Please help!

[Pleasehelp]

Hi guys this is my first post

This is my first time owning a hamster and I did a lot of research. She’s a Syrian and is around 10 weeks old (got her at 6 weeks) in that time I’ve had to change her cage 3 times to upgrade it and I’ve finally settled on an aquarium that’s 90 X 32cm.

My hamster is very very very scared but it’s weird. She’ll take treats out of my hand and is fine with me petting her but she will not let me pick her up. I haven’t tried to pick her up in a while because I’ve read online that it’ll ruin the trust between my hamster and I and I’ve been waiting for her to try climb onto my hand but she won’t (I put sunflower seeds in my palm) but she just ignores my hand.

Lately she hides in her house all day and sleeps. She will not come out unless my room is pitch black. Even if it’s dark and I have a lamp on nowhere near the cage and it’s dark in her cage she will not come out. She only comes out when all lights are off and it’s pitch black. She is active at night I hear her running on the wheel and she seems to be eating the food that I scatter feed. But this behavior of just not coming out really worried me and I feared she was lethargic and possibly ill. So today I took her to the vet and I was horrified. The vet handled her awfully. He grabbed her and she kept trying to get away and she fell a few times. The vet told me that she’s extremely shy and that it’s a personality thing. The vet also said that she’s not sick whatsoever and is in good health.

I guess my questions are. Why does she not come out during the day at all or is so inactive if there is even a tiny bit of light. And most importantly I’m really worried that she’s traumatized from the vet. My heart broke watching her get handled. Will she forget about the experience and what can I do to help her get over it?

Also it’s really difficult for me to interact with her since I can’t see her when it’s pitch black so can anyone offer some advice on what I can do to try get her to be active in some light and also on how I can go about picking her up and helping her realize that I’m friendly and not a threat?

[Amethyst_ice]

Hello and welcome,

Hamsters will only come out in the day to get a quick drink or have a wee before sleepily making their way back to bed! They are most active in the early morning and night but you can get them used to waking up a bit earlier in the evening if that is better for your household.

Not all hamsters will climb onto a hand, to be honest, of my over 10 years keeping hamsters ive never really put my hand down to try get them to climb on, I just work on picking them up, scooping under the belly can be less daunting than a hand from above.

It may be that she is just cage shy.I would just try put the light on maybe around 7pm or 8pm and talk to her, she will soon learn that the noises aren't a threat.

When she comes out for a treat you could try put it in a tub for her to climb out of and start taming outside of the cage.

I sure the vet visit didnt harm her and shows how concerned you are. It sounds like everything is normal though and you both just need a little bit more confidence in each other

[Pleasehelp]

I don’t have a playpen for her. But I was wondering if I can use a previous bin cage as a playpen for her? Or will that not provide her with an out of cage enrichment?

[Dodo]

Hello,

If you've had her for 4 weeks, have upgraded her 3 times and have taken her to a not so gentle vet, I'm not surprised she's shy . You are trying really hard and that's great, but she probably needs more time. Let her be for a couple of more weeks, keep spot cleaning to a minimum, speak gently to her but don't try any taming (apart from offering treats) right away. I have a very shy Syrian too and it's taking forever to tame him, also because I am not really experienced so messed up a bit in the beginning. Patience is key. Good luck!

[flower pot]

I have a young hamster and he doesn't like human (mine??) hands.
He doesn't mind taking the treats, but otherwise tries to avoid them like a plaque. Even if I handle him, first thing he usually does after being let out is cleaning his fur.

I still scoop him out, to play in a play area or just to climb over my lap/arms. I don't think he will tame completely.

Somewhat I understand it as a pert of his personality.

Mine doesn't come out much of his hut during daylight - just for some food/drink/toilet, unless the fresh food is given.

Hope your hamster will settle soon.