How get Syrian used to being held? - Page 3

Ria P · 04-19-2019, 12:49 AM

Another thought:: maybe Smokey likes wood. I know that Henry does. When he first moved in I gave him the option of a plastic or wooden house and he moved straight into the wooden one. When i got the current house he had a quick nibble as if to check what it was made of. He has always ignored cardboard to chew or play with..... unless he wants to get the raisin out of its small box.

xosunflowerox · 04-19-2019, 09:13 PM

Update: The difference between yesterday and today's sessions are like night and day! Yesterday my hamster was flinching and trying to escape the moment I tried to pick her up. She was running away from my hand and trying to hide anywhere she could. Today, it was much different. During the first session, she only flinched and tried to escape every other lift. Then on the second session, she didn't flinch or try to escape when I lifted her! She wasn't afraid and tolerated it for several seconds.
I was feeling so distraught yesterday, feeling like I would never be able to hold her. I now have hope that she will allow me to hold her! Thank you so much for your advice, souffle. Also thank you for everyone else's feedback, it all helped me.

Before making this topic, I was starting to believe I would never be able to hold my hamster. She wasn't willingly going onto my hand to be held, so I thought it would never happen. I thought I would just have to be content with petting her, not holding her. You guys changed that for me!

mikatelyn · 04-19-2019, 10:30 PM

Ria: I guess I technically haven't tried purchasing off of the amazon UK website and have things shipped internationally, but I'm assuming after paying whatever fees for conversion of currency then the shipping, it probably would be significantly cheaper to jury rig something here. You might be onto something with the wood housing material. I may have to try out (or rather, develop) some DIY skills.
Smokey taming update: no further biting. He still doesn't look thrilled to be picked up initially, but he doesn't really look scared or panicked. More like resigned to it. Until I give him a treat, then he seems just fine, lol.
Sunflower: yay! I'm so happy for you and your hammie!

Ria P · 04-21-2019, 09:23 AM

Sunflower and Mikatelyn! I somehow feel that we are in this together so I am sooo pleased with the progress you are making with your hamsters. I'm sharing a photo I took today which is ordinary for most hamsters but a big thing for my Henry. He is getting a snack in broad daylight with me watching after a midafternoon taming session and he poked his nose out at 06.15 this morning while I was getting ready for work and in the process of preparing an avocado/salad wrap. Ok, he probably didn't feel the need to see me but to check if I had anything tasty for him so I gave him a small fresh basil leave and a tiny bit of avocado which he gobbled up there and then. He's still like one of these wind up toys that take off soon as you put them down when we do the pick up and lay exercise but he doesn't squirm or look stressed. I'd love to know what he's thinking the way he looks at me sometimes.....

mikatelyn · 04-21-2019, 11:03 AM

I feel the same way, Ria!
I'm so happy that both of you can hold your hamsters now, too!
Smokey still has this 2 steps forward, 1 step back, sometimes 3 steps back, then 1 step forward kind of progression, but the overall trend is much better!
Last night he seemed very timid and kept startling really easily, kept trying to edge away from my hand, and yes, lol, doing the wind up toy re-enactment whenever I set him down. When I got him to the bathtub (usually his favorite play place) he just hid in a tube and stayed there for a while. I started to wonder if maybe all the picking up was stressing him out, but then this morning he walked right out onto my hand!
I do wish there was some kind of hamster psychology handbook!
Oh, one thing that works pretty well over here I thought I'd share:
I know there's a great debate about water bottle vs water bowl. I rather like the water bottle because I can hear when he wakes up and comes out for a drink, so I catch him when he's already awake for a quick 5-10 minute taming session.

