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Old 03-24-2017, 09:54 AM   #1
christie_richards
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Default Syrian Hamster - Help!!??

Please help! We got a new Syrian hamster 3 weeks ago, he started off in his wheel all of the time for the first few days (we didn't tame him, just left him to it). Then after a week or so we started feeding him from our hands and got him out to handle. He runs away when you try to pick him up and tries to jump but once he is in your hand he seems happy enough (although he has peed a couple of times on us). The trouble is now he doesn't come out of his cage until we go to bed!

Any advice? What can I do to get him to come out and realise we aren't a threat? I may be scaring him by handling him but I don't want him to get used to not being handled as he will never tame. He also wees and poos and eats in his house so he never has the need to come out.

We had a russian dwarf a few years ago and he was happy and friendly with everyone and everything! Am I being paranoid about the new hammie's behaviour and just comparing him to our old one? All hamsters are different after all! Hope someone can help 
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Old 03-24-2017, 01:11 PM   #2
snow pony
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Default Re: Syrian Hamster - Help!!??

Hi,

I've had 10 Syrians in total, and I find that some don't wake up not because they're scared, but because they're lazy. What you could do (which I do with mine) is lift up the roof of his house, or the whole thing if it's just one part, and say hello to him throughout the day. That way you'll be able to see him more and it might encourage him to come out more. I wouldn't do it all the time, but just a few times a day if you've had him 3 weeks and started taming him he should be settled enough, and you should be able to see if he's nervous or if he's just a bit sleepy currently (as mine hardly ever came out when she was growing, then came out loads, and now has started sleeping late again).

Hope I've been able to help, and hope he's doing well.
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Old 03-24-2017, 02:22 PM   #3
Golden_Syrian_Hammmies
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Default Re: Syrian Hamster - Help!!??

Hi Christie, you are not alone as I also had this same problem with fudge. I don't know if it was laziness or being scared. I think the cat scared him a few times. Even still he doesn't come out properly til I put the lights out and he is in my room. All hammy personalities are different some are more reclusive than others. What I do is I try to get him into a routine of giving food out in the evening/treats and encouraging him out. He is more a morning ham and comes out periodically during the day/early evening but would quickly go backup his nest. Time and patience and talking and getting them used to you and what I do is I keep lifting them out when they come out and seize that opportunity and give them treats etc. Fudge isn't as bad now but still prefers to be in his nest majority of the time and come out later properly to go on his wheel. He just doesn't like to perform in public! It is hard especially when we want to have more interaction but you get to know them and their wee ways and can adapt accordingly.
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Old 03-24-2017, 05:27 PM   #4
Juliebrei
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Default Re: Syrian Hamster - Help!!??

I have a very timid syrian, and he only comes out if the room is dark. Turn the light on and he goes to bed. So we have just got in the habit of keeping as little unnatural light in the room as possible.
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:55 PM   #5
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Syrian Hamster - Help!!??

It sounds like quite normal Syrian behaviour! At first they go crazy for the wheel, then they get settled into a routine and only come out when the lights go out when they can do their own thing. Although some is personality. Some will be out all evening pestering to come out of the cage or being noisy. Others are more shy or lazy!

It might also be partly that it's all a bit overwhelming at first and taming can be a few steps forward and a few back sometimes. What we did was get in the routine of waking our hammy by noisily putting his food out early evening, and then getting him out for some out of cage time and taming. He will be a bit nervous at first, but once he is tamer, he should feel trusting with you. Even then sometimes they like to do their own thing in their house I also found it sometimes depended on what time of night it was. Between 6pm and 8pm if we got him out he would be very active and want to run away. Between 9pm and 11pm he'd be quite dopey and would go to sleep on your knee. After 11pm he was totally focused on being a hamster and extremely active.

So maybe give him a few more days to settle in and then wake him early evening and take him to the dry bathtub for some taming. He can run around in there without escaping and you can gradually stroke him with one finger now and then, or lift him a bit now and then and let him walk off your hand, and he';ll gradually get used to being handled and your presence. Putting a few toys in the bathtub helps - a tube and something to hide in maybe (a ceramic mug on its side would do).

Even with waking him for feeding, ours didn't always come out of his house, so we used to tempt him out into a tube by putting one end of the tube over the house and the other end in his ball, with a treat at the far end of the tube. He'd walk in to get the treat and into the ball. If the ball doesn't fit in the cage or he just takes the treat and goes back then the other thing we'd do is just pick him up in the tube (with a hand over each end so he can't jump out) with the ball nearby then put one end of the tube in the ball and he'd walk into it. Once in the ball you can pop the lid on and carefully carry him up to the bathtub (it's a good way of transporting them), put it down in the bath gently and take the lid off. We did the bathtub taming a couple of times a week and eventually he would let us know when he wanted to get out again by jumping back in the ball and looking at you.
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Old 03-25-2017, 06:40 AM   #6
Thin Lizzy
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Default Re: Syrian Hamster - Help!!??

