Really scared I traumatized my hamster. Please help.

[taskidis]

Hello. I am sorry if I am all over the place but Im really struggling right now and feel horrible. I got three sweet hamsters a month ago and things were going really well. I was proud of how well I was carring for them and following all the advice I heard about giving them space and taking things slowly. I even built them each really cool cages when they had to be seperated due to bullying. 1 eats from my hand, the other just started getting picked up and played with, and the third, Pumpernickel just seemed indifferent to me and wants nothing to do with my hands or treats I hold

I really screwed up tonight. I recall when 'taming' my dog growing up the trainer had you hold down the dog for like 10 minutes to establish dominance. I dont know why but I got it in my head to try and apply this to Pumpernichel. But when I scooped her up she was desperate to jump out of my hands, had a good three foot drop into my other hamsters cage, I had to quickly scoop her out, then she slides out of my hands again falling the same distance to my carpet. I tried to go about 'forcing' an interaction with her with the idea continued holding would get her comfortable with me. After 5 minutes of intermittently following her around the room, picking her up, and having her continuously trying to get away I put her back in her cage and it really struck me how stupid I was being, and how scared she was during that time.

I take it it is good to leave her alone to calm down but Im really scared I traumatized her. This is my first time posting and I am desperate for guidance or advice or input into anything I can do to help the situation, or like make sure she is OK. I just feel like the worst owner in the world right now.

She already hates when I scoop her with a plastic thing when I need to clean her cage, and I dread having to do that again in like a week, because I am really scared of hurting her more or further traumatizing her.

[Maker]

Its good that you can look back and see that you upset her, at least you will know not to do this again.

Rather than scoop her with the plastic thing, can you get a big large jug, maybe from a £1 shop they do 1 litre size ones, and put her favourite food at the end of it, lay it in the cage and wait, however long it takes for her to walk into it, you could even leave it in there a few days before you clean, each day putting a treat (small/tiny piece of cucumber, sunflower) in it. Then on cleaning day wait for her to walk in it by herself and quietly and slowly lift it out and put the whole thing in a box/bath/tub, you can then do your clean and put her back in the same way.

Don't use the scoop you are using as she may have already built up a negative attachment to it.

I would avoid scooping her up with the new jug. Think about her natural instincts, they are prey animals and in nature are attacked by birds of prey from above so avoid anything that she might feel is the same, and also by snakes & cats etc on the ground which would have chased her or darted at her. I think the lesson is let her come to you and be very still and slow.

good luck and please let us know how you get on

[JI54]

Dont sweat it. When I first got my dwarf should be do her little screeches every now and then in the beginning. Everytime she would scream at me I thought I undid any taming I did. Now, she runs to my hand because she knows there might be a delicious treat in it.

Just be patient. Let them come to you and bribe them with food. I won my dwarf's trust by making her associate my hand with yummy treats. Also a bigger cage and more enrichment makes them more relaxed and easier to tame.

[cypher]

Try not to worry too much, we all make mistakes when we're starting out & your ham will get over it given a bit of time.
As Maker said hams will react differently to other animals being a prey animal do try to get into the habit of trying to think like a ham & understand how things seem to them.
Just give your ham a little time to settle again then go slowly, lots of time talking gently without actually trying to interact in any other way for a while, some hams never really like being handled much, they are all very different, it's good to get them used to some handling but just go slow.
I find they will usually get into something like a small cardboard box or a tube with the end blocked off, a treat inside helps, give them time to go in without trying to rush things & it will be much easier.
I'm just wondering how often & how much you clean the cages? If you over clean your ham will find it harder to settle & gain confidence, just spot clean pee as needed but never do a full cage clean, partial cleans every few weeks or so are usually enough & try to leave the nest & food hoard alone as much as possible.

[WiildSunflowers]

i won't claim to be a hamster expert, but every ham i've ever owned has been comfortable being around me once they settled in. hamsters aren't always a pet thats going to Want to interact with you, honestly, but that doesn't mean you can't find ways to spend time with them!

you could set up little treats and stuff for them to play with / climb on on a table or desk, but make sure you're always supervising them as hamsters don't always seem to understand where the table ends, and they can slide right off lol. my old hamster jasper used to love to explore my desk and eat sunflower seeds!

in the future i would reccomend you never hold down any animal of ANY kind, even dogs. we own 2 dogs, a cat, a hamster and are about to take in 2 rats, and i'd never do that to any of them, even the pitbull lol. you never want to train any animal with any 'negative' reinforcement, and pinning them to the ground where they cannot escape you could end with you getting hurt, or ending up with an animal thats afraid of you!

i'd say just start off slow, and the next time you get your hamster out you should try placing them somewhere they can safely explore (even a bathtub!) where they can interact with you if they want to, or stay on their own (:

[taskidis]

Hello again! I have been reading the incoming messages and figured I would check back in. Thank you to everyone who waded through my frantic shakey writing lol. This has been really helpful.

So since this event Pumpernickel has been back to normal. I don't dare put my hands near her, but she seems comfortable running around while I am nearby.

I think the person who wrote about over-cleaning the habitats might be spot on. At first I followed the direction of once a week, but definately realized this was not working, and the above post-er drove that home. (Correction to my post- I was using like a gallon jug modified to have the bottom and one side cut out- like a scoop. The other two Hamsters are ok being coaxed onto the scoop with popcorn, but I do need to slow down in the future and give Pumpernickel time to walk on at her leisure.)
Mind you each of the three hamsters have 1 large (maybe like 36x12) plastic bin, interconnected with another smaller plastic bin (maybe 12x12) with a series of hamster tubing. All the bins have 3-6 inches of hamster bedding (I think is the right term). I have heard people talk about spot-checking pee, however I only once was able to see and attend to urine (on a cardboard tube, so clearly visible). They all have multiple wheels, things to climb on, multiple hide-outs and a slew of other toys in addition to lots of space to run around.

Between starting off with the once a week routine, and having to separate them out from 1 habitat to three, they did indeed go through a decent bit of change the first month. You guys gave me some really good pointers and much-needed support, but I would really appreciate any further suggestions you guys have. Around cleaning, taming, and just general tricks of the trade in being the best Hamster-owner I can be.

This might be a silly question, but if I correct the mistakes I have made in the past month- monthandahalf- is there a chance for them to re-adapt and feel more comfortable and happy?

I really wish I could post pics to show you guys my three little goofy dwarf Hamsters- Pumpernickel (lil Pump), Pip, and Maddy (the little mousey hamster).

[Ithuviel]

I'm glad you are improving. The cleaning once a week is suggested by companies and pet shops in order to sell more bedding.

I once freaked out my robo by applying a technique used for guinea pigs. It involves picking up the animal and not letting him go until he settles. This is the video i got the idea from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkUlSU9XqlY

Well it works for guinea pigs, that's all i can say

I restarted from zero and in this video you the progress after 2 months of negotiations. VIDEO