Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Central Forum Topics > Hamster Chat

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-13-2018, 05:16 AM   #1
Gigi_Apples
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 7
Default First time owner needing advice for Robo

Hello! I have a little boy roborovski hamster somewhere between 8-12 weeks old, and I really need some advice. I've been watching lots of youtube tutorials on 'taming your hamster', but when i present my hand he scratches and nibbles it, he nibbled my boyfriends hand so bad it drew blood. When I offer him treats he's more interested in my nails or my fingers, and wont take the treat, instead trying to climb up it to get my fingers. As a first time owner, I'm nervous of being bitten because i think it will knock my confidence with him. He doesn't seem stressed or angry, just really inquisitive. Yesterday he did eat a treat whilst sitting on my hand, but when i tried to repeat it he was more interested in my thumb... What am i doing wrong, how do i make him stop nibbling?? xx
Gigi_Apples is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2018, 08:05 AM   #2
Gigi_Apples
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 7
Default Re: First time owner needing advice for Robo

I'm currently trying to get him used to being stroked by using a makeup brush and smoothing his fur when he's sitting still. If the brush goes anywhere near his face he starts trying to eat it so i'm definitely not confident enough to try using my fingers yet! Is this a good step to take? what should i do to make him stop biting things that aren't food?
Gigi_Apples is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2018, 08:51 AM   #3
cypher
Dwarf whisperer
 
cypher's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Wales UK
Posts: 24,789
Default Re: First time owner needing advice for Robo

I wouldn't use the brush, for a tiny robo a brush approaching him must be quite intimidating & I would totally expect him to either attack it or just run away!
You can try just burying your fingers in the substrate with a treat on your palm if your worried about bites, I know it can be hard but if he does bite try not to react or make sudden movements just gently & slowly move your hand away.
Have you tried doing the tissue trick (putting some toilet tissue up your sleeve for a few hours then shredding it up & putting it in the cage) so he can get used to your scent in the cage?
It's often just a case of taking time & being patient with them, most will grow out of biting with time, with some it's a bit of a territorial thing & they just don't like hands invading their space in which case it's better to do taming in a play bin or playpen.
__________________
Slave to Zak.
Always loved, never forgotten, forever in my heart
T'ycor, Ziggy, Zephyr, Flynt, Mickle, Little Whisp, Zen, Zeki, Tinwë, Zylvan, Míriel, Calyanwë, Gusto & Meri
❤️
cypher is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2018, 09:05 AM   #4
dreamtree1234
The Cuddler of Cuteness
 
dreamtree1234's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: United States
Posts: 3,278
Default Re: First time owner needing advice for Robo

Have you tried using the tissue trick yet? You place a non-scented tissue in your sleeve for several hours so it acquires your scent. Then, you place the tissue into his cage so he can familiarize himself with your scent. Do this for a few days and softly speak to him even if he is nestled in his nest and isn't visible to you. Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly before placing your hand in his cage so you can be sure that you don't have any lotion or food scent on it. Place your hand on the bedding so some of the scent of the cage will then transfer onto your hand and leave it there so your ham can slowly approach it. It is usually less intimidating for a ham if you have a side or front door of the cage to enter your hand from since they are prey animals. If you don't, it isn't impossible to tame them with your hand coming from the top. I have a bin cage for Eros and never had a side or front entrance to her cage and she did fine with her taming. Just be sure to make slow movements so the ham isn't startled by you. Hamster's vision isn't the best so they often use their mouths to investigate whether or not something is edible. So long as it doesn't nibble hard, it is perfectly natural for some to do this and usually they outgrow this behavior over time. If they do nibble or even bite, do not make any jerky movements regardless of how difficult this may be; you don't want them to associate your hand with anything that should be feared. Another thing you can do is just give him treats from your fingers at first without the need for him to sit on your hand so he get to know that your hand is something that gives him what he loves - food. Then, when he is a bit tamer with that, you can use a container to transfer him into the tub with you because some hams are more territorial inside their cage than outside of it. At that time, he will have the opportunity to crawl on you and you can begin bonding with one another even more. Be sure to place a towel over the stopper though so he won't get injured or try to squeeze through the hole and make sure there are plenty of hideaways and toys for him also. It just takes patience and gentle loving care, but when they become tame it is truly worth all the effort and time you put into it. Just like humans, some hams take longer than other to become more social. I hope that this helps. Good luck and have fun with him.
__________________

"...she fell into a deep sleep, and dreamed the dreams of the dreamtree." ~Stephen Cosgrove
Mum to Duchess. Fur Angels Eros007, Arwen, Hinata & Snickers 4Ever.
dreamtree1234 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 03:36 AM   #5
HamsterDadof3
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 1
Default Re: First time owner needing advice for Robo

