Taming advice needed

Shadow Cat · 06-21-2020, 12:55 PM

Hello everyone

I freely admit I've been a bit lax in taming my syrian. She is about 10 months old now I think and I've had her for about 6. She is friendly, she'll come to the bars of her cage when she hears my voice, she'll take treats out of my hand, she will even crawl out of her cage into my lap if I open the door and happily explore. But she hates being picked up. If I try and scoop her up she just jumps off and runs away to hide. If I try to scoop her with one hand and put my other hand over the top of her so she can't jump, I can feel her trembling. I want her to be happy, I don't want to stress her out by handling her in a way she doesn't like just for my own benefit. But I am concerned if she ever needs veterinary treatment she will be a nightmare to handle. My previous hamster didn't mind at all and was pretty chill about being picked up, even at the vets, so this isn't a problem I've had to overcome before. It's probably my fault for not being stricter about it when she was younger but there's nothing I can do about that now.

Does anyone have any tips on how to make her less nervous about actually being lifted up?

Thank you in advance (Peggy thanks you too! Or maybe she doesn't...)

Ria P · 06-21-2020, 01:42 PM

You could let her walk into a mug or jug and lift her out that way. Put a treat in her "hamster taxi" if needed to tempt her in it.
That was the only way i could get my late hamster Percy out of his cage because he wouldn't let me pick him up at all.

Shadow Cat · 06-21-2020, 02:23 PM

If I need to transport her to her playpen I use a shoebox. She's more than happy to crawl into it. Coming out of her cage isn't a problem, just being lifted off the ground!

Ria P · 06-21-2020, 03:16 PM

If its no problem to get her out of her cage then you don't need to lift her off the ground, so what exactly is the issue? At a vets she would be examined on a table i would have thought and the need for veterinary treatment would take priority over the possibility of causing stress to Peggy and an unwell hamster is likely to be stressed in anyway so i wouldn't worry in advance but wait until it happens, if it happens.
I think the only other thing you could do is gradually desensedise her by introducing regular, short taming sessions of picking her up while on your lap until she's used to it. She may have to overcome an irrational fear like a human being confronted with the object of their phobia.

When i was young i had a fear of spiders until i went traveling around India and it became impractical to start screeching at the sight of a spider because there were just too many so i learned to tolerate them.

LunaTheHamster1 · 06-21-2020, 03:27 PM

I find that when first getting my syrian hamsters you can feel the tension in their body when/if you have to hold them, so at first I use a jug to transfer them from their cage to a run or the bath for some bathtub bonding. then when they are running around, every now and then I put my hands in front of them (sometimes having to set it up so they have no option but to run over my hands) half the time i let them just walk over my hands to freedom, the other times I lift my hands up with them on it and let them run from one hand to the other for say 10 times and then let them run free again. Eventually I can then pick them up wihtout the jug and there will be no tension in their body. I hope this makes sense and helps.

HamsterLover30 · 06-23-2020, 12:04 PM

Shadow Cat,

My very first hamster, Latte, was very antisocial. She would always take treats out of my hand, but hated being touched. Her whole life I tried to drive our relationship forward, but she was stubborn, and we never got that far. I do recommend letting her adjust to your hands. Try to have them in the cage quite a bit. Maybe try letting her crawl into a cup and pick it up by the handle. However, she might just be a hamster that doesn't like to be touched. I really hope you end up holding her like a pro.