Scared hammy advice?

[goose]

Hey! I'm pretty new to this website but i'm having some hammy trouble so any advice would be very much appreciated!
I got my 3rd syrian hamster last week after a very very positive interaction in the store, she was very inquisitive and instantly felt comfortable climbing into my hands and being stroked. We brought her home and gave her the recommended settling in period. We began taming her by gently speaking to the cage and doing the scented tissue trick. Shes just beginning to take treats from my hand but is still very very jumpy, scared and runs in her wheel at the sight of us. I know we need to give her time but i'm just wondering about the best way of cleaning her cage? Shes also a longhaired syrian and ive noticed her butt fluff is looking like it needs a brush too. Does anyone have any advice? Thank you!

[Golden_Syrian_Hammmies]

Hi Goose, welcome to HC also congrats on your new addition. Just to encourage you that it will take time and patience in your new little one getting to know you. Moving to a new place with new smells and placing trust in you will all take a bit of time and it is very normal for her to be scared despite the very positive interaction you had at the pet shop. I had the same experience as you but then all of a sudden Fudge was very timid and frightened and it took a while for him to adjust and to get confortable with me. It sounds like your doing great and just keep on with what your doing talking gently to her and allowing her to sniff your hand. Also taming in the bath might be an option by transferring her in a tube or cup safely and getting into the bath with her so she gets used to you and knows that you are not a threat.

As for cage cleans it is less stressful for hamsters if they are not cleaned out too often as they rely largely on scent due to their poor eyesight and the familiarity of things around them. On HC we would recommend cage cleans once every couple of weeks - doing what's called spot checked regularly (lifting out droplongs daily and removing any soiled bedding). A great help which means you have to clean out less often is training your hamster to use a tray almost like a litter tray idea for a cat. I do this myself and so do many on here and it really makes a difference just cleaning out the tray as needed. A small tray such as a Chinese takeaway container is suitable and fill it with chinchilla sand (not dust as this is dangerous for hamsters respiratory system) and place in the corner of the cage your hamster uses, some of the wet bedding you could place in the tray so the hamster will smell it and encourage it to use the tray. When it comes to hamster care erinsaninals on YouTube is very informative, here are some links to videos which may be of help to you:

https://youtu.be/5jVnEjrXbww

https://youtu.be/c0h9HQB_ofs

Hope this helps!

[goose]

Thank you so much for the reply! It's reassuring to hear that we're doing the right thing, she has had little bursts of confidence where she will allow us to stroke her which is encouraging. Cleaning her cage once every couple of weeks will make it much easier! I was always told by pet stores to clean at least once a week but thankfully Tippy (my new girl) seems to be using one of her houses as a main toilet which will make it much easier. I've never had a long haired before, I'm guessing they see pretty good at grooming themselves? I have a little brush for her but would like to wait until she's more confident to use it. She has a small trail of sawdust which appears to have stuck itself to her fur, we have tried to gently remove it but it seems stuck. Should we leave it and attempt to remove it when she's more at ease with us?

[Golden_Syrian_Hammmies]

No problem Oops forgot to answer you about her being long haired! I've never owned a long hair myself but have heard about using a toothbrush to brush their hair. If she has something stuck there you could try moistening a cotton pad and damping the hair a bit and try to gently tease it out. She sounds lovely! What colour is she?

[goose]

Ive only ever owned short haired boys so my long haired girl is a bit new for me Do you think I should try and remove it now or wait a while? It doesn't seem to be affecting her much, I can hear her having a great time in her wheel. She's Brown with a hint of white. How many hams do you have?

[JamesLawrence03]

Originally Posted by goose

Hey! I'm pretty new to this website but i'm having some hammy trouble so any advice would be very much appreciated!
I got my 3rd syrian hamster last week after a very very positive interaction in the store, she was very inquisitive and instantly felt comfortable climbing into my hands and being stroked. We brought her home and gave her the recommended settling in period. We began taming her by gently speaking to the cage and doing the scented tissue trick. Shes just beginning to take treats from my hand but is still very very jumpy, scared and runs in her wheel at the sight of us. I know we need to give her time but i'm just wondering about the best way of cleaning her cage? Shes also a longhaired syrian and ive noticed her butt fluff is looking like it needs a brush too. Does anyone have any advice? Thank you!

your hamster may be scared by the technique you use to pick her up, you may have already read books or seen internet forums and videos, but picking up your hamster from the top frightens the hamster into thinking your a bird of prey, so the best way to pick them up is by scooping and cupping the hamster with your hands. your constant presence in the hamsters cage, like talking to it and making its tissue a human smell may be scaring the hamster as they are very solitary creatures and do like to mark their territory, basically what i mean is that they like some alone time, try different things with your hamster, and only pick up your hamster at a certain time in the day, like at midnight at a certain time you would believe your hamster is awake, as they are nocturnal creatures, i hope this helped