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Ria P · 02-20-2021, 02:22 AM

I wouldn't move Cloudy into a bigger cage now and a 80x50 is a good size, maybe later when he's more confident. Both my Syrians live in 80x50 cages.
Opinions vary on this one and a lot of people think that a hamster needs a cage as big as possible. I think that it depends on the individual hamster. Some need lots of space and others feel exposed and intimitated by it.

He's probably still settling in and making his home in his habitat. To help him feel comfortable and relaxed keep cleaning to a minimum or you remove his scent. A 80x50 cage with deep, paperbased substrate only needs spot cleaning for the first month or so. Syrians often use a sand filled toilet and poops don't smell so are nothing to worry about.

Taming also depends on a hamster's personality. Some are naturally comfortable with humans and others do not want human interaction at all. I have seven hamsters and they all have very different personalities.

There are different approaches to taming and there's no set formula. With a nervous hamster i start off with just sitting by their cage and talking to them for a couple of weeks to give them a chance to become familiar with their surroundings. If they come up to the bars i offer a treat and if they let me i stroke them lightly.

I tame outside their cages and use freedom as a reward but not everyone has a safe area to do that.
I let them walk into a jug with a treat in it if needed and then sit on the floor in a hamster proof area. I have a room but a bathtub, large playpen or hall with the doors closed would work as long as you can sit down with them.
I let the hamster walk and sniff around on my lap so they get used to my smell but keep sessions short and put them back if they get stressed. A few sunflower seeds scattered around keeps them busy. After a few sessions of that i move on to lightly stroking their backs and once they tolerate that cup my hand around their body. I then lift them slightly and gradually increase height and duration of the pick up exercises. Then its pick up, let run and pick up until they're comfortable with getting picked up and handled.
These sessions i spread out over a number of days or weeks depending on the hamster because i work at their pace not mine.
Once i can pick them up i let them free roam which they love but often they run off my lap before they're tame and i catch them by putting food in a jug and wait till they walk in.

I'm not saying that my method would work for Cloudy but you may be able to use some of it.
It can take a lot of time and patience to tame a hamster. I only tame when the hamster is fully awake and may try to tempt them out of their nest by rustling the substrate or offering a treat but don't take them out of their nest.

It must be more difficult to put a nervous hamster at ease with young children around because hamsters do get frightened easily so you may have to ask your kids to just watch at first and to be as quiet as possible while you tame the new family pet.
Your kids should be able to gently handle, stroke and hold him eventually under adult supervision of course but hamsters aren't really pets young children can play with and many sleep during the day.

02-20-2021, 02:22 AM
Ria P House of Hamsters Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: Wiltshire, UK Posts: 7,103	Re: new nervous hamster owner I wouldn't move Cloudy into a bigger cage now and a 80x50 is a good size, maybe later when he's more confident. Both my Syrians live in 80x50 cages. Opinions vary on this one and a lot of people think that a hamster needs a cage as big as possible. I think that it depends on the individual hamster. Some need lots of space and others feel exposed and intimitated by it. He's probably still settling in and making his home in his habitat. To help him feel comfortable and relaxed keep cleaning to a minimum or you remove his scent. A 80x50 cage with deep, paperbased substrate only needs spot cleaning for the first month or so. Syrians often use a sand filled toilet and poops don't smell so are nothing to worry about. Taming also depends on a hamster's personality. Some are naturally comfortable with humans and others do not want human interaction at all. I have seven hamsters and they all have very different personalities. There are different approaches to taming and there's no set formula. With a nervous hamster i start off with just sitting by their cage and talking to them for a couple of weeks to give them a chance to become familiar with their surroundings. If they come up to the bars i offer a treat and if they let me i stroke them lightly. I tame outside their cages and use freedom as a reward but not everyone has a safe area to do that. I let them walk into a jug with a treat in it if needed and then sit on the floor in a hamster proof area. I have a room but a bathtub, large playpen or hall with the doors closed would work as long as you can sit down with them. I let the hamster walk and sniff around on my lap so they get used to my smell but keep sessions short and put them back if they get stressed. A few sunflower seeds scattered around keeps them busy. After a few sessions of that i move on to lightly stroking their backs and once they tolerate that cup my hand around their body. I then lift them slightly and gradually increase height and duration of the pick up exercises. Then its pick up, let run and pick up until they're comfortable with getting picked up and handled. These sessions i spread out over a number of days or weeks depending on the hamster because i work at their pace not mine. Once i can pick them up i let them free roam which they love but often they run off my lap before they're tame and i catch them by putting food in a jug and wait till they walk in. I'm not saying that my method would work for Cloudy but you may be able to use some of it. It can take a lot of time and patience to tame a hamster. I only tame when the hamster is fully awake and may try to tempt them out of their nest by rustling the substrate or offering a treat but don't take them out of their nest. It must be more difficult to put a nervous hamster at ease with young children around because hamsters do get frightened easily so you may have to ask your kids to just watch at first and to be as quiet as possible while you tame the new family pet. Your kids should be able to gently handle, stroke and hold him eventually under adult supervision of course but hamsters aren't really pets young children can play with and many sleep during the day.