New ham, starting to grow in confidence - I hope!

[Sazzle]

Hey everyone & their hams!

I’ve finally managed to change my avatar so that baby Bernie can be seen. Thank for everyone’s advice so far - it’s been great appreciated!

I’ve had him for 11 days now, and he’s in he zooplus Marrakesh tank. He’s really shy and I haven’t had much success with taming yet, although tonight I managed to get him to go in the playpen for a bit - not sure he was very keen though!

He has a good cage setup - I hope. It’s nice and big, with a big wheel ledges, platforms and deep substrate, with plenty of toys. I have only managed to get him to take a piece of carrot from me for the first time tonight. He keeps hiding and seems very scared. I’ve tried the tissue trick and he’s made his bed with the tissue that smells of me.

However, he’s still won’t come to my hand to take anything off it. Even if I put it flat he still won’t walk on.

I’ve not tried the bath yet so do you think that should be next? He’s just so jumpy and I’m frightened of scaring him. He’s making small steps, but I’m woriecthay I’ll miss the opportunity to tame him.

Anyway, this is him if the avatar is too small.

[Sazzle]

Also, I wanted to check. Ive put a wooden house upside down with chinchilla sand in it. He seems to really like it and has a good dig around.

Is it okay to leave it in his tank permanently or do I need to take it out once he’s been in?

Thank you everyone again. I don’t know what I’d do without being able to ask for advice on here!

[cypher]

It's still very early days so try not to worry, keep talking to him lots & persevere with putting your hand down for him & he should get braver with time, I do think it's harder with a tank as you have to approach from above rather than in front of them but he should still get used to your hand soon enough.
I would keep getting him out for short sessions in the playpen so you can interact with him more easily that way.

The chinchilla sand is fine to keep in the cage all the time.

[BubbyandHamper]

Don't worry. He'll be fine in the end. Just be patient and he will be the most lovey-Dovey hamster around. It just takes a while.

[Thin Lizzy]

Aww Sazzle, your Bernie is so blooming gorgeous.
Having patience is the best way to bonding with your ham along with softly talking and praise.

[Sazzle]

Hey everyone.

Wanted to give an update on little Bernie and also to ask for advice yet again (sorry).
Things seemed to be going well, but still couldn’t get him to come near to my hand.

A couple of nights ago I got him to get into a mug and put him into a new big playpen with some toys and things from his cage there. He ran around and seemed really scared. He won’t come near me, even with a treat on my hand. I was worried so I put him back into his tank, when he promptly ran back into his bed.

I thought I’d leave him be so I put some bits in for him and changed his water. Trouble is, since then, he won’t come out at all!

I waited until really late last night and he only came out when I tuned everything off and he thought I’d gone.
It’s the same tonight. No sign of him again. I have an awful feeling that I’ve really frightened him and don’t know what to do for the best.

It’s been 3 weeks now and I still haven’t come near to being able to handle him and now it seems that he doesn’t want to be up when I’m around.

I’m not sure what I should do. I know he’s still only young. He’s probably only about 8 or 9 weeks old now but I just want him to be happy. And he really doesn’t seem it.

Thanks in advance for any advice. X

[cypher]

Try not to worry too much, this does happen sometimes. Give him a bit longer to get over his scare but still keep talking to him (even when he's hiding) & try to tempt him out in the cage with a treat even if he doesn't take it from you at first, just keep your hand still for a while then leave the treat there for him, he will begin to make the association between you & nice things soon!
Keep to a time in the evening & make that feeding time, maybe put out his veg then too so it's worth his while getting up!
Three weeks still isn't that long, if he begins to show some signs of confidence in the cage then you could try a short session in the playpen again, maybe just once every few days to begin with & build up as he gets more confident.

[Sazzle]

Thank you so much Cypher. That’s really reassured me. I just keep worrying that I’m not doing the right things and I want so much for him to be happy and contented.

I managed to get him to have a yoghurt drop from me early this morning but he still won’t take it out of my hand.

I’ll put some carrot in for him now. He seems to like that. Then I’ll see if he gets up.

Is it okay to leave him in the tank for a few days then until he seems to trust me a bit more?

I worry that I should be getting him out every day.

Thanks again. You’ve made me feel so much better x

[cypher]

I think sometimes you just have to go at their pace, if he's getting stressed coming out it won't hurt to leave him for two or three days before trying again, just keep trying to gain his confidence & don't feel you have to rush anything.

[Thin Lizzy]

How's Bernie getting on?