Quote:
Originally Posted by cloudy
If you have any tips then I would love some. my little robo is very frightened of me and goes in his burrow when I approach.
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I've really had to sit and think about this as it's no longer something I think about. I've tried putting it in stages/steps so don't move on until your hamster (or any rodent for that matter) is comfortable with the current stage/step.
Stage 1- getting to know you
When you first bring a hamster home it's very frightening for them but very exciting for you. You know you're intentions are good and that you're nothing to fear, but they don't know that. They are
prey, you are a
predator. This is something you really need to remember throughout their lives. They haven't been domesticated for very long and are still very much in touch with their wild side. Work on really understanding the predator/prey dynamic as this will help when interacting with your pet.
Next is behaviour. Watch how they hold themselves in their environment, watch their ears. Learn basic body language so you can see when your hamster is scared, curious or even angry. Being able to read hamster will help you know when to push or back away from an interaction. Remember we want all interactions to be positive.
As you can see the first steps to taming your robo actually have very little to do with the hamster itself, it's all about you! Next we'll talk about what you can do to get to know one another.
It's very underappreciated how simply sitting and talking to the hamster while it's awake can form the building blocks of your relationship. During this time watch how your hamster responds to you. Does it hide?Does it come up to the side of the cage? Can you see them stopping and listening to you? Try and position yourself at their level, don't hover over the cage, remember the prey/predator dynamic. Also don't stare at them or into their eyes, this is considered threatening behaviour and will put them on high alert.
Have tissue on your person for a few hours, in a pocket, your bra, doesn't matter, we want to get our scent on the tissue. Place this is their cage for them to check out at their free will. I like to have a couple of pieces dotted around the cage.
When entering their enclosure make your presence known as you walk up to the cage and keep talking. Doesn't matter if you see them or not. A predator that makes their presence known isn't hunting and isn't much of a threat. While in their cage, move slowly; again going back to the predator/prey dynamic.
Stage 2- learning to trust
This part is mostly up to the hamster, however, there is a human element too. The most important one being fear. If you're nervous, that will rub off on your hamster. I've found if you're scared you're going to get bit, you probably will be as your going to make your hamster feel unsure of the situation and if it can't run away, it'll most likely bite (fight or flight response). I always make sure to have thick gardening gloves on hand, not only is this useful for flighty bitey hamsters but also poorly ones who may act out of the usual. I also like having a thick hoodie or dressing gown typically with large deep pockets.
One of the last human steps is probably the hardest and thats patience. We are asking a lot of our little friends so patience is key. We need to let them come to us, there's no point chasing them around the cage. What may be easier is using a mug or tunnel to transfer the hamster to a smaller tub or bin cage and try there. I would introduce the hamster to the smaller cage to familiarise itself a couple of times before you start hand taming.
Treats can be used, if the hamster doesn't take the treat from you, pop it on the ground where your hand was. Repeat until hamster takes food from your hand. After this I like to put the treat in the palm of my hand so the hamster has to climb onto my hand to get it. That's it really.
Should I make a thread going more in depth? Then get mods to sticky it? I don't know if we have a guide to taming hams.