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Dodo · 04-15-2021, 01:06 AM

Hello everyone,

I would very much appreciate a bit of advice about taming my male Syrian Cloudy, who is now 5 months.
I got Cloudy from the pet store almost 3 months ago now, super scared and skittish. I was myself a 1st time hamster owner, so I was very unsure of myself and really scared of getting bitten (which is yet to happen thank god

). I made multiple changes in his set up in the 1st weeks as I was learning more about hamster care and I think that set us back as well in terms of taming.

Cloudy has slowly come out of his shell, he is now relatively confident and seems a quite happy hamster. He is in a Detolf with a multichamber hide, has an 11" wheel, sandbath, fresh veggies everyday, foraging stuff etc. He takes treats from my hand, generally accepts being stroked (I don't do it a lot though because I am not sure he is a fan). The thing he loves is out of the cage time. He sometimes literally runs to his little carrier when I present it to him, as he knows it means play pen or free roaming. He doesn't come onto my hand however and will not take treats if I lie my hand flat (though part of me thinks that is because I am not leaving itfor long enough...).

The other night after being back in his cage after play pen he wanted to go out again. For the 1st time I managed to gently scoop him out of his cage. Huge victory! But after a second he tried to escape my hands and started climbing my back (I was alone). I eventually managed to get him in his playpen by kneeling in front of it and he made a tiny jump from my head (yes he was on my head by then but I was very low haha) onto the playpen.

Yesterday I tried to scoop him again but he clearly didn't it so I didn't insist and brought out the carrier.

Any idea how I can go onto the next step with him? He is friendly and more laid back now, and I really think we could bond more and he would enjoy it (maybe I'm projecting...), especially as he gets older, but I am not sure what the next step should be. I'd like to offer him more out of the cage and free roaming time, but it is tricky with a hamster that is not completely tame.

Any help appreciated, apologies for the long post and thank you for reading!

04-15-2021, 01:06 AM
Dodo Hamster Pup Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: UK Posts: 121	stuck with taming Hello everyone, I would very much appreciate a bit of advice about taming my male Syrian Cloudy, who is now 5 months. I got Cloudy from the pet store almost 3 months ago now, super scared and skittish. I was myself a 1st time hamster owner, so I was very unsure of myself and really scared of getting bitten (which is yet to happen thank god ). I made multiple changes in his set up in the 1st weeks as I was learning more about hamster care and I think that set us back as well in terms of taming. Cloudy has slowly come out of his shell, he is now relatively confident and seems a quite happy hamster. He is in a Detolf with a multichamber hide, has an 11" wheel, sandbath, fresh veggies everyday, foraging stuff etc. He takes treats from my hand, generally accepts being stroked (I don't do it a lot though because I am not sure he is a fan). The thing he loves is out of the cage time. He sometimes literally runs to his little carrier when I present it to him, as he knows it means play pen or free roaming. He doesn't come onto my hand however and will not take treats if I lie my hand flat (though part of me thinks that is because I am not leaving itfor long enough...). The other night after being back in his cage after play pen he wanted to go out again. For the 1st time I managed to gently scoop him out of his cage. Huge victory! But after a second he tried to escape my hands and started climbing my back (I was alone). I eventually managed to get him in his playpen by kneeling in front of it and he made a tiny jump from my head (yes he was on my head by then but I was very low haha) onto the playpen. Yesterday I tried to scoop him again but he clearly didn't it so I didn't insist and brought out the carrier. Any idea how I can go onto the next step with him? He is friendly and more laid back now, and I really think we could bond more and he would enjoy it (maybe I'm projecting...), especially as he gets older, but I am not sure what the next step should be. I'd like to offer him more out of the cage and free roaming time, but it is tricky with a hamster that is not completely tame. Any help appreciated, apologies for the long post and thank you for reading!