Taming SUPER scared/timid Syrian - Help! :(

AcidRainbow13 · 02-27-2020, 10:50 AM

**LONG POST ALERT!!**
Hi everyone,
Hoping I can glean either a bit of advice, or even reassurance from you...
My little girl Syrian is 10 weeks old and I took her in 2 weeks ago from somebody who can no longer care for her. When I got her she was with 2 others from her litter (that had been gradually rehomed) I noticed straight away that she was very skittish, so all I did was spot clean and re-fill food/water for the first week while talking to her gently, not trying to approach or interact with her.

Anyway - towards the end of that week her curiosity got the better of her and she started sniffing round me so I offered her treats from my forefinger & thumb. She eventually took them after much waiting and gentle singing/humming. She became quite confident in taking food from me that way, but as soon as I stood up or creaked the floorboard or anything she wasn't expecting she'd either dart in her house or freeze for AGES. She'd come round eventually so I just carried on at this pace, not wanting to rush her.
After she'd gotten a bit brave and even walked on me for a few seconds at a time, I placed a single pumpkin seed in the palm of my hand and held it completely flat and still for ages until she eventually toddled up to it...AND SANK HER TEETH INTO MY FINGER! she drew so much blood I couldn't believe it. I tried my best not jump but I fear my reaction may have really scared her and set her back a step in taming. I left her a few more days and went back to feeding her from my thumb & index finger pinched together. Again, she seemed fine with this so last night I coaxed her into a tube and transported her to a dry bathtub to try out a taming session. In said bathtub, I placed a big towel down with her house (and used bedding) and food bowl, and treats in my hand. This worked brilliantly with Peanut (my dwarf boy) as whenever he got a bit scared he just ran back in his little house, until after a few attempts it got to the stage where he wouldn't stop climbing on me and I had trouble getting him back IN his cage!

With little Missy however (still nameless I am embarrassed to report

- trying to get a feel for her personality before I commit to anything, but she keeps running away!!) This proved most unsuccessful...she totally FREAKED!! she did take the treats from my hand, but in between trying to dig and bite through the towel, running round in a frenzy and completely upturning her little house. So I put her back ASAP.

I appreciate that she is a particularly nervous little Ham and I will have to be EXTRA patient, but I don't want another chunk of my finger chomping off and am a bit down-hearted to tell you the truth. I may be catastroph-ising, but I just can't see how I can move forward in the taming process. She is scared of EVERYTHING - every time I open and draw the curtains she panics - and I'll be moving slowly and talking to her the whole time. I've never known a hamster like it.
I use unscented soap every time I go near her and she is in a large cage with an 11" wheel and PLENTY of enrichment. When we're spying on her she seems totally content climbing and exploring, she just doesn't seem to like people!

Anybody had a similar experience? Is there light at the end of the tunnel? I love her so much, it just breaks my heart every time she freaks out - I never want her to feel that afraid and I feel sad she can't open up to trusting me

LunaTheHamster1 · 02-27-2020, 11:06 AM

Have you tried just talking to her through the cage without any food involved? (sorry if you said that already, I have an illness that makes reading long sections of text hard for me to remember and take in)

AcidRainbow13 · 02-27-2020, 12:10 PM

Haha, yes. Sorry - I so realise it's a reeeeeally long post. Yes, have sat with her for quite long periods just having a chit-chat with her. She always seems interested but a little nervous to come over.
I've had her 2 weeks and done nothing to make her run from me (other than maybe moving away a bit fast when she bit me) but then I do so much as sniff and she bolts away.

Petite · 02-27-2020, 12:22 PM

Did you ask her previous owner what she was like character-wise? - ie has she always been this skittish? Bear in mind she's just gone through a big change, and she's bound to be super timid. It sounds as though it's just going to take a long time, but it's also possible that she may turn out to be a hamster that just doesn't like to be held or to interact with humans much. As long as she is happy and content in her cage, could you content yourself with that?

TinyBubbles · 02-27-2020, 12:29 PM

Since you are on (at least) your second fur baby you already have more experience at this than I do, but I believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. I have had my dwarf for a little over a month and while he still says "no thank you" in a very toothy way when we offer a hand to hold him, I am now allowed to get a few seconds of petting in when he is busy with a bit of kale or a meal worm.

I totally think he associates me with food so I'm trying to have the food already waiting on his treat stand (with me standing by) when he wakes up. I know I just have to wait for him to have a few minutes of grooming time then he will go for his treat and I can get my "contact time." Yesterday I think I got almost a full 30 seconds in before he did his little 90 degree turn that tells me he is ready for me to stop. Although I may have gotten the extra time because yesterdays treat was a walnut half.

LunaTheHamster1 · 02-27-2020, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AcidRainbow13

Haha, yes. Sorry - I so realise it's a reeeeeally long post. Yes, have sat with her for quite long periods just having a chit-chat with her. She always seems interested but a little nervous to come over.
I've had her 2 weeks and done nothing to make her run from me (other than maybe moving away a bit fast when she bit me) but then I do so much as sniff and she bolts away.

I would just carry on doing that and see how it goes, just go slowly and be very patient. I know it can be hard, but when I am dealing with situations like this I just slow every thing down, remember to work at her pace, not yours. I honestly think you will get there with her, but 2 weeks is not really a long time for her to get used to everything new. Every hamster is different and you just don't know what or how she was reacting from her previous home.