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Old 02-19-2009, 07:28 AM   #1
jay_92
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Default Scared or shy?!

Hi ive had a Syrian hamster for 2 days now, hes still quite young but as soon as we brought him home and into his new cage he seemed to have settled down straight away, but since the first night he always seems to be hiding in his house. when he is out and about roaming his cage and on the wheel, he seems to run away from us when we go near him. when hes on his wheel and we approach him even when he does see us coming, he seems to run faster as if scared of us ? what should i do? is this normal as he sleeps in his house for the majority of the time even during the night he seems to barely be coming out and im afraid he may not be eating much aswel because his food bowl seems to have quite a bit of food in there still but i know that he has taken food from other parts of the cage into his house before. what should i do?!
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Old 02-19-2009, 01:08 PM   #2
souffle
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Default Re: Scared or shy?!

2 days is a very short time Jay and he will take a bit longer to settle. He will be frightened just now as everything is very new and he has never been handled before. Don't worry though as he will settle with gentleness and consistent taming. Here is a link to our taming guide.
http://www.hamstercentral.com/wiki/Taming_tips

You can also take him out in the bath (dry) so if he jumps he cannot run away. For now keep talking gently to him and calmly. Offer treats through the bars.
If he is really not coming out at night you do need to check he is not unwell. Take him to a safe area and take the cage top off. Gently take off his house lid and herd him into a box so you can look at him and see he does not have a wet bottom or anything. If he seems ill you need to see a vet but I suspect he is still just scared and untame.
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Old 02-19-2009, 05:39 PM   #3
jay_92
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Default Re: Scared or shy?!

thank you for the website, when would he be ready for me to put him into the bath tub because at the moment he seems to be biting on the cage bars as if to get out and is doing this alot, i also cleaned out his house and he has stored a LOT of food in there. anytime we go near him he either trys to avoid any contact made with us or sniffs and then goes again, but climbs the side of the cage alot and allows us to stroke him while he does so though. but any other time he just goes onto his wheel and if we get close he runs faster. is this okay? what else should i do because i feel slightly frightened to let him out of his cage and even into the bath tub because i fear the difficulty he may face when he goes back into his cage, and how difficult it would be to get him back in there. Many thanks for the previous information as well.
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Old 02-19-2009, 07:02 PM   #4
Intense125
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Default Re: Scared or shy?!

My Danny Boo jumped around like a cricket any time I tried to touch him at first. I followed the taming tips on Hamster Central and have had a loving friendly hamster for 2+ years now. He even rushes to the door of his cage and crawls happily into our hands when we open it. Good luck, and I'm sure your baby will calm down soon!
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Old 02-20-2009, 04:14 AM   #5
souffle
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Default Re: Scared or shy?!

He is frightened because he has not been tamed yet Jay. In order to tame him you have to take him out and get him used to being handled. The longer you wait the harder it will be. As long as the cage is a reasonable size and he has a wheel, toys etc don't worry about the cage. A lot of hamsters bar chew and it is a hard habit to break but unless he is hurting his nose he may grow out of it. Give him a big dog biscuit to chew. Have you got a secure room like a hallway where you could shut all the doors, put the cage on the floor and get him out? He is not ready for free running yet until he is tame and handleable and you can pick him up without him running crazy. The most important thing is the hand to hand running through the fingers so he feels your hands round him. If he escape have an ice cream tub ready and put it over him. Then lift it up and pick him up again. You need to get in the bath tub with him. Have him in the ball or tub then let him walk out and crawl over you while you stroke and hold him. He will not be able to climb the sides of the bath tub if he goes skittish.
All hamsters store food in their beds. It is quite normal. Hamster is from the german word hamstern meaning to hoard or store! Do not remove his food and always put a little in there when you clean out so he does not feel it has all gone.
Keep trying.I know you can do this
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Old 02-22-2009, 08:31 AM   #6
jay_92
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Default Re: Scared or shy?!

Thank you for all the help and advice and today i managed to take him into the hallway and lift him up play with him from hand to hand and then clean out his cage! while i cleaned out his cage i had to leave him in a box beside be though and he became quite scared as i expected and tried to get out. i felt his teeth come onto my fingers aswel and a very poor attempt to bite but i followed the taming method and he never bit me after i managed to lift him back out of the box and then into his cage again success!
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Old 02-22-2009, 01:04 PM   #7
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Default Re: Scared or shy?!

Fabulous jay - well done you
It won't be long before he is climbing out the door for cuddles. Keep up the good work.
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Old 02-24-2009, 03:32 PM   #8
jay_92
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Default Re: Scared or shy?!

thanks this is gonna sound stupid but we think we've found out shes a girl! because was only a pup wen we first got her and now we think its a girl! any way to know apart from the shape of the bum?! also, shes biting on the top corner of the cage, is this okay for her andd the cage?! anything else i can give her to bite on instead?
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Old 02-25-2009, 01:58 PM   #9
souffle
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Default Re: Scared or shy?!

Here are some pics to help you check if she is a boy or a girl!
http://www.hamstercentral.com/wiki/Tell ... _female%3F
Young hamsters can be harder to sex as the testicles are not fully down but you can usually see the nipple lines in females and also the space between the two vents is very small.
As long as she is not hurting her nose on the bars, it is a hard habit to stop! Try giving a big hard dog biscuit. Weave card through the chew corner or block this area with a toy wired to the cage.
How is the taming going?
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Old 02-26-2009, 10:58 AM   #10
jay_92
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Default Re: Scared or shy?!

Taming was going good until Cookie (the now named hamster! ) started being a bit more scared when approached, but i havent attempted to take cookie out of the cage again yet, but have put my hand in more often and offer my hand to climb onto but just sniffs and walks away again. cookie also seems very bored so im trying to look for some toys to put in there because has stopped running on the wheel now and yesterday stayed in the little house for the majority of the day, and alll the food seems to end up in there so cookie has no reason to leave! even when i do try to call the hamster out. any suggestions for toys? and methods to maybe get cookie onto my hand again, should i take off the whole cage lid again like last time?
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