How to bond with new hamster

Catty · 06-23-2018, 11:13 PM

Hi all!
I am new to this forum, apology if I am asking the question in the wrong section!^^"

So I got my new Syrian hamster Fatty on 14 June from a pet store. The store is not exactly sure of her age, but said she should be around 1 to 1.5month old.

I brought her to a vet for general body check on 16 June, and vet said she's still a baby, everything looks fine and she weighs 40g.

The problem is...Fatty stays in her little house all day, even when she is awake. She hides her food there, pee and poo there...If she occasionally comes out, it's for food and water. After that, she will rush back into her little house. And the entrance of her little house is all full of bedding... I know she is active and uses the wheel at night (around 3,4am) because I heard her.

Let me be precise with my questions...

1. Because I am too desperate to have some interaction with her, I lifted up her little house sometimes, and I pet her gently. She didn't seem scared, and she wouldn't bite me and she would let me pet her. But is that a wrong thing to do?

2. I tried using snacks to lure her out, but seems my treat is not desirable for her enough to make her come out... Should I try fresh veggie? Is it more attractive for hamsters?

3. I heard about the dry bathtub method to let your hamster get used to you. But is it too fast to use this method? Becuz using this method will mean I have to force her out of her little house and waking her up.

4. Lastly, she really really sleeps a lot, is it normal for a young hamster?

I read and watched videos online about how to tame a hamster and that I know they are nocturnal...but as a beginner, it's still very frustrating...

I really hope some of you can give me some advice! I will greatly appreciate that! I will try them and report back the progress!

MANY MANY THANKS!!!!

cypher · 06-24-2018, 01:22 AM

It does sound as though your ham is very young, maybe younger than most hamsters sold in pet shops so you may have to go slowly with taming & bonding.

What's her cage set up like? She will need plenty of deep substrate & some hideouts or things like bendy bridges as well as her house where she sleeps so she feels safe & not to exposed when she comes out.
Try to get into a routine with feeding, you could try gently rustling the food bag so she can begin to associate you with food.
Spend plenty of time talking to her, even when she's in the house so she gets used to your voice & you being around without feeling threatened.
If you can tempt her out rather than lifting the house off her I would as lifting the house off & exposing her like that will be quite stressful, I wouldn't try stroking her either until she's got a bit more used to hands.
What food & treats have you been offering her?
Veg are fine but must be introduced slowly so only a tiny piece once every few days to begin with gradually building up, if she hasn't had any yet then that might tempt her to come out.
Other things to try are sunflower & pumpkin seeds & tiny pieces of nut.
I would see if you can get her used to you being around while in the cage for a little while before taking her out & trying taming in the bath.
You could use the tissue trick too just to get her used to your scent, put some plain white toilet tissue up your sleeve for a few hours then shred it up & put it in the cage, you can do this adding a little more daily for a while, she may or may not use it for her nest but it doesn't matter if not she will still be getting to know your scent & not see it as a threat.
It's still early days & if she is as young as she seems to be then she will sleep a lot, most hams do anyway & are most active at night.
I know it can seem frustrating but be patient she will gain confidence with time.

Catty · 06-24-2018, 02:17 AM

Thanks for the reply cypher!

Really!? I thought most hamsters sold at stores are at this age...I didn't realize mine is that young!

Her cage setup is now a 60cm cage, with substrate, a little house, a 21cm wheel, a food bowl, a water bottle and a special "stone" for her teeth (sorry I don't know what is the proper name...). And I am having some other toys for her on the way.

I tried to give her food everyday at 10pm. But she is in her little house, completely buried in her bedding...does she really know I put food there?

Her little house has a bottom, so I was lifting her whole house up with her being in it...but you are right, she may be stressed, I should have more patience and stop doing this for a while ^^"

And I will hold off the bathtub strategy and wait till later. I will also put scented tissue in her cage!

