Need help hand taming. Difficult.

[Oatmeal_Cupcake]

Originally Posted by Shannonmcn

Ceecee is the same, she's not scared of me anymore (though she's still skittish in general), but she has no interest in climbing on me or sitting with me. She'd just rather be off exploring, it's just her personality. I'd like her to be a little more cuddly but at the same time you have to respect what they want and need.

I'm sorry it upsets you and I would never say you should stop trying and encouraging her but she might never be the people-centred ham you seem to want her to be. Some animals just aren't people-focused and it might make us work a bit harder but the times that they do show affection means a lot more.

Thank you for sharing your story and for letting my know that there is a possibility that this is just the way she might be. Sometimes it helps to know the answer instead of beating yourself over what you're doing wrong.

[Oatmeal_Cupcake]

Originally Posted by batmum

Oatmeal I think I am in the same situation as you. Bruce seems to wait for the noise to stop in the room before coming out, like hes avoiding me. Hell let me pet him and if he's sleepy hell snuggle into me or my partner but he doesn't walk onto my hand, infact I think he avoids it sometimes.

I've just put it down to personality really. My hamsters not frightened of me, he doesn't jump ir shake when he sees me, nor does he Freeze.. So i think he's just a wee unsociable creature lol and its on his terms not mine.

I might be wrong though so this thread will be interesting xx

Thank you for sharing your similar experience. Honestly I never really thought that this might just be the way she is. It always helps to know that I'm not alone in this. So thank you for taking the time to comment.

[Thin Lizzy]

Twinkle was exactly the same as Aria.
Believe me when I say this, I thought she hated me and when she bit me, I was so angry at myself for her behaving like that. At one point I nearly took her back to the petshop.
But, I didn't because deep down I'm not a quitter.
It has been a slow process but well worth it. She can still be a wee diva at times!
All hamsters are different, but once they start to trust you and know you won't hurt them the end results are well worth the wait.

Keep at it! I know you can do this. Have a bit more faith in yourself!

[Bbhami]

My first syrian. BB was the same. He would only use me to get out of the cage and explore. Now that he's super tame, i just give him the space he needs and wait for him to ask for out time. Once Aria's tame, you would be the one wanting her to go back to her anti social ways ) now my syrian thinks he can demand out time any time of the night so we do a little revenge game. If he wakes me up 3am i will wake him up in the morning just to annoy him. Instead of being frustrated think of fun ways to get back at her.

[Skeever]

Not sure how long the taming has been going on, but even when they are pretty tame? it deepens and they bond more in many cases. Having said that? Ziggy is not a people ham. Him seeing me and jumping for joy once a day is because I can open the door, and set up his play area toys and give him treats and stop him from sliding off something....

He will sit still a bit for a petting, and likes being groomed and brushed. He will just as soon run towards me while playing as away from me.....supposedly a sign of a hamster liking you. It does run towards you as well as away , lol.......But over the last eight months, his antisocial little self now lets me pick him up from his cage (but doesn't prefer it) give me a lick when I open his nest pod and scratch his forehead before slipping him a treat not allowed on his diet, and doesn't mind sitting on my shoulder when I walk around showing him things. Or doing a full cage clean with him in the cage the whole time. He just really rather explore. On his own. And do his own thing. A cuddle for a few minutes is fine but....not much more.

Pook is the opposite in many ways, and his taming just deepened last week when he decided to nap on my arm and let me scritch him all over , under his chin, his ears, his tummy as he lay full our eyes closed, er, a little to the left thank you..... That was a real first. They both talk more. Pook started, and now its contagious, so they both squeak and comment on things sometimes, or seem to chat to each other once in a blue moon.

Cat owners often go through the same thing. Winding up with a fluffy kitten who becomes a 'did I say you could TOUCH me, human?!' kinda aloof cat who seemingly doesn't see people as more than massagers, feeders and toilet cleaners

Revenge games? Ha, that's nothing......You want revenge? Pee on them.

[Bbhami]

Originally Posted by Skeever

Revenge games? Ha, that's nothing......You want revenge? Pee on them.

Pee on them????? @_@

[Nancy's Hamsters]

Haha Skeever you are one of a kind,
I too have had the cuddle bug pick me up, pick me up kind of Hamster, and I've had plenty of the ewwww Human smelly hands type hamsters. Each is different in their own ways of bonding with us.