Every hamster is different, have you tried the tissue trick? Get some unscented toilet paper and stuff it up your sleeves and leave for a couple of hours and then place in his cage, he will.sniff it, this gets him familiar with your scent, repeat this daily for a week. Also, talk as much as you can to him, even if you can't see him, hearing your voice will get him familiar again. Try and get him into a daily routine that you can stick to, this will help him.
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Old 03-27-2017, 01:12 PM   #7
christie_richards
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Default Re: Syrian Hamster - Help!!??

Hi all

Thanks for your replies. I have tried doing what you are saying and trying to make him get up. I have tried to tempt him out with treats, once he is out I have managed to get him to handle and he will run on us but the problem is because I have just woken him up he pees on us!! Plus his pee STINKS!

I read to wake him and leave him to wake up properly and pee etc before picking him up but the problem is he takes the treat and goes straight back into his house never to be seen again.

I would like to think he is just being lazy however he jumps at everything we do, even just opening the cage he jumps out of his skin (when we can see him.) Or if we move too quickly or even touch him sometimes he is soo skittish.

I am so worried he just hates us I hope that it will change in time.

Any other advice? I will try the tissue trick next time I clean him out. Is he maybe too close to the tv? I would say he is about 6 feet away from the TV and we don't ever watch things too loudly, I also was worried he doesn't like the light so I have started to put a tea towel on his cage so he isn't so stressed.

Thanks in advance. I am not sure if I am able to post pics on here but would it help if I uploaded a picture of his cage and where it is? Or maybe he is just a very stressy hammy!! Poor Pippin
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Old 03-27-2017, 09:28 PM   #8
dreamtree1234
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Default Re: Syrian Hamster - Help!!??

Hi, Christie! Congrats on adopting your Syrian hammie. What is his name?

I think that you should consider using the tissue trick where you place it in your sleeve for several hours during the day and then place it in his cage near where his nest/house is. This will allow him to become familiar with your scent and realize that it poses no threat to him. I would also continue to speak to him in a soft voice as often as possible even if he isn't visible. Furthermore, he may need additional encouragement by letting him hear the rustling and crinkling of the food/treat bag or placing of additional special treats in his food bowl. Hamsters tend to be extremely food driven so that would make him more likely to come out of hiding. You should also offer him treats/food from your hand in order to get him to associate your hand with anything positive. However, I would wait to start petting/picking him up until he seems more ready to interact with you. I would give it a few more days if needed, but let your hamster determine that time.

When he is ready for the next step in taming, I would take him to the bathtub as Serendipity mentioned. Therefore, he will think of you as his way of having additional freedom, exploration, and tons of fun.

As far as his peeing in his bed and on your hand, I think that it would be important to try to begin potty training him as soon as possible. It is not a good thing for him to do so in his house since it could lead to illnesses such as wet tail that can prove deadly. Also, you will want him to know that peeing in your hand is not what you want to happen. Therefore, I would make sure that he has a litter box. I have a ceramic container that has Vitakraft Long Lasting Odor Control Fresh World Bedding Ultra Strength Super Soft Crumbles in it. Then, I would place some of the peed on substrate that is in his house inside that ceramic container. I would be sure to get rid of any additional peed on substrate in the place where he has been hiding out so he won't continue to think it is his toilet area. I would make sure to gently move him to the ceramic container whenever I believe that he needs to urinate or prior to holding him so he will have a chance to go in there as his number one option. This has worked for my Syrian hamster like a charm. Just be as consistent as possible and don't give up on it. It will definitely pay off in the end.

Good luck with the continued taming process and try to keep to a daily schedule if at all possible. I would love to see pics and hear how things are going whenever you have a chance. Have a wonderful time with your Syrian buddy.
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Old 03-28-2017, 06:51 PM   #9
Juliebrei
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Default Re: Syrian Hamster - Help!!??

Taking the treat and going back to bed sounds exactly like ours. We have gotten used to using his travel box as part of the handling time. He is more likely to pee there and the substrate in it will smell familiar. Both our hamsters usually run around a little on us and then run into the box.
This is how we usual position it.
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tame, hamster, syrian, ago, started, happy, handled, scaring, threat, realise, handling, friendly, comparing, behaviour, hammies, hamsters, hope, paranoid, house, eats, poos, russian, dwarf, years, wees

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