New hamster won't come out at all.. worried

[Nube]

Yes, the wheels are here. We have put one into Fluffums' cage (school hamster) first and she had a good try but could not run on it as it was very stiff. So my husband used plastic grease on it and sanded the "axis" a bit, now it is much more smooth. We are waiting for her to wake up and have another go. Have not attached the other one yet as the little one was sleeping in the tube so could not open the cage properly. Will try it later although he is unlikely to use it with us around.. or maybe he will.

[Nube]

The new wheels are in. The school hamster seems to be quite happy with it, the other one has not tried it yet. He just came out of his house, I was sitting there talking to him with cage door open and gave him a bit of red pepper. He ate it from my fingers alright and seemed to be Ok. Then he came to the cage entrance and half climbed out. I put my hand in front in case he wanted to step on it, he sniffed it carefully and bit me really hard (drew blood). I said "no" loudly and removed hand. Later he stepped out again, I put my hand out again and he bit me again... How do I stop this? He has tissues with our smell and uses it as bedding. He seems to be more brave. But this biting thing is not good... Any advice? I searched for such topics and there is loads but still wondered if anybody could make it clear what to do if possible?

[Piebald]

It's a phase. Seriously he is just a baby and he is exploring. I suggest taking a step back from trying to take him out. Work on him getting used to your hand in the cage first. Put your hand in and best keep fingers in or away for a time since he thinks they might be tasty. Take your hand out. Next time for longer. You want to work up to him running over your hand as a non-event, just a meh. You can put a treat on the back of your hand (fingers in) to encourage him. Saying "no" isn't going to get you anything with a Hamster unfortunately. You have to work around them.
I'm sure some others have some thoughts? Biting tales?

[Jen250]

This just suggests to me that he is not ready to be handled yet, and he's still scared of The Hand. I'd keep giving him treats from your fingers since he seems okay with that but don't progress on taking him out of the cage with your hand quite yet. When I first got Hubble, I only took him out by letting him climb into something first to transfer him to the bathtub for playtime, just so he could get used to that before introducing The Hand into the equation. Some hamsters just take a little longer than others, I think, to gain trust. If he's biting, he's just scared.

[Nube]

thanks you are both probably right. I did not try to pick him up at all, he was half out of the cage and I cupped my hand underneath like a step, so he came sniffing and then bit. Have just watched Erin's video on taming. He does take food from fingers very hesitantly, so will work on that. Might start wearing a glove if he insists on biting though as his teeth are really sharp.

On a different subject. He seems to like his new wheel, so while he was exercising I took a chance to take out his house and clean it. It was absolutely revolting, a mix of wet bedding, poo, food and SMELL. Cleaned it, put fresh stuff in including some food, and some of cleaner old bedding to retain some of his smell. Hope it is ok and will not stress him out...

[Bertiebobbins]

Our new hamster bit my (3yr old) daughter's finder twice in the first week or so, drew blood once - now he's been with us a bit longer he isn't doing it anymore. We've had him nearly 4 weeks now, and your initial post I could have written myself when I first got him! Anyway he doesn't bite now, and he only did when our hands smelled of food (at least my daughter learned the importance of washing her hands properly lol!). I've been following Erin's hamster taming advice too and now I can pick him up round his middle with no problems and he'll run all over me. Have just ordered him a new large wheel too, hoping it comes today!

[Nube]

Bertiebobbins - thanks, let's hope ours follows the trend . What did you use as a treat though for taming? I failed to find good sunflower seeds so far, or would bird seeds be Ok? So far we have been using a bit of cucumber and a bit of pepper, so our hands would have smelled of food after that! I tried "shelled" sunflower seeds and he was not interested.

[Jen250]

I used Mr. Johnson's Niblets - Mixed Seeds (Seed mix on Viovet) when I was taming. It has a mixture of seeds in it, and my hamster loves them.

[Nube]

Excellent, thanks, will try those

[Thin Lizzy]

Hey Nube, I used different treats each time, I found yoghurt and carrot drops really good, I did half them.