Just really shy?

crazyc4tlady · 09-15-2015, 11:48 AM

I've had my dwarf hamster, was named Dolores now just called by Tiny, for what seems like a while, maybe almost a year I'm not sure and we still don't seem to be friends lol
She is SO nervous and shy. Literally just 10 minutes ago she stuck her head out of her bedding and I offered her a pea, she went buzzing off and I haven't seen her since.

Now I'm only down to one ham I'm trying so hard to tame her but I really don't think she's up for it! She will sit in my hand and take a treat maybe once a day, but that's on her terms. And she most definitely will not be up and running about if I'm around the cage or if my bedroom light is on. She also rarely walks above the substrate, she's mainly digging.

Would it be cruel to just give her the food, water and toys she needs and keep human contact to a minimum? Or should I carry on and see how it goes?

Gemma_xo · 09-15-2015, 12:10 PM

Pixie took forever to come out of her house the same time I was around..
I think it's just a case of doing things on their terms, I was told my P@H that if they wont socialize then sometimes it's best to just let them get on with it.
Not every hamster will be your best friend (Pixie seems to be anti-Gemma at the moment anyway!)
I'll let her do things in her own time, although when she's in her play pen she's as social as they get, she looks for my hand when it's not in her play pen, and as soon as it is she just sits on it for a while until she's ready to go do her own thing again.
Have you got a play pen? Pixie is insanely territorial of her cage but 100% social out of it, Tiny might be the same but totally different in an environment that's not her 24/7 living space?
x

crazyc4tlady · 09-15-2015, 12:24 PM

Thanks for the reply Gemma

I really do wonder sometimes if letting her get on with it is the best thing?
(Haha the anti-Gemma thing made me laugh)
I've had a few cardboard play pens since I've had her but I've always had the issue of not being able to get her to even come near me sometimes let alone put her in a play pen. I do wonder though if maybe I put her in a different cage would she act any different, she's in a Duna Multy at the moment. xx

Gemma_xo · 09-15-2015, 12:46 PM

Pixie doesn't let me take her out of her cage by hand, I have a ball from P@H that I use, I put it in the cage to begin with, she'd get in it and shoot out of it when I tried to pick it up, but we're at the stage now where she just runs straight in and I put her in the play pen just fine.
Some people say a toilet roll with both ends covered works too but I don't like the pure darkness she'd be in whilst traveling, at least with the ball she can see out for the travel (not that it's long, the play pen is in front of the cage lol, I just pamper her!).
You might find it helps with something to travel in, a ball or a tube or something else with a "floor" with no escape routes for the journey

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyc4tlady

(Haha the anti-Gemma thing made me laugh)

Glad to hear it :P See this post for the reasoning behind her anti-Gemma mood xD
x

crazyc4tlady · 09-15-2015, 01:00 PM

Maybe I should try the playpen again, she's just so shy! Haha
She emerged about 5 minutes ago, but it's likes she's looking around constantly for something or someone, then hides again.

Btw I read your post, so funny haha xx

Gemma_xo · 09-15-2015, 01:42 PM

Tried talking to her near her cage?
I did that with Pixie a lot when I first got her before I had a play pen, she eventually got used to my voice and doesn't shoot off when she hears me.
Progress will probably be really slow as you've realised but the wait will be worth it in the end

x

Thin Lizzy · 09-15-2015, 08:57 PM

Hey Crazy, what kind of dwarf is she? I know that robos can be really shy and can be harder to tame.
Have you tried the tissue trick? Stuff some tissues or toilet paper up your sleeves and leave for a couple of hours and then put in her cage, she'll sniff it and it gets her familiar with your smell. Even better if she uses
the ttissue in her bedding. Talking does wonders too.
Does she have plenty of hidey toys in her cage. Dwarfs love lots of shelter and places to hide. Sometimes they get scared if there's a lot of open spaces and that's why she's shy.

crazyc4tlady · 09-15-2015, 09:11 PM

Yeah I talk to her quite a lot, she seems to stick her head out then hide away again haha

She's a Russian dwarf. My last one, Boris, was so sweet, he was like a little dog sometimes. Always coming to greet me and sitting with me. I've tried the tissue but she doesn't really seem to make a nest, she just digs and sleeps wherever.

Thin Lizzy · 09-16-2015, 06:23 PM

She knows your voice if she pops her head out when you talk to her. Every hamster is different, their character & personality. How old is Tiny?