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Pebbles82 · 08-07-2018, 02:56 AM

Hi. It’s fear mostly and they need a two week settling in period with a new cage so probably best if you just keep your hand out until he’s had time to make himself at home. It’s usually recommended not to clean anything it change things in the cage during the first two weeks. During that time they scent mark everything so they can find their way around the cage and get familiar with it, decide where to nest, hoard and pee etc. So probably best to just start that two weeks again ��. Leave him undisturbed to settle in and just food and water out when he’s asleep. It shouldn’t get too whiff in two weeks with a dwarf ham and after that you could spot clean a little bit. There’s no need to do full clean outs weekly and it’s better to do partial cleans and less often. Clean outs really stress them although they can get more used to it in time. As ,Cypher says use this time to just talk gently to him through the cage so he gets familiar with your voice. If he is scrabbling to want to come out then getting him out in a tube or box to a safe area is a good idea. But if he isn’t showing signs of wanting to come out I’d just leave him for a couple of weeks to do hamsters things in his cage.

Our first Syrian was just like this - he was in a cage that was too small and had top access - used to run at my hand. When we moved him to a larger cage he was like a different hamster and seemed visibly happier although not for the first 10 days when he had to settle in all over again. Some dwarf hamsters are ok with smaller cages, some need more space- not sure what size your bin is- but the main thing is having enough enrichment in the cage or they can’t have normal behaviours. Eg enough depth of bedding, somewhere dark to go - a hide or house - plenty of variety, tunnels toys etc, and a wheel that runs smoothly and is big enough. He may be a nervous ham too if he’s been handled roughly in the past. Our last Syrian was very nervy but became very tame with some taming.

08-07-2018, 02:56 AM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: aggressive new hamster? Hi. It’s fear mostly and they need a two week settling in period with a new cage so probably best if you just keep your hand out until he’s had time to make himself at home. It’s usually recommended not to clean anything it change things in the cage during the first two weeks. During that time they scent mark everything so they can find their way around the cage and get familiar with it, decide where to nest, hoard and pee etc. So probably best to just start that two weeks again ��. Leave him undisturbed to settle in and just food and water out when he’s asleep. It shouldn’t get too whiff in two weeks with a dwarf ham and after that you could spot clean a little bit. There’s no need to do full clean outs weekly and it’s better to do partial cleans and less often. Clean outs really stress them although they can get more used to it in time. As ,Cypher says use this time to just talk gently to him through the cage so he gets familiar with your voice. If he is scrabbling to want to come out then getting him out in a tube or box to a safe area is a good idea. But if he isn’t showing signs of wanting to come out I’d just leave him for a couple of weeks to do hamsters things in his cage. Our first Syrian was just like this - he was in a cage that was too small and had top access - used to run at my hand. When we moved him to a larger cage he was like a different hamster and seemed visibly happier although not for the first 10 days when he had to settle in all over again. Some dwarf hamsters are ok with smaller cages, some need more space- not sure what size your bin is- but the main thing is having enough enrichment in the cage or they can’t have normal behaviours. Eg enough depth of bedding, somewhere dark to go - a hide or house - plenty of variety, tunnels toys etc, and a wheel that runs smoothly and is big enough. He may be a nervous ham too if he’s been handled roughly in the past. Our last Syrian was very nervy but became very tame with some taming.