Scared baby hamster

Cerii · 11-06-2009, 03:30 PM

I know it's very early on, but I bought a 5/6 week old baby syrian early this morning and he seems to be terrified. When I brought him home, I left him be, but my boyfriend went to put a bit more food in the cage 7 hours later, little Boris hissed, and growled at him, lying on his back. So we left him alone again, checking on how he was doing and he was fine...running in his giant wheel and climbing the bars, but when we appears he runs to his nest and peeks out at us. How long should I leave it before I try to interact with him? I've been talking softly a couple of times, but I'm worried that I'm making it worse! Also he ocasionally makes a strange noise when he's in his nest, I can't describe it really, it's like some one scraping tiny washboard.

Both my previous syrians were tame when I bought them, even though they were never handled before I got them. Bit worried, if anyone has any advice? Sorry about the essay

Cerii · 11-06-2009, 03:31 PM

Ps, I also notice one of his eyes isn't as fully open as the other, I took it for sleep before when I took avatar pic, but he eats with his eyes closed as well...

souffle · 11-06-2009, 04:04 PM

It is very early days yet and he does need a bit more time to settle before you start the taming. Look at the taming article and start by adding some scented tissue to his bedding so he gets used to your smell. Few pet shop hams are very tame and even those who have been handled get skitty in a new environment till they settle.
They eye is another issue. Has he ever opened it? Can you see the eye behind the lid? Some hammies have either been born without one eye or have had an injury resulting in loss. If the eye seems to be there then he may have had it poked or something by another hamster in the tank or he may just not be grooming well yet with the stress of the move. It would be too much to expect to try and bathe it just yet. It may open over the next day or so and you can have a look. If it does not then he may need a vet check and some drops but I would risk leaving it and see how it goes so as not to stress him at the moment.
Don't worry he will soon get used to things with you and you can start taming in ernest.

Cerii · 11-06-2009, 04:14 PM

His eye does open, but it looks smaller than the other, as if it's a bit sticky maybe and he blinks it a lot. when he eats, he closes both his eyes, and I've noticed he prefers the food from the shop rather than my food (maybe the homely smell?) so I will get him some more of that. I will post a pic of eyes if i can find a better one

Cerii · 11-06-2009, 04:28 PM

Here are a few more pics of his eye, but they're not too clear and some of them are in his pet shop carry box.

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/2784/boris018.jpg

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/171/boris001.jpg

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/2711/boris007.jpg

suga · 11-07-2009, 12:35 AM

Little little hamsters do start out scared but will soon come round. I started my taming by rubbing my scent on toilet roll, by talking whilst the hamster was out in the cage and eventually got ready for us both to start handling

and I'm not sure who was more nervous, her or me. Probably me LOL. The taming tips are really helpful so have a look at them and let us know how you get on.

I have seen ours eat with the eyes closed. I always think she's a tad lazy LOL. If the eye is weeping or sore then the vet may need to have a little look.

smallfuzzything · 11-07-2009, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cerii

Ps, I also notice one of his eyes isn't as fully open as the other, I took it for sleep before when I took avatar pic, but he eats with his eyes closed as well...

hey there, my new hamster is called Boris too

I had the eye problem yesterday, scared me to death that he might have an infection after only having him for a few days, but I read back through some of the past topics on this forum, and from the advice there used a cotton bud to very gently dab a bit of water onto the squinty eye. Difficult since for some reason Boris adores sucking the water off the end of the bud lol... but a few minutes later it was almost totally open and looked normal, clean and shiny

hope it gets better soon x

Cerii · 11-07-2009, 05:41 PM

hi guys, thanks for all your help, his eye is all better today, I'm glad to say! alex managed to lure him to the door of the cage today with a tasty treat, but then he made a sudden movement by accident and Boris scarpered (sigh) The main thing is that he's healthy and he's still exploring his cage. He hasn't noticed the tube to upper level yet! Great coincidence small fuzzy, I wanted to call him Merlin( I think it suits him) but Boris was alexs idea because he's blonde lols...who is your Boris named after?

Cerii · 11-11-2009, 04:54 PM

Update on Boris taming, although he still jumps and runs at the slightest noise, he is much more comfortable in his cage. we've been putting human smelling tissue and cardboard rolls in his cage, talking to him and saying his name all the time when he's awake. He has begun to come and climb the bars when we are talking now where before he would be terrified behind his wheel. I've had him and his cage tray in the bath with alex and he ran around alex with no problem and tried to eat his sock but then got scared when alex moved. Then the next day, I opened the cage door and he didn't run and hide but he climbed out onto my dressing gown sleeve... I was so surprised!He then seemed to realise that it wasn't his cage after all and started panicking, so we scooped him into a wooden bowl and put him back in his cage. I used to have one of those colourful barred P@H playpens for Twig, she used to have lego bridges and a rolly ball that went on a stand in there... would a pen like that be good for taming like the bath

Thanks for all the great advice so far!

souffle · 11-12-2009, 03:45 AM

Sounds as if he is doing really well. Great work

The playpens, they tend to spend all their time trying to climb out of and they usually succeed. They can be a bit open and scarey for a nervous hammy. Why not get a big cardboard box from the supermarket and see if he likes it in there? Ours always do. When he is in keep lifting and laying him down so he gets used to being picked up.