Why is my Syrian so jumpy?

Sophie+Sylvia · 10-12-2011, 02:09 PM

I am a newbee to owning hamsters and i have had my 11week old Syrian, Sylvia, for 3 weeks now. She has settled in well and is fully of energy and personality but i am still going through the recommended steps for taming her to be handled and she can be very jumpy. She jumps straight out of my hands when i try to hold her and she scares herself even when in her cage and there are no noises or movements to scare her. Shes fine with us stroking her and seems like she wants to get of her cage for a cuddle sometimes as she stands by the door and puts her paws up.

I just want her to feel as comfortable and relaxed as possible, any suggestions??

I have already tried putting tissues in the cage with my scent on, putting treats in my hand, gloves (which she takes too and sits in my hand for a short while), let her run around in the bath with me sat in it...just after more techniques really. Any more suggestions??

Sophie + Sylvia

Demecat · 10-12-2011, 02:17 PM

I have a jumpy hamster at the moment too...

Some hamsters that aren't handled much as a baby can be jumpy and take ages to settle. Some are just personality wise more timid than others.

There are hamsters that just don't like being handled, they will learn to accept it but won't eagerly seek it out. Maybe your baby is one of them?

HamstersOfHell · 10-12-2011, 02:25 PM

I have a hamster like this, he prefers to be let to explore instead of just sitting around in my hands. Which I have no problem with of course, some hamsters are just like that and it shows their own little personalities

Maybe your hamster just needs a little bit longer to get used to being handled or she may be one of those hamsters that just is'nt too keen on it.

Sophie+Sylvia · 10-12-2011, 03:00 PM

Ahh thats good to know! Thanks guys!!

Im quiet happy to let her explore but im scared to let her run around on our sofa because she has leaped off before and then leaps out my hands when i pick her up too! Shes not a biter anymore but I just dont want her to hurt herself when she hurls herself onto the floor!! haha have your hamsters come out of the jumpy stage and let you handle them at all? If so what did you do to help them overcome it?

StarlightSerenity · 10-12-2011, 03:02 PM

She could just be a nervous hamster. Plus she's still only a baby and some take longer to tame than others.

When I first started handling Luna she would leap out of my hands but she stopped doing this relatively quickly. I would take the lid of her cage (top wire part), take out all but her wheel and house and wait until she went into a corner to scoop her up. As soon as I had scooped her up I would close my hands gently around her so that I had one cupped hand above her and one cupped hand below her if you see what I mean (she was tiny so it was easy) for a couple of seconds before putting her back down again.

Closing your hands around a hamster stops them escaping, makes it dark so they can see better and putting them back down reassures them that you will put them back and not eat them. Obviously it should only be done for a few seconds at a time.

Once Luna stopped leaping off my hands straight away I would hold her, without closing my hands around her, for a few seconds before putting her back down again. I gradually increased the time that I held her for until she stopped leaping off all together. Took about a week of this for her to stop leaping off, now she walks out of her cage when I open it (if she fancies coming out that is!).

Anyway, hope this helps a little bit - good luck with her!

Demecat · 10-12-2011, 03:06 PM

There's a pen you can use for your hamster, you still need to watch her in it as she can climb out, but a hand at the top of the pen where she's climbing can easily stop her without picking her up.

I got mine from PaH, but you can get them from other places...

The Playpen

CameraHamster · 10-12-2011, 06:09 PM

aurora is lovely to handle but a terror to pick up at times but i may use some of these techniques to make her more 'pick upable' friendly

Sophie+Sylvia · 10-13-2011, 03:10 PM

Managed to pick her up today without her jumping and she is defiantly getting less jumpy by the day! Shes forever starting out the cage for me to get her out and she comes running when i open the cage. Thanks for all the tips everyone!

Demecat · 10-13-2011, 03:12 PM

Poppy comes running then sits there thinking 'Do I really want to be held?'

I'm glad she is less jumpy, poppy is getting there too!

aurora_syrian_hamster · 01-07-2018, 02:43 PM

I have an 11 week old syrian too! She is also very jumpy but has not bitten in the week I have had her! A couple of days ago I started to tame her and every time I go to pick her up she just jumps out of my hands! I just wondered whether anyone had anymore tips? Thanks