Chinese doesn't like being lifted

[Chonkers2]

Hello, me again! (sorry)

Mulan is my lovely 7/8 month old Chinese hamster. As you may/may not know I had a lot of problems with little Mulan being quite skittish, but have made her home a little foray of caves and hidey holes and shade and she's come right out of her shell.

She really likes me, in fact I'm the only person she'll ever go near. When I put my hand in the cage she'll come straight up to me and sniff my hand for food and climb on it to see if I have any goodies for her.
The issue lies with when I pick her up. For ages now I've been taking her out of her cage and running her along my hands whenever she climbs onto my hand (she's wayyyy too quick to scoop up) but recently I realised she always runs towards her cage door. Her ears are up but she is constantly trying to get back to her cage.

I felt bad I hadn't noticed and figured it might be that she doesn't like me lifting her up from her cage, so I transferred her to a playpen (a large cardboard box with a fluffy blanket on the bottom) along with her toys.
I put my hand down and she instantly ran over and onto my hand and started pocketing the seeds, however as soon as I lifted her up and close to my chest she dropped everything from her pouches (which I understand to be a sign of panic) so I calmly put her back down.

I'm at a bit of a loss of what to do - she'll crawl all over me in the bath, she'll climb all over me in her cage and playpen but she really bolts every time my hand lifts. It makes getting her out of the cage or checking on her really hard without distressing her .

Does anyone have any idea as to where I'm going wrong/what I can do for her?



TL;DR My hamster seems perfectly OK with me, but is scared of being lifted up

[kyrilliondaemon]

Could you try slowly working on moving your hand with her on it? Like let her walk onto your hand then lift it very slightly and slowly for a second before putting it back to the floor, then when she's ok with that slowly keep it off the floor for an extra second, then move it slightly higher during that second e.t.c
Eventually you'll be able to stop worrying so much about moving as slowly as possible but for now the slower you move and the less time your hand is up the happier she'll probably get with it

Unpouching isn't always a sign of panic either by the way, we had a hamster who unpouched underneath my knee or leg every time she had treats during playtime. She wasn't worried, she just trusted that was a safe spot to leave her treats while she played

[Chonkers2]

Originally Posted by kyrilliondaemon

Could you try slowly working on moving your hand with her on it? Like let her walk onto your hand then lift it very slightly and slowly for a second before putting it back to the floor, then when she's ok with that slowly keep it off the floor for an extra second, then move it slightly higher during that second e.t.c
Eventually you'll be able to stop worrying so much about moving as slowly as possible but for now the slower you move and the less time your hand is up the happier she'll probably get with it

Thanks for the advice. I'll try taking it slow with her. She's so difficult to read! In a way I love that she's a challenge, but it does make me worry!

[Avocado]

My little Cheese (Chinese hammy) is same with me too. I am the only one she will really go near, and when she does come out she's very loving and playful, but she always depouches (always!). She always de-pouches in the crook of my arm, which is where she settles for a snooze. And she isn't inclined to come out unless I bribe her with sesame seeds or little roasted hazelnuts! I love my little Cheesey with all my heart, each time she trusts me enough to come out, I feel over the moon. She's such a shy girl, but ever so loving.

Anyway, my experience with little Cheese is the same...

[Chonkers2]

Thank you so much Avocado for that. It really helps to hear it's not just little Mulan. She's so jumpy and scared a lot of the time, it really upsets me. I guess it's just in their nature! It's nice to know she trusts me, even if it's not fully

[Avocado]

Originally Posted by Chonkers2

Thank you so much Avocado for that. It really helps to hear it's not just little Mulan. She's so jumpy and scared a lot of the time, it really upsets me. I guess it's just in their nature! It's nice to know she trusts me, even if it's not fully

If she's close to coming out of her bungalow and my husband walks in the room, she runs back in and won't come out for quite some time... I think they're naturally jumpy. I am reassured to read about your little Mulan too!