Since she allows you to scoop her up that is actually a bigger acomplishment then her climbing up on your hand. Why you ask? Cause Hamsters are prey for many other animals who are much much bigger then them. IF they don't have full confidence, and trust in you they would never ever allow your huge to their sight hand coming down from above them to completely encompass them with fingers and palms.

Since you say she climbed on your hand from the bin door use that to your advantage in training her to climb in your hand. Have a very very special treat which she will jump to the moon and back for(haven't found one yet? Keep looking as there will be something she loves out there) Open her bin door and call her name and see if she will walk over to the door. If she does then a teeny bit of the special treat is given as a reward for the behavior. Find a word to say that she will learn to associate with the behavior you want her to do. "Up,Up" is a common one used for asking a Hamster to climb on to your hand.

Even if she just places one front paw on your thumb reward her. When she will do this behavior then make it a bit harder to get the reward by insisting she place two paws on your thumb before a reward. Little by little hold the special treat farther away from your thumb and more in the palm of your hand. In a bit of time she may figure out two and two equals four and figure out you want her to climb up on your hand.

How long will that take? Some learn quickly, while others take a long time, but as has been stated in almost ever post reply. You must go at your hamsters pace and not your hearts desire. Quit getting angry as it will only make her not want to be around you(Hamsters has extremely sensitive senses and even if you left the house and came back you actually emit anger odors the Hamster can smell and sense which could possibly stop them from even wanting to be in your hand.

So always look for a positive thing from the training sessions, and be Happy with whatever she did that session. Her just coming out of her nest and towards you is a huge acceptance of you and a huge sign of her trust you won't cause her harm. Tell her how happy you are that she trust you and silly as this may sound tell her what you would like to see her do.

Hope this helps you out a little bit in getting Aria(love that name) to climb onto your hand.

[Oatmeal_Cupcake]

Originally Posted by Thin Lizzy

Twinkle was exactly the same as Aria.
Believe me when I say this, I thought she hated me and when she bit me, I was so angry at myself for her behaving like that. At one point I nearly took her back to the petshop.
But, I didn't because deep down I'm not a quitter.
It has been a slow process but well worth it. She can still be a wee diva at times!
All hamsters are different, but once they start to trust you and know you won't hurt them the end results are well worth the wait.

Keep at it! I know you can do this. Have a bit more faith in yourself!

That is such a relief to hear. It's shameful to admit that I also felt that way with Aria that night. I knew I was just upset and that I wouldn't really do it though. My boyfriend just let me vent it all out and assured me that I wouldn't be taking her back. He's so right. Thank you so much! You're very right that it just take time with these little hamsters.

Originally Posted by Bbhami

My first syrian. BB was the same. He would only use me to get out of the cage and explore. Now that he's super tame, i just give him the space he needs and wait for him to ask for out time. Once Aria's tame, you would be the one wanting her to go back to her anti social ways ) now my syrian thinks he can demand out time any time of the night so we do a little revenge game. If he wakes me up 3am i will wake him up in the morning just to annoy him. Instead of being frustrated think of fun ways to get back at her.

Ha ha! That's true too. I actually thought about that as I was starting the taming process with her. Right now she's happy living in her mansion with no immediate need of wanting to come out. I'm sure on the nights that I am tired I will miss her anti-social ways for sure!

Originally Posted by Skeever

Not sure how long the taming has been going on, but even when they are pretty tame? it deepens and they bond more in many cases. Having said that? Ziggy is not a people ham. Him seeing me and jumping for joy once a day is because I can open the door, and set up his play area toys and give him treats and stop him from sliding off something....

He will sit still a bit for a petting, and likes being groomed and brushed. He will just as soon run towards me while playing as away from me.....supposedly a sign of a hamster liking you. It does run towards you as well as away , lol.......But over the last eight months, his antisocial little self now lets me pick him up from his cage (but doesn't prefer it) give me a lick when I open his nest pod and scratch his forehead before slipping him a treat not allowed on his diet, and doesn't mind sitting on my shoulder when I walk around showing him things. Or doing a full cage clean with him in the cage the whole time. He just really rather explore. On his own. And do his own thing. A cuddle for a few minutes is fine but....not much more.

