Hamster anxiety- please send help :(

[kokokoszka]

Hi, I'm desperate for help and advice on my little roborovski hamster Charlie :c

A little backstory on my baby:
He came from a rescue house where he lived with dogs and cats and was separated from his brothers because they were fighting..
And from the very beginning he was really anxious and never really trusted us, never really got tamed. It was always such a huge success when he came to our hands for a treat and sometimes we managed to pick him up a few centimeters, but he absolutely HATES being pet and freaks out

He's 1,5 years and looks REALLY old. Balding, thin, hunched back. But his anxiety is over the roof and it brakes my heart to see him constantly being scared and nervous. He gets scared really randomly by nothing, very rarely will come to eat something off our hands anymore and it usually sends him into panic mode, he is shivering and scared ALL THE TIME
He doesn't eat much anymore but drinks an awful lot!
We always treated him with care and love during the time he spent with us, the only thing we did that stressed him to the core is giving him treatment for a skin infection, but he needed it!

Is there anything we can give him to help him relax and ease the stress? Anything we can do? I'm desperate for my baby to be happier.. please help!!!!

[Sm_banks]

Maybe some toilet paper to keep the nest warm, extra treats and toys. A little fresh air makes my hammies a lot less stressed

[Cinnamon Bear]

Does he use his wheel still? You could always upgrade his wheel to maybe a 8 in Wodent Wheel. When I upgrade my dwarves wheels they love it!

[essentiallysue]

I make houses, ladders, and all sorts of things for my mice with Jenga blocks, cut-up cardboard, and popsicle sticks. The more creative I am, the more they love it. My hamsters used to too. I don't take out their sleep box, but I add a lot more and change to something new every few days, especially when I clean the cage. They get a wheel for each of them in every cage. I use large plastic bin cages, which allows me to put more stuff in that keeps them active and stuffing the things with toilet paper and shreds. It's easy to do with Elmer's clear glue.

[cypher]

He's not young any more but not that old for a robo really, weight loss, hair loss & hunched back sounds as though he may be unwell, if he is sick or in pain that would make him feel very vulnerable & increase his fear & anxiety.
I know it's difficult with a skittish robo but I'd be inclined to get your vet to check him over.

[velma]

I'd agree with cypher. Hector my robo is nearly two and has a hunched back from age but not the fur loss or weight loss. Hunched back in its own can be age. In conjunction with other things it can be a sign th are unwell. Robos are naturally skittish. Hector is quite hung-Ho for a robo and will fling himself at you if you have a treat but he hates being stroked. He bolts at the first sign of contact but will walk on your hand.
It sounds like your little fella has come from a noisy and intimidating household. I would hold off making lots of regular changes as it sounds like he needs familiarity. They do appreciate a tonne of cover to feel safe so lots of hideouts are good and loo rolls to run through. If he's struggling, make it flat and easy access though. What cage is he in? Generally bigger is better but if he's not used to space he may be stressed by having a big open cage. He may be better (even temporarily) in a more enclosed space to feel safer.
But as cypher said, your first port of call really needs to be the vet again, I think.

[Fluffagrams]

I was going to say that it sounds like he's not feeling all that well and sometimes this can cause changes in behaviour. As Cypher suggests, it's best to get him checked over by a vet.

Like Velma, I was going to ask about his cage. Sometimes if they're not happy in their cages it can cause changes in their behaviour and I've just had to move my Chinese into a smaller cage because he was very nervous and jumpy in a bigger one. Given his past, your little guy is probably going to be a little bit more nervy anyway so providing him with plenty of hidey-holes that he can retreat to whenever he feels scared is a great start.

[Pebbles82]

It's all been said really. The only other thing I was thinking that might help reduce his stress levels, is altering a cage cleaning routine. If you do big cage cleans once a week (I know some people do this, not sure if you do or not), that will cause stress. Our hamster was very nervous like this at first and much worse after anything changed in his cage. So I agree that familiarity is important (ie don't move things around). I've added Erin's Hamsters cage cleaning tips video which really helped me and now I don't ever clean everything at the same time, because you don't replace all the substrate, and can also rarely need to do big cage cleans with this method (it helps if they are potty trained as well). I think Cypher said the removing top third bit doesn't always work with dwarf hamsters as they can burrow down and pee at the bottom of the cage, but if that is the case, then just save the dry half of the substrate and replace it, mixing the new in, so it still smells familiar. It might be an idea to have a vet check as well, although that will probably stress him out as well, so keep an eye and see if he eats fresh food you put out.

Cage environment can affect their behaviour in lots of ways - not enough space, not enough overhead cover, and occasionally, too much space, but the minimum size of cage should be approx 70cm by 40cm for a dwarf hamster. Then they need at least 3 to 4" of substrate (as deep as possible - 6 inches is good), a suitable wheel (not a grid type metal one) that is at least 6.5" diameter, and plenty of torn up white toilet paper for nesting material - a big pile of it in the cage so he can pouch some and take it to his nest. If you put some sheets of toilet paper up your sleeve for a couple of hours before tearing it up, then your scent will also become more familiar to him as he'll have your scent in his nest after taking the toilet paper. And a house/hide big enough to build a big cosy nest in. Sometimes if they want a big nest and the house isn't big enough they'll nest somewhere else.

Their nest is something that really stresses them if it is taken away. Best to leave it and just spot clean the cage. If it gets wee'd on and you have to remove it, then try and leave some of the original nest behind.

To tempt him to eat you could try a little bit of cooked porridge on a teaspoon (let it cool down of course) - most hamsters seem to really like it. Ours actually grabs the teaspoon and licks every last bit off it.

Apologies if you know most of this already. Your hammy had a bad start, but sometimes little things in their environment or routine can make them stressed or feel secure.

Hair loss as well as hunching are signs of age, and stress could be adding to his symptoms. Another thing to try calming him is playing soft classical music, or other nice soft music. And you can sprinkle a few dried chamomile flowers on the substrate. Not too many. Hamsters can eat them and the scent is supposed to be calming. You can probably get them from a health food shop like Holland and Barrett.

It must be very upsetting for you seeing him so stressed - such a shame you can't pick him up and give him a stroke and a cuddle, but you can say soothing things to him through the cage. Keep us posted on how he is doing.

This is Erin's video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww

[cypher]

"I think Cypher said the removing top third bit doesn't always work with dwarf hamsters as they can burrow down and pee at the bottom of the cage, "
Ummmm no
Sorry, I obviously haven't explained the difference clearly enough! Spot cleaning pee is pretty much the same for dwarfs as syrians, what you would normally find scattered on the top layer with a syrian & want to clean away from time to time, poo, dried food that's got scattered about & left etc is most likely going to be at the bottom of the cage with a dwarf as it falls through the substrate to the base as they dig & burrow. Food hoards are often on the very base of the cage too!
Hope that makes it a bit clearer?
They all have different habits though, I think the more hams (of any species) you've had the more apparent that becomes so you just have to do what works for the individual ham really.

[Pebbles82]

Sorry! Must have misunderstood. Erin's method works well with Syrians but maybe needs a bit of adapting with dwarf hamsters, depending on the hamster's habits I guess. The main thing is not changing all the substrate at the same time. and cleaning toys/wheel at a different time.