Refusal to play

[alamaya]

Hi,

So yesterday morning we got our hammie. Would of been a Kristoff but only females left so we have Elsa.

She was a lively one who was investigating for ages before having a sleep lol.

Shes slept all of today as they do. Shes not been drinking much.

Its now 8pm and other than hearing her eat shes not come out her bed yet and I was going to try holding her.

She was up and awake at 6pm yesterday

1) Am I too excited and should I leave her alone?
2) Anyone have super late wakers?
3)Should I stop panicking

I think I want to hold her to confirm her temper, I wanted a male as all previous females I have had have been evil.

x

[Shannonmcn]

You really need to give all new Hammies at LEAST 2-3 days undisturbed to get used to their new homes, it's a very big change for them and she is probably feeling scared and nervous. You can start taming once she's settled

[katmick]

I agree with Shannon. Also don't forget that hamsters are nocturnal ( Syrian hamsters are really nocturnal ) and Dwarfs are crepuscular ( nocturnal but mostly active at dusk and dawn).

You must adjust to their rhythms and wait for them to wake up to play.
But definitely give her at least two to three days without handling and interfering e.g don't run over to the cage when she has woken up and start talking to her/ Let her know that it is ok to come out of her nest and feel safe without "Big giant trying to get hold of her each time".

Good luck and enjoy your new hammie!

[Miss kiwi]

If you really fear that she is not drinking enough you can cut up a piece of cucumber and give it to her!

[cypher]

Agree with the others, you really must give her time to settle, don't worry about the drinking she'll probably be doing that when you're asleep, she may only really come out to eat, drink & explore when it's quiet to begin with.
Put a tissue up your sleeve for a few hours then put that in her cage so she can begin to adjust to your scent, talk to her quietly when you're near the cage but other wise try not to bother her for a day or two at least.

[Pebbles82]

I think it's all been said there. I'd just say, check the water bottle is working ok - I had a couple that didn't work very well. I test by tapping my finger on the end and checking water comes out easily. If it isn't flowing very well then a couple of things can help, which are not filling it full and leaving an air gap (say 2/3 full) and not screwing it up tightly - ie screwing it up loosely but not so loose that water drips out.

When she's had her few days to get used to her new home and build a nest and find her way around it, you could start taming gradually by offering her treats through the bars so she gets used to taking treats from you. Then you can progress to having a treat on the palm of your hand and see if she will walk on your hand to take it. After the 2 or 3 days you could try getting her out in a tube rather than trying to pick her up, until she gets used to being handled out of the cage.

It is frustrating at first when all you want to do is hold them! But patience pays off as she needs to learn to trust you. Don't do any cage cleaning for the first two weeks either, even if it gets a bit whiffy. I'd recommend getting a potty litter tray if you haven't got one, and putting it in her wee corner (you'll soon find out which corner that is!). You can fill it with potty litter or Chinchilla sand and put a bit of the wee'd on substrate on top of it and she'll probably just start using it - ours took to his potty straight away and the rest of the cage stays dry. I would wait two weeks to do that though and when you do do a cage clean, leave half of the old substrate behind to keep her familiar smells.

There are very small things to do with their cages that can make a hamster aggressive and if hamsters are anything like humans then females may be more territorial about their homes than males! Hamsters tend not to be aggressive out of the cage, but can be territorial in their cage, especially at first.

[Leila0420]

Hi Alamaya, I've had my new little Syrian for just about 4 weeks now. At first she was really shy and literally only came out to play at about 11 at night. Although she got used to being handled and played with pretty quickly it's only really been this past week that she's started getting up earlier, she's usually out and about from 8pm now, begging for treats and play time.
Everyone's advice is really good and I'm sure your Elsa will settle in and be happy to play soon enough, she might just need a wee bit of time

[Thin Lizzy]

I agree with the others.
When hamsters are put in the new cage, everything is all new. Giving them a few days to settle in let's them explore their new home, mark their territory and adjust. Going in too soon with wanting to pick them up may stress them.
I recommend the tissue trick that Cypher mentioned.