Pook is the opposite in many ways, and his taming just deepened last week when he decided to nap on my arm and let me scritch him all over , under his chin, his ears, his tummy as he lay full our eyes closed, er, a little to the left thank you..... That was a real first. They both talk more. Pook started, and now its contagious, so they both squeak and comment on things sometimes, or seem to chat to each other once in a blue moon.

Cat owners often go through the same thing. Winding up with a fluffy kitten who becomes a 'did I say you could TOUCH me, human?!' kinda aloof cat who seemingly doesn't see people as more than massagers, feeders and toilet cleaners

Revenge games? Ha, that's nothing......You want revenge? Pee on them.

I've only been trying to tame her 4 weeks this upcoming Monday. It hasn't been that long so when I was upset over all this I knew that it wasn't fair to her and that I needed to be patient. Kit Kat took like 3-5 months to tame. I thought I would never tame her but I did and we did have a great bond with each other. :'(

Your cat example is great! I never really thought about it that way but it makes perfect sense! Thank you for putting it into perspective like that. I honestly really never put much thought into a hamster like that.

Hee hee! Luckily Aria is really good with her pee. This one time I was walking her on my hands in the tub and I placed her down and she just went to her sandbox to wee. Then she covered her wee and climbed out of her sandbox.

[Oatmeal_Cupcake]

Originally Posted by Nancy's Hamsters

Haha Skeever you are one of a kind,
I too have had the cuddle bug pick me up, pick me up kind of Hamster, and I've had plenty of the ewwww Human smelly hands type hamsters. Each is different in their own ways of bonding with us.

Since she allows you to scoop her up that is actually a bigger acomplishment then her climbing up on your hand. Why you ask? Cause Hamsters are prey for many other animals who are much much bigger then them. IF they don't have full confidence, and trust in you they would never ever allow your huge to their sight hand coming down from above them to completely encompass them with fingers and palms.

Since you say she climbed on your hand from the bin door use that to your advantage in training her to climb in your hand. Have a very very special treat which she will jump to the moon and back for(haven't found one yet? Keep looking as there will be something she loves out there) Open her bin door and call her name and see if she will walk over to the door. If she does then a teeny bit of the special treat is given as a reward for the behavior. Find a word to say that she will learn to associate with the behavior you want her to do. "Up,Up" is a common one used for asking a Hamster to climb on to your hand.

Even if she just places one front paw on your thumb reward her. When she will do this behavior then make it a bit harder to get the reward by insisting she place two paws on your thumb before a reward. Little by little hold the special treat farther away from your thumb and more in the palm of your hand. In a bit of time she may figure out two and two equals four and figure out you want her to climb up on your hand.

How long will that take? Some learn quickly, while others take a long time, but as has been stated in almost ever post reply. You must go at your hamsters pace and not your hearts desire. Quit getting angry as it will only make her not want to be around you(Hamsters has extremely sensitive senses and even if you left the house and came back you actually emit anger odors the Hamster can smell and sense which could possibly stop them from even wanting to be in your hand.

So always look for a positive thing from the training sessions, and be Happy with whatever she did that session. Her just coming out of her nest and towards you is a huge acceptance of you and a huge sign of her trust you won't cause her harm. Tell her how happy you are that she trust you and silly as this may sound tell her what you would like to see her do.

Hope this helps you out a little bit in getting Aria(love that name) to climb onto your hand.

You actually have a very good point there with the picking up. She actually has freaked out about things being over and above her. She'd see "x" thing and blitz to go and hide. For being as skittish as she is, she's also never bitten me. So looking it that way you're right. Thank you so much for pointing that trust she has for me. I really can't believe that I've overlooked that.

I'll have to keep looking for a treat. Right now she LOVES sunflower seeds but I want to keep that to a minimum. Thank you for the training tips! I'll be sure to try that all out! I'm a huge believer that all animals are smart to be trained and can learn. You've made the whole training process sound really exciting and I do believe that Aria and I can achieve progress using this process!! I'm really excited to start.

Wow! That's a really great fact. It never really occurred to me that she would be able to sense my anger like that. I'll be sure to keep my cool for sure from now on. Thus far she's been alright. I think she's more uneasy about the Christmas guests being in the house. I've let her be while they're here to avoid stressing her out.

Thank you so much! I'll be sure to stay relaxed and not overlook even the smallest of accomplishments. I will take my time and let her lead the way. I will really embrace this positive training. It really does mean a lot that you have taken the time to reply and guide me with a how-to.

Thank you! I'm glad you love her name too.