Thanks for the tips! Hope Fatty would gradually come out of her little house more!

dreamtree1234 · 06-24-2018, 04:36 AM

Hi and welcome to HC!!! Congrats on giving Fatty her loving, forever home with you.

Cypher has covered it all so there is no need in me repeating it. Try to remain patient and take things slowly at your very young ham's pace; it will certainly be worth the wait when your ham gains confidence and trust in time. Best of luck with Fatty!!!

Catty · 06-26-2018, 07:32 AM

An update...A bitten finger and a broken heart...

So like I said, Fatty did everything in her little house, including building nest, storing food, pooing and peeing...
The smell of her little house was just super horrible...and I felt like its really bad for both her skin and food when she peed inside...
I lost my patience and I just kind of poured her into the sand bath, meanwhile I took her little house for cleaning...
She didn't seem to know what those bath sand was for, she didn't use it. She escaped the bath box and ran into another corner of the cage, tryin to build a new nest.
I rushed and cleaned her little house, then putting it back in with some new food sprinkled in it. She didn't notice that the house is put back in. I felt guilty for taking away the house from her and wanted to show her the house asap. So I scooped her up with my hand and brought her in front of her house. And then, she bit my finger... It bled like crazy. Even tho I washed the wound, it's still hurting quite a bit now...

so...am I back to square one? Should I just leave her alone for a week? What should I do?

cypher · 06-26-2018, 08:19 AM

It would have been better to take her out & put her in a carrier with plenty of substrate to clean her house but I'm sure she'll get over it.
Do you have a photo of your cage set up? It might help us see if there are any changes you could make to help with her confidence & encourage her to pee somewhere other than her house.

Catty · 06-26-2018, 09:01 AM

So when I have to clean her house, it's okay for me to pour her out into a box with plenty of substrate right?
With that horrible smell, will you recommend me trying to endure it and clean about once per week?

I will definitely take a photo of her cage tomorrow! is inserting an url the only way to upload a photo here?

Many thanks!!!

cypher · 06-26-2018, 09:31 AM

Ideally see if you can coax her into climbing into something like a tube, a small box or anything you can safely transport her in, if you haven't got a proper carrier then a box would be ok as long as she's secure, can't escape & has some substrate to burrow down into to feel safe while you clean, she should be ok for a week, a healthy ham doesn't pee much but it will depend on how big her house is & what it's made of, if it's hot where you are a plastic house will get wet & smell quicker than a wooden house.

There's a thread here that explains how to upload photos.
How To Embed Photos
And if you need it how to resize.
How to resize photos 2018

Catty · 06-27-2018, 07:04 AM

Here is a photo of her current cage! In Pic 2, the orange bottom thing is the newly bought toilet I plan to put in her cage later. In pic 3, you can see how she is usually like.... hiding in her little house...

IMG_5238.JPG

IMG_5239.JPG

IMG_5220.JPG

Hope the pictures can show up with no problems!

cypher · 06-27-2018, 07:50 AM

The cage looks very empty so it's not really surprising she's staying in the house as she will feel exposed & vulnerable out in the open there.
The house is way too small for a Syrian hamster, the cage looks quite small too although it's hard to tell, which cage is it?
I would try to fill the cage up a bit & either buy or make a house for her, a nice big cardboard box with no base & just a door cut out would do fine for now, make sure there is a good deep layer (as deep as your cage will allow) below the house too & give her plenty of shredded plain white toilet tissue to make a nest with if she wants to, you can put some in the house & just put a pile in the cage near the house which might encourage her to come out & collect some up.
You could put some bendy bridges in there for cover too so she doesn't feel exposed if she does come out but she won't be completely hidden which will help with interacting with her & her getting used to you.
Also give her things to do, you could scatter feed & make things like toilet roll treat toys for her to rip up & have fun with.
She may well need a bigger cage when she grows but I would just try to get her settled for now.

Have a look at some other members cages for more ideas, this thread has some good examples & you can see more if you have a browse through individual threads in the syrian hamster section.
Let's See Your Cages (May 2016)