It took a while to get my 3 little charmers tame enough to handle. Don't give up no matter what methods you try and take things slow day by day. I personally used the box trick which made it a bit slower to get to the end goal but now I have actually walked around with my first one, Dedenne, in my shirt pocket at the pet store. It brings smiles to everyone's face to see him poke his head out. God luck

-Dedenne, Togedemaru, Caspian, and dad
HamsterDadof3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 09:03 AM   #6
Gigi_Apples
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 7
Default Re: First time owner needing advice for Robo

If he's biting/ nibbling my gloved hand when i put it in the cage, is that more likely an attack then an investigative nibble? Because i thought he was quite chill but now im worried i might be stressing him out. If he scrabbles and nibble would that be an attack? Thanks for the tissue tip, im going to do that as soon as i get home today, I've been sitting by his cage and chatting to him and he doesn't seem scared of me so that's good news!
Gigi_Apples is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 09:34 AM   #7
cypher
Dwarf whisperer
 
cypher's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Wales UK
Posts: 24,789
Default Re: First time owner needing advice for Robo

He might actually be more inclined to bite if you put a gloved hand into the cage rather than just your hand, they can't really get used to hands if you use gloves, when you do the tissue trick he will get more used to your scent so try him with your hand rather than the glove if you can, unless you've done some out of cage handling or taming it's hard to know if it may be a territorial thing or just fear when he bites in the cage.
Try not to be nervous, I know that seems easier to say than do but if you are nervous then they can sense that & it just makes them more nervous.
__________________
Slave to Zak.
Always loved, never forgotten, forever in my heart
T'ycor, Ziggy, Zephyr, Flynt, Mickle, Little Whisp, Zen, Zeki, Tinwë, Zylvan, Míriel, Calyanwë, Gusto & Meri
❤️
cypher is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 12:05 PM   #8
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: First time owner needing advice for Robo

You're doing better than me! Our Robo runs and hides if you put a hand in the cage - and usually hides in the most inaccessible place - and we've had him months! With any species of hamster, taming is easier out of the cage than in it really - because they are territorial about their cages. So whether it is a nibble to see if you're food, or an attack of the invading hand - you will probably find his behaviour is very different when not in his cage.

Could you set up a playpen/bin for taming him in maybe? I intend to do that - if I can actually find ours!
Pebbles82 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2018, 12:15 PM   #9
cypher
Dwarf whisperer
 
cypher's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Wales UK
Posts: 24,789
Default Re: First time owner needing advice for Robo

While I do think that play bins or playpens are a really good way to interact with your ham I'm not so sure the territorial thing is an issue tbh, I have no experience with robos but with my Russian & Chinese hams (with the exception of one female Russian who was very territorial) I find it best to begin taming in the cage, I always respect their space & don't change things in their cages or clean much so they feel secure in there & haven't found hands in cages to be an issue, I think often they feel more intimidated out of the cage until they've gained at least a little confidence & got used to interacting.
__________________
Slave to Zak.
Always loved, never forgotten, forever in my heart
T'ycor, Ziggy, Zephyr, Flynt, Mickle, Little Whisp, Zen, Zeki, Tinwë, Zylvan, Míriel, Calyanwë, Gusto & Meri
❤️
cypher is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2018, 05:02 AM   #10
Gigi_Apples
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 7
Default Re: First time owner needing advice for Robo

I want to say a bit MASSIVE thank you to everyone whose commented on this!! all of your advice is amazing, and it's so nice to be able to ask questions and get informed answers instead of fumbling around yahoo answers!!

I've got a good sized box now, not too big not too small, and i put him in there for about 15 minutes yesterday, he took a little piece of food from my fingers and pouched it right there instead of running off to hide and then pouch it!! while he was pouching it, i stroked him with the brush (it's a very very small brush, meant for eyebrows) and he seemed very chill, I managed to stroke him with my finger I put him back after 15 mins because he just went to sleep in his house thing (currently using the cardboard box he came in as the house, is that okay?) He's got some tissue with my scent on in his cage, I really want to try and offer my hand again, but he's so fast I'm a bit nervous he might just run up my arm and escape. HE IS SO FAST. I honestly didn't realise how fast he was going to be when I bought him a week ago. The pet shop warned me, but I clearly have very selective hearing.... lol.
Gigi_Apples is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
hand, treat, fingers, interested, hamster, time, owner, advice, bitten, knock, nervous, nibbling, climb, stop, confidence, make, yesterday, inquisitive, eat, sitting, whilst, thumb, angry, wrong, stressed

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 03:54 AM.