Our New Chinese Dwarf is Jumping at us to be picked up!

[gdee]

Greetings all!

We recently lost our much adored pet (wild) mouse Humperdink...most likely of old age as he just went to sleep & never woke. He was over there years old which I have been told is a ripe old age for a mouse!

SO....to help fill the void we finally decided to get hammie! Humpy was a bit difficult to handle at times because he was SO FAST as a wild field mouse~
we wanted something a bit more easy to hold & handle!

We got "Hui" a Chinese Dwarf (Chinese meaning intelligent-bright) this past week from a local pet store. We modified the aquarium tank set up...got LOTS of toys & nibblers...and also created a seperate playpen with tubes & climbing toys.

They told us at pet store to leave him be for a few days to adjust to his new environment. He immediately went all over discovering his new cage & arranged his bedding, rolled around in his fluff & buried some treats so we figured he was pretty settled in a day or so.

He directly comes out of his nest when we go in his room & speak to him. We let him get used to our hands in his cage & he took treats no problem....we transferred him to his playpen via toilet tube smoothly as well. Question is: He is very obviously hand tame & jumps right on so we are really lucky I think BUT when we put him down into his play area ALL he wants is to be picked back up? He runs around for a short time to explore & nibble....stops to groom for a second then comes directly to sides of container & JUMPS at us to pick him up!

WE are new to Hammies so we thought he might be insecure & placed him back in his cage & again he climbs & Jumps at our hands to be picked up again...scratching at sides & begging....wildly climbing over everything & falling off stuff in his cage to get to us? (very endearing but a bit scary cause he leaps & falls (into his fluff of course but we don't want him hurt)

He also gets so excited when he is trying to scurry into our hands (he bit my husband.... has only nibbled on me so far...our mouse NEVER bit so this is also new) I am doing the hand over hand thing but he wants up the arms! He is so cute but I do not want to drop or grab at him when he crawls over me because he is pretty fast...lol!

Could wanting to be picked up obsessively possibly be a nervous thing or is this breed just super curious & human interactive ? It is certainly adorable but I would have thought he would spend more time with all his "toys" he will not even go into either of his wheels...lol!!

[WinnieTheHam]

Hi and Welcome to the Forum

It's normal for a hamster to be behaving like that, mine do it too. I'd still keep taming him for now because he has bitten your husband. Just keep feeding treats and things for now and leave him in his cage to settle down. Gradually start to let him come onto your hand if he wants to but don't rush into it.

Fluff bedding is very dangerous to hamsters (or any animal) so remove that as soon as possible. It can kill them if eaten, and can get tangled around the legs and stuck in their pouches. Use ripped up non-scented toilet paper for his bedding area.

He seems like a pretty confident little guy and i'm sure the taming process will be over soon

[cypher]

Hi, welcome & congrats!
Your new ham sounds adorable & very tame for a new young one, he doesn't sound scared at all & his behaviour is normal for a ham that's hand tamed but quite unusual for a young Chinese as they do tend to be very timid & take a while to tame generally, are you absolutely sure he's a Chinese?! Can't help but ask as it is unusual but maybe you just got really lucky there!
By fluff do you mean substrate of fluffy bedding? As Winnie says fluffy bedding is dangerous & should be removed but I'm not totally sure if that's what you mean?
What size wheel do you have? If it's too small they sometimes won't even try to use them, something like a 6.5" silent spinner or the 8" karlie wheel is good for a chinese, check to make sure it's working ok too as they do sometimes get stuck.
Look forward to seeing some photos of the little guy!

[PrehistoricGirl]

My hybrid dwarfhamster does the same thing:

Here is a short video of him
http://vid1353.photobucket.com/album...psgviholoh.mp4

It is very cute, but as you said a bit dangereous as well, since he now also does it at the top of his little hut, and sometimes he almost falls down.

Eventhough he wants to come up, he hasn't quite figured out that it is my hand that helps him up, so when I put my hand down, he just keeps jumping up against the side of the cage. - but he is slowly learning it

[cypher]

My hybrids have always done that too, it's very sweet but you do have to watch them as they so good at falling off things!

[racinghamster]

I don`t want to ramble on as the other members have already gave some answers, but when you remove your Chinese from what is essentially a new environment, he might feel scared out in open space and Chinese hamsters really don`t like that. They will flatten out and seek shelter, or as you say, try to get back to you or their home (cage).

They are adorable normally and your newbie sounds as though he`s half way there, but you do need to take a step back and only handle him in shorter sessions for now or he may bite again. The biting is a sign of stress and him saying he isn`t comfortable being asked to do things he doesn`t feel comfortable with. Hui will settle down, but he needs some `me` time.

If he has a wheel and lots to hide in, give him time to settle and sleep. Chinese hamsters believe it or not are very mouse-like, which is why I find them endearing as I was first and foremost a fancy mouse keeper! So sorry you recently lost Humperdink (love the name)! Mice are fantastic little people.

Chinese hamsters will climb and cling, just like a mouse, but do be aware that although they love climbing, they are not mice, so his environment should be a safe one with not too high a ceiling height.

Let us know how Hui is getting on. x