try to rush them or be disappointed if it doesn't quite go to plan, they are all different so be patient & just enjoy the process!

[BrainGirl]

I think it's all been said so I'll just add a congratulations on your new addition! I have a hamster (ok, I have several) but this hamster had a really rough start and was branded a vicious hamster. She's just scared out of her wits but she's really lovely and sweet once she realizes it's me again and I'm not going to hurt her. Good luck

[Pebbles82]

You will get there. Ours was a problem - been in the pet shop too long I reckon. It has taken 3 months very gradually, but now I can pick him up and hold him and he is used to me. The bathtub (dry!) did it for us - once or twice a week, a few toys in there, just letting him play and run around (and slide down the side of the bath while he tries to climb it). Then moved onto just stroking his back the odd time until he got used to that. Then moved onto putting a hand under his tummy, lifting him slightly but letting him walk off again untl he got used to that. Also one of us would get in the bath and he got used to us just being something to walk over. There is no way I could pick him up in the cage - he hates anyone putting a hand in his cage, but is much better out of the cage. I still use a tube to get him out of the cage - he just walks into it and then into the ball which we use to transport him wherever we will be letting him out.

[AbiChan]

Thanks all! I've had him for about a week now and I see my errors (I'm also planning to try the tissue trick where you put it in your sleeve for a day and then in the hamsters cage so they get used to your scent.) and I noticed he was rubbing himself against his cage bars and scratching? My sister who worked w/ animals for a while reckons because hes a baby he's getting rid of "baby fur" (I've always gotten hamsters 1 year or older, never had a young hamster before.) other than that he's getting better, I tried to get him to eat from my hand with little hamster chocolate drops that my other hamsters previously adored but then I discovered he doesn't like these at all, so when I put his regular hamster mix in my hand he helped himself to the food in my hand almost immediately. I'm planning on getting him a bigger hamster wheel because the one he has right now is just far too small for him. (Tomorrow I'm going to look through my old Hamster stuff to see if I still have one of the old ones I had for previous hamsters and wash it out, and my sister and me are looking at alternative cages to give him just more room for his toys etc, such as one of the large in length and moderately in width tanks she has left around for reptiles but never been used, or a bin cage.) And I'm gonna try bath-tub bonding also with him tomorrow! The only concern I have is his drinking, its a different water bottle to what I had before but not that different, however I may just replace it with a normal hamster bottle because he doesn't seem to be drinking from it much at all and its concerning, any suggestions on why he isn't drinking?

[NiceCrocs]

If he's drinking from the bottle, he should be okay. Hamsters naturally don't drink much, as they're originally from desert climates. Generally a hamster will drink about a teaspoon of water a day, which can be very difficult to notice, especially if you have a large water bottle. For this reason, I use the smallest water bottles I can find at the pet store. It's also a good way to keep me honest about changing the water regularly make sure the bottle is working though: tap the nozzle and make sure a drop of water comes out when you do. You should also see bubbles rising in the bottle. If the bottle gets stuck dehydration can hit very suddenly, so check regularly.

The rubbing is natural; syrian hamsters, and males in particular, have scent glands on each of their hips, and they rub themselves against their belongings to 'claim' it, so to speak.

Scratching can be tricky: hamsters are fastidious groomers, and will clean themselves several times a day. It can be hard to tell the difference between normal 'grooming' scratching and scratching that might point to another problem. If he's showing no signs of skin problems (redness, dry skin, loss of fur) or illness it's most likely just normal grooming.

I've never heard of a hamster losing it's 'baby fur' but I'm no expert