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Old 02-11-2019, 12:35 PM   #1
Pchatt
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Question Hamster screeched at me!

Hi everyone! Can someone tell me what am I doing wrong? I have been trying to tame my hamster for a little over a week by placing treats on my fingers and placing my hand in her cage. Mostly runs away from my hand and hides in a corner. Occasionally, she runs over my hand but never accepts any treats. Last night I tried to do some bathtub bonding, but she kept running away from me trying to hide behind the toys that I had placed in the bathtub. She kept getting stuck between the toy and the bathtub wall and whenever I helped her by removing the toy so she could run again, she screeched at me. She also tried to chew the towel I had laid in there and when I lightly tugged at the towel to make her let go of it she screeched again! Does this mean I am moving too fast? Should I slow down? Should I not bring her out of her cage yet?
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Old 02-11-2019, 01:42 PM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Hamster screeched at me!

I would slow down, if she's that frightened out of the cage.
Keep up with offering her treats in the cage for a bit longer. Don't put your hand right in the cage, just by the door & keep it still, if she hides after a little while just leave the treat & walk away before trying again. Spend some time just talking gently to her too.
What's her cage like? Does she have agood size dark house where she'll feel safe & not too much open space in the cage? If she feels safe in her cage she will be more confident interacting so the cage & how it's set up is important.
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Old 02-11-2019, 02:56 PM   #3
Pchatt
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Default Re: Hamster screeched at me!

I have attached a picture of the cage that I got for her. It has 617 sq. ft base area and a ramp with an upper level. She is a robo dwarf hamster. I will take a picture of how her cage is set up tonight and post here too. She does have a house, a bendy bridge and she loves to sit under the ramp in her cage as well as behind her wheel.

I talk to her every night for about an hour or so, very gently, before I start taming, while trying to tame and after I am done trying to tame her for the day. She does seem to respond to my voice a little. I will just stick to hand taming for now and not get her out of her cage for a few weeks then. I was so pained to hear her screech so I put her back into her cage and she ran and hid under the ramp again! I didn't mean to scare her like that and I have been so upset since.
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Last edited by Pchatt; 02-11-2019 at 03:01 PM.
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Old 02-11-2019, 03:05 PM   #4
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Default Re: Hamster screeched at me!

She was up this morning...hiding under the ramp again..
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Old 02-11-2019, 04:06 PM   #5
mangoandmimi
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Default Re: Hamster screeched at me!

I'd stop with the bathtub it often isn't effective with robos and just turns into a rather scary experience. Either you're in the bathtub or you're approaching from directly above, neither of which are ideal for an untame hamster.
If you want to do out of cage taming then a low & small bin might work. Filled with deep bedding and a few hides, no chasing round the cage or anything just let her come to you. That said after the screech I'd just leave her alone for a few days or she'll likely just get more frightened. And I would only move onto out of cage taming when she is ok with hands in the cage ie not running and hiding immediately. With robos they do just take longer and you have to be patient with them. I did a lot of the taming with my robo just in the cage as it was less stressful for her but that'll depend on how easy it is to access really. Lots of robos don't like time out of the cage so you just have to go with whatever suits her.

Can't really tell from the pics but it doesn't look as though she has much bedding - the base needs filling to almost the top if you haven't already, so she can burrow a bit & feel more secure.
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Old 02-11-2019, 05:04 PM   #6
Pchatt
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Default Re: Hamster screeched at me!

I put about 4-5 inches of bedding. I will try putting more and see if she feels more comfortable. Thanks for the advice. Misti is my first pet and I want to make her feel at home. I will be more patient with her. I feel terrible that I scared her so bad!!
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Old 02-11-2019, 09:29 PM   #7
Yvo123kas
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Default Re: Hamster screeched at me!

Learning and moving forward is something we all do. She is very cute.
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Old 02-11-2019, 10:48 PM   #8
cypher
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Default Re: Hamster screeched at me!

I hadn't realised she was a robo! I agree the bath is too much for such a tiny ham, I don't use that method with my Chinese & Russians even,
I can't see much of her cage set up but again agree that making the substrate as deep as possible is important, robos do love to dig & burrow, things like cork tubes are great for them too & simple things like egg boxes with a couple of holes cut out can make a great little place to forage & hideout.
Just keep going really slowly with her, robos can take a while to tame & some are never really hand tame in the way that other species may be but it's still worth persevering & forming a bond with her.
Don't feel bad about scaring her, we all make mistakes in the beginning & keep on learning!
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Old 02-21-2019, 01:58 PM   #9
Charlie Dunn
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Default Re: Hamster screeched at me!

She is very cute. It is one step at a time and taking it slowly. You will get there. X
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