Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Central Forum Topics > Behaviour

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-17-2021, 01:31 PM   #1
Hapax
 
Join Date: Jan 2021
Posts: 1
Unhappy Hamster suddenly less friendly/tame?

Hi! So I’ve had 2 female Russian dwarves for around 4-5 months now. At first I had them together in a detolf cage (2 of everything, equal attention etc), but after a few months one of them started bullying the other (no serious fights, just chasing her away from the wheels and pushing her around) so I separated them. The bullied one is thriving now, and she seems to be really enjoying having her own space.

The other one also seems happy in her own space. She is the more dominant one and also the tamer one, she absolutely LOVES to be picked up and held. Every time we would walk by the cage, she would run to the glass and jump against it until we put our hands in for her to climb on. Except now, 3 weeks after the transition to being alone, she no longer wants to be held? I can’t think of anything else we have changed. The first 2 weeks she was her usual self, but this past week and a half she does anything to avoid being picked up. She still runs to the glass to see us, but doesn’t hop into our hands like she used to...it’s really quite sad! It used to be so endearing. Does anyone have any idea what could be the problem? Or is this just a normal behaviour with age? She has never been aggressive, she’s eating and drinking and playing as usual, no other strange behaviours. TIA!
Hapax is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2021, 04:44 AM   #2
Petite
Senior Hamster
 
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Scotland
Posts: 501
Default Re: Hamster suddenly less friendly/tame?

Have you had anything on your hands recently that she might have objected to - hand sanitiser, etc? It could be that she is just growing up and getting to be more self-sufficient and solitary as a wild hamster would be. You could try encouraging her with treats in your hands to see if she reverts to her former behaviour.
Petite is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2021, 09:54 AM   #3
Ria P
House of Hamsters
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Posts: 7,103
Default Re: Hamster suddenly less friendly/tame?

Hamsters sometimes change their behaviours for reasons unknown to us humans.

One of my dwarfs used to be a busy daytime hamster and was often keen to be taken out of her cage but i hardly see her these days for reasons unknown to me. I miss her and feel sad about it too but am always willing to accept my hamsters for who they choose to be.

You could try and simply scoop her up in your hands to take her out of her cage. She'll soon let you know if she doesn't want to be out.
Ria P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2021, 12:04 AM   #4
cypher
Dwarf whisperer
 
cypher's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Wales UK
Posts: 24,789
Default Re: Hamster suddenly less friendly/tame?

It could just be that now she’s just got used to having her own space & is a little territorial over it, not wanting you to invade it! If that is the case then she should be fine once out of the cage so I would just try getting her out into a play pen or safe area where you can interact with her & see how she does then.
Rather than picking her up see if she will be happy to climb into something you can safely transport her in, that way you don’t have to put your hands in the cage & she might be more comfortable with that.
__________________
Slave to Zak.
Always loved, never forgotten, forever in my heart
T'ycor, Ziggy, Zephyr, Flynt, Mickle, Little Whisp, Zen, Zeki, Tinwë, Zylvan, Míriel, Calyanwë, Gusto & Meri
❤️
cypher is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
held, picked, space, weeks, glass

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:49 AM.