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Cosmic · 05-08-2016, 09:11 AM

We got our hamster, Ozzy, last Tuesday. He's very young (pet shop said 5-6 weeks) and very timid.

We left him completely alone for 3 days to settle. And hoped to begin to tame him, but unfortunately he's so shy and timid that we've barely seen him.

He's coming out at night to gather all the food and I've seen him use the water bottle so I'm confident he's ok in that sense. But he just will not venture out of his box if we're there.

On friday evening, he woke up and popped out of his house (which is the box he came home in, he's built his nest there) very briefly but ran back in as soon as he saw me.

He won't be tempted out with treats. In desperation, I picked up his box and set it on my lap and he did wander out onto my lap and had a sniff about for 5 minutes before I returned him and his box to the cage.

I tried the same last night, but he came out to sniff me and then just snuggled back into his nest and wasnt interested in coming out. I popped him back in at this point and left him to it.

My husband thinks I'm going to spook him more by moving his house. But I don't know how else to get him used to me.

Should I just leave him be for a week or so and try again? Or keep lifting his box each night so he gets used to it?

Help appreciated.

05-08-2016, 09:11 AM
Cosmic Newborn Pup Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 32	Back off or persist? We got our hamster, Ozzy, last Tuesday. He's very young (pet shop said 5-6 weeks) and very timid. We left him completely alone for 3 days to settle. And hoped to begin to tame him, but unfortunately he's so shy and timid that we've barely seen him. He's coming out at night to gather all the food and I've seen him use the water bottle so I'm confident he's ok in that sense. But he just will not venture out of his box if we're there. On friday evening, he woke up and popped out of his house (which is the box he came home in, he's built his nest there) very briefly but ran back in as soon as he saw me. He won't be tempted out with treats. In desperation, I picked up his box and set it on my lap and he did wander out onto my lap and had a sniff about for 5 minutes before I returned him and his box to the cage. I tried the same last night, but he came out to sniff me and then just snuggled back into his nest and wasnt interested in coming out. I popped him back in at this point and left him to it. My husband thinks I'm going to spook him more by moving his house. But I don't know how else to get him used to me. Should I just leave him be for a week or so and try again? Or keep lifting his box each night so he gets used to it? Help appreciated.