Advice on possibly aggressive hamster

[Quicksilver]

Hi we're hoping to be able adopt a young female syrian hamster. Information on this hamster is she is very bitey. Was a child's pet and because she bit the child within a day or so the family took her back to the pet shop and she has been up for adoption a while now due to this supposedly aggression. The staff have advised that whoever adopts her needs to give her the attention she deserves. They feel she is quite scared of large spaces, they have put her in a smaller space for now at the pet shop. When staff go near her she has a tendency to bite. We have lots of love and time to give her and would like to give her a forever home. Would like advice on cage setup for what sounds to me a scared , untamed hamster. Our knowledge is limited, only been hamster mum to one male syrian who was a softee who loved attention and cuddles. We've recently upgraded our cage from a savic ruffy to savic plaza. Also any tips on taming, I realize go slow and at hamsters pace to gain trust. We can't adopt for a couple of weeks as on holiday soon. Would like to think she is adopted in that time as she's been a long time in store, if however she hasn't found a home we will adopt her. Asking questions so can get organized. Thank you in advance.

[Amethyst_ice]

Hello,

Sadly an all too common story.

In my experience..even when the pet store says they are "this way" it can be a totally different story when you get them. I adopted my last and staff tried to talk me out of it and apparently she was "well known" in store...she was all over me soon as we got home, no agression, just a bit hyper!

However, I have also got ones that seemed very chilled and friendly and took weeks to tame.

You say you have only had one hamster before. While it is lovely you are willing to adopt her, what I would say is that it can be very disheartening to take on a hamster or any pet with possible behavioural problems and not be able to make much progress. Some animals you have to accept will be "watch pets". You say your last hammy was cuddly..would you be happy if you adopted this one and she wasn't able to be played with or handled much?

Your cage seems perfect and i'd see how the weeks pan out and then make a decision then x

[cypher]

I agree that hamsters will often behave very differently once they come home with you & have a good environment to settle into & make their own.
The shops idea of fear of large spaces is more than likely due to her being in large spaces with very little in it, a well set up cage will probably be very different for her.
Plenty of deep substrate, a good sized hamster house with no base on the substrate, a good wheel & plenty of toys & smaller hideout type things like bendy bridges, coconuts etc will go a long way to making her feel safe & happy.
They are all different & as Amethyst_ice said she may never be a cuddly ham but I'm sure will some TLC she will still make a lovely pet even if that is the case.

[Quicksilver]

Thank you so much Amethyst_ice and cypher for your honest feedback and advice. We already have a 12 inch wheel, a couple of bendy bridges (our last ham loved these and so did we as versatile), coconut and different toys including bendy tunnels, hammock. We often used a bendy bridge and tissue box's for hideouts. One thing I'd like to do is make myself or buy toys that encourage hamsters to think more so they don't get bored and get them to use their brains more and keep more active mentally. Can't think of the name?! Any suggestions would be great😃
With our last hamster (and first hamster for us) we honestly didn't know what to expect and we spent a lot of time gaining his trust and spent many a late night spending time with him, which we loved doing. Even now we are surprised how close bond we had. I realize every hamster like us humans are all different with own unique personality, and some hamsters might be more watching pets than say handling pets. I understand slow progress could feel like no progress at times. Even if the hamster didn't like being handled I think they are fascinating to watch, and our comedians without knowing! I think even designing their cage set ups is part of the whole hamster experience. We have a lovely cage waiting for an owner!


We didn't think it fair to adopt a hamster until we're back from holiday in a couple of weeks time. Will keep you posted what happens as she might already be adopted when we get back. She is a cutie !

[Pebbles82]

I've also heard many stories where a hamster is described as aggressive and bitey. But they have just been handled badly and are fine with a good owner. I think the only reason a Syrian hamster would bite is out of fear or if handled roughly - they can also get cage rage if in a small unsuitable space. The child probably was a bit too rough with her.

I would go for her if she's there and be prepared for the idea that she may not ever be a particularly cuddly hamsters (and females can be very active or a bit maverick! but entertaining to watch).

I have never been bitten by either of our Syrian hamsters. Our first one used to run at you or threaten to bite before he was tame (he was a pet shop hamster) but he had cage rage, and once in a good sized cage and after taming (which did take about 2 months) he was an extremely tame cuddly hamster and would fall asleep on my knee. We did bathtub taming for 2 months about twice a week. He would jerk round as if to bite you if you stroked him with a finger but it was more "see you off" behaviour and he soon got used to it. Once we could touch and hold him it was instant. It was just building trust and confidence.

In terms of cage set up - as long as there is a shelf to sit under and plenty of tunnels, hidey places and floor toys and plenty of substrate she should be ok. I can recommend the large cork tunnels though - they fill up the empty space and can be run through or climbed over and lead under a shelf or even as a ramp up to a shelf. All our hamsters have liked those. They are also light so don't sink in deeper substrate.

I'd also suggest getting a large house, so she can feel safe in the dark if she wants to retreat and can build a big nest. A shoebox house is ideal. I have the large labyrinth house from rodipet, which I really like and it doubles up as another platform but it is a bit expensive and not really necessary.

They do need somewhere dark to retreat to in a cage so a house that is dark inside is a good idea. Whichever house you use, if you put a bendy bridge over the door it makes a tunnel entrance and makes the house darker inside. The labyrinth houses are naturally dark inside because they have a double entrance and the nesting area is around the corner inside kind of. Light can't go round corners!

This is the cork log tunnel I have. I got the Rodipet ones because they're a good length - the ones they sell for reptiles are far too long to fit in a cage sometimes.

https://www.rodipet.de/shop/zubehoer...-ca-20-cm.html

Scatter feeding may also help her settle and develop normal behaviours. I do both - put half the food in the food bowl and scatter feed the rest. Then they have both options!

I am sure she would be very happy in that cage with lots of fun things and a chew stick and would settle in - then you could start taming. It may be quick or it may be slow - I would take it slowly so she becomes familiar with your voice and scent and builds trust. Even a very tame Syrian often doesn't like being held for long and not all Syrians enjoy cuddles anyway. Our first one only did if he was half asleep lol.

These are the cork logs in Newt's Barney cage. One is partly under the shelf and makes a ramp up to it as well as a tunnel under it. The other one is at the front near the door so he can climb over it to get out of the door easily. I also have a rat sputnik hanging over it so he can get into the sputnik from the cork log I think the one under the shelf is the medium size and the one at the front is the large size.

I do think they like "overhead cover" in a large cage so a large tunnel or something hanging from the roof like a sputnik gives them things to dive under or sit under so they can enjoy all the floorspace without being nervous.

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[Quicksilver]

Thank you Serendipity for ideas on taming and cage setups. I checked out the large labyrinth house from rodipet- it looks a lot of fun and well made ! Will go on a wish list for future hamster toys as it is expensive , think it's great you can double up as a shelf. The cork tunnels are something we will get -, probably safer than the plastic bendy tunnels which are very easy to chew and cause the plastic to split (as we discovered with our previous hamster!). Good idea about using the bendy bridges to help stop light getting through hole entrances. We're starting to get things ready for cage and think about setups. Also going re look
at taming methods ready for future hamster we adopt and try your ideas suggested.

Our previous hamster loved wheemzee , probably was one of his favourite thing to chew on!

You cage set up looks great btw 😃, it's really useful looking at cage set ups to help improve with own design.