Ria P · 04-21-2019, 12:38 PM

I've never tried the bathtub but may give it a go later. It's 20.00 where I am and he's scrunching away in his second nest. My hamster is like that and his moods vary, sometimes he's fairly receptive and at other times just doesn't want to know. He's never willingly walked onto my hand though like your Smokey does. I think it is because he likes to be in his cage and doesn't ask to come out. Henry has a bottle and a bowl because I rarely see him drink so got a bit worried but saw him drinking out of the bowl the other night so that's ok. He's always been a bit weird and doesn't like to be watched when he plays or potters about. I can hear him running in his wheels when I sit reading at the far end of the room but soon as I sit in a chair near his cage he stops, looks at me for ages and then trots off under the platform. Not that he looks scared and runs away, he seems to go in a huff. Soon as I move away he comes out again. I just don't get this hamster! All that happens after midnight of course.

Ria P · 04-21-2019, 02:35 PM

Update: I've just tried the bathtub for the first time. He wasn't overly impressed but didn't panic or get frantic either so would class this as a positive outcome. He nibbled or licked my feet so must slowly start to feel more comfortable with my scent.

mikatelyn · 04-21-2019, 11:24 PM

I've noticed that Smokey seems to become a homebody and not really want out of his cage until he's reminded of a little taste of freedom or he's been exploring someplace he enjoys. For this reason I've tried out a few different playpens, but he seems to enjoy the bathtub the best, maybe because of the multilevel and he feels like he's escaping. He gets the most alert and curious if he's had a jailbreak, or a near jailbreak (like the time I thought he'd be ok on the couch and he got super zippy and I almost lost him, or the time he actually did escape his playpen and I didn't realize it for about 10 minutes.)
I have one of those bathtubs that has a sliding door. That means there is a little ledge all around the rim of the tub, but part of the ledge is too narrow for him to walk across when the door is closed (and he can't get out). He loves trying to get up on the ledge, down from the ledge, run all around the ledge. If he's shy I'll let him be and I'll sit in there and check my email on my phone or something. Eventually he gets curious and starts to run all over. If he's scratching looking up towards the ledge, I cup my hand under his butt and give him a little boost up. If he wants down, I offer my hand/arm/leg/foot like a ramp. He loves it. Prior to Souffle's technique, this seemed like it was making the most progress in getting him comfortable with my hands. Sometimes he'll appear to get curious even about what I'm doing and crawl up my arm and all over my phone too, lol. I've been lucky that he's not managed to send any texts to anyone. When I first started this he would start to get frantic looking and I'd take him back to his cage, but after a few sessions he stopped looking frantic and just looked like he was enjoying having a run around. Oh, also, I've tried different things like hold a treat in my palm until he comes exploring, or scatter some food around the tub, and I also keep a water bowl, a couple of hides, and a sand bath in case he needs to pee.
I think I've mentioned, I've done a ton of taming sessions prior to trying Souffle's technique, so I have to imagine some of that helped (or at least I'd like to think so since I've spent an innumerable number of hours to this endeavor!)
Obviously, it's taken me months to get Smokey to even this level of tameness, so I don't know if my mixture of methods is the best way to go, but I guess I feel if we pool our experiences it might help us to find something that works faster than if we all try to come up with it ourselves!

Ria P · 04-22-2019, 02:15 AM

Yes, i totally agree that it helps to share experiences plus I enjoy reading what other hamsters are up to. I used to feel guilty for taking Henry's roof off to tempt him out of his nest for a taming session or just a bit of contact but he's not scared now and I can easily pick him up. He ate a small dandelion leaf while sitting on my hands this morning so we were both happy and when he started sniffing towards his cage I put him back for a kip. Smokey likes to escape and that's another thing I don't know about Henry because he hasn't had the opportunity yet. I'll arrange that and see what happens.

souffle · 04-22-2019, 06:08 AM

Well young Treacle is doing well. We have some 'getting her out' issues but this is mainly due to her being in a hamster heaven and shooting up the tubes if she gets the chance. She is absolutely fine about being picked up though even from her bed as long as she can't get in the tubes. We are going to recommend her owners get the end blockers and stop having those tubes attached. Apart from that the screaming has stopped and he is no bother. This is a case of teaching the owner how to approach her and how to pick her up so mum is goingto get some intense training now!
Here she is for those who wanted to see her
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