Same hamster?

[buzby]

We got our hamster a week ago today, a little dwarf Russian from p@h

When we visited the store in the evening this little fella was out and about, wasn't spooked by us looking at him through the glass, nor did he hide when the lady removed him from it, in fact he was really calm and good whilst both myself and my son held him... So he was the choose one

Brought him home, introduced him to his new cage and left him alone for 24hrs to settle. Since then we have been talking to him, but the trouble we have only seen him once in a week! He never comes out before 10pm and that one night I saw him out turned into a Mexican stand off, he never moved a muscle for over 5mins whilst I spoke gently to him, then finally made a high speed dash back into his tunnels under the fitch

I thought he might need a few days to settle, but surely going from quite a laid back hamster to a nervous wreak is a bit extreme?

[velma]

It's a massive upheaval for a wee ham. They go from a teeny tiny tank in the pet shop, they've spent time with their siblings and then they have get moved to a new home, that's much bigger with new sights, sounds and smells. It does take time and for some hams it takes a bit longer. Be patient and take things slowly and I'm sure you'all get there

[cypher]

It can take them a while to adjust & as velma said it is a huge change for them so don't get too disheartened just yet!
If I remember rightly he's in an Alaska? It's a great cage but quite big for a little dwarf that has been used to a tiny tank so make sure there isn't too much open space, just use a few things like toilet roll or kitchen towel tubes, egg boxes or other small boxes to make some little hide aways.
Have you done the tissue trick yet, putting toilet tissue up your sleeve for a few hours then tearing it up & putting it in the cage, that will help him get used to your scent.
Other than that talk to him, even when he's hiding away so he gets used to you being around his cage.
Try hiding some of his food or some treats around the cage to tempt him to come out more.
He should begin to get a little braver soon.

[buzby]

thanks, I must admit I didnt expect a tame hamster but it did shock me a bit just how nervous he is

He does have plenty of tubes, logs sand bath and houses so as you say fingers crossed he learns to relax a tad

Just wondering how long I should leave him before atempting a bit of a clean up in the cage? I followed what that Erin said in a vid and gave him nice deep fitch so was thinking about swapping half of it out every fortnight?

[cypher]

You shouldn't even need to clean that much in a cage the size of an alaska, once you know where he's peeing (if you haven't already) put a little tray of chinchilla sand in that spot & he will most likely use that so you can just take out any damp clumps & change the sand every week or even less.
At most I would say clean out about a third of the cage once a month, it depends how much he begins to dig & burrow, if he isn't digging much then you can clean off just the top layer of part of the cage if he does begin to dig a lot then everything falls to the bottom so it's better to do all the fitch in a section of the cage.
They are very clean little things, generally pee in just one spot once settled & you can clean up any areas where dry poo tends to collect but you don't need to worry about that too much.
I usually find it's the area around the wheel that needs cleaning most often, at least the top layer.

[buzby]

Seems to be peeing in its wheel at the mo! lol

He is tunneling like a good'un at the mo so I'll see how things are at the weekend

[Thin Lizzy]

The tanks they're kept in at P@H are tiny, so going from that to the Alaska cage will take some getting use to. The tissue trick is a great way of getting your ham familiar with your scent. Try not to use any small animal cleaning spray on the wheel. If you over clean it, they'll pee more on the wheel. Hopefully this a phase and he'll use a corner soon. Just use lukewarm water to clean the wheel, this way he can still smell his scent.

[cypher]

Peeing in the wheel is one of those things most dwarf hams just love to do lol!
Some do grow out of it but it is common for them to continue, I just give mine a wipe down with a damp paper towel (water only) if it gets really bad between cleans otherwise I usually leave it at least two weeks while they settle in then after that give it a clean with an unscented pet safe disinfectant (I use Safe4) once a week.

[badwolf]

My dwarf, Jareth, is the only hamster I have that loved peeing in his wheel (he seems to have stopped lately). My Syrians all use the sand bath/toilet in the corner. Didn't take any training with them, just happened naturally.

As for the taming thing... Don't worry, you'll get there When I got Jareth from PAH he was a total nervous wreck. It took me quite a while, but with lots of love and patience and great advice he came round and became my wee buddy One thing I recommend for taking him out is getting him to climb into something which you can lift out, instead of using your hand. This is how I got Jareth to start getting more comfortable with me. That and the tissue trick.

[buzby]

Thanks all, will keep talking to the moving fitch in the evenings