Syrian - Fear/Aggression?

[obscura]

A male and female long-haired Syrian were dropped off at the shelter after having a litter of babies. She was pregnant with another litter when one of the volunteers took her home. She had the second litter about a month ago. Today I took one of the hamsters from that litter. I haven't sexed her myself yet, because she runs away from me and I'm trying to let her get comfortable with me. I don't know if terrified is the right word to use, but she is very jumpy and flighty. She stands up abruptly like she's going to attack me whenever I remove the top of the bin or if she sees any movement (from a shrug of the shoulder, to a hand gesture, and even if I turn my head).

I just went back into the room to check on her, and she was laying behind the wheel. She wasn't asleep so I took the top off of the bin and after a few minutes, I took the wheel out slowly to get a better look at her. A few more minutes later, I placed my hand in the bin on the far side (it's a 105qt Sterilite bin from Walmart). She jumped upright, paws in the air and mouth slightly open like she would bite me if I came within reach. Then after awhile she calmed down and started sniffing around, slowly coming closer to my hand/arm laying inside the bin. She cautiously sniffed me, but went back to the corner she had been laying in. When I started to lift my hand out of the bin, she jumped upright again and started screaming at me - is that the right term to use? It's a loud screeching sound I guess. I've never heard a hamster make that sound before. She seems very aggressive for being so young... Any advice on how to gradually teach her to be comfortable around me?

I've been looking for a Syrian since Nov-Dec of last year. There are no breeders in my area, and I didn't want to go to the pet store so I turned to rescuing. I thought that if I got a hamster young enough, it wouldn't matter so much if it's been handled from birth like my Campbell's were (they are so comfortable with being handled - they run up and try to climb up my arm if I lay my hand in the bin). What do you call that sound the Syrian hamster made? She hasn't tried to bite me at home, but when I went to pick her up she nipped me briefly. I know with my Campbell's dwarfs, a couple of them went through a brief nipping stage when they were younger but as long as I didn't withdrawal, they learned that nipping wasn't going to scare me off. They never nipped aggressively though. Just little tastes - I could barely feel it when it happened, and it only happened a couple of times.

I feel like if this Syrian wants to nip me, it's going to be a full on bite! I've never been bitten by a hamster before. Like a real bite... Even my pet store Syrian hamsters several years ago when I was a kid were okay with me observing them and putting my hand in the tanks they lived in. My black and white Syrian was very passive. I got her at several months old from a pet store, and I never had any problems hand taming her. The cream sibling we took also, ended up going to my aunt cause it tried to bite me once and after that I was too scared to handle it... I was like 12 then. I'm always very careful with my animals, and let them come to me of their own free will so I've never had any bad experiences or bites, etc. and I'd like to keep it that way!

Anyway, none of my hamsters in the past have ever made that kind of screaming sound. I'm pretty sure it has to be a threatening maneuver? She also started chattering her teeth, which I think I read was aggressive behavior? I read this a couple weeks ago so I can't quite remember... I know when rats chatter their teeth, it's called bruxing, and it's a good thing. I don't think it means the same with hamsters. Any advice would be great! She's young, and probably scared in the new environment away from the other hamsters, so it will take time and patience to get her used to her new home. I left her alone to explore her cage for several hours before going back in there, and it's like her entire demeanor changed.

Here are a couple of pictures of her!

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5076/7433484556_afee458334.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7124/7433480422_c31f817329.jpg

[Lougarry]

Storm was exactly the same when I got him a few weeks ago. The screeching was quite chilling!

I was advised to sit on the bed with him just in the base of his cage and talk gently to him. After a couple of evenings he stopped jumping when I put my hand in the cage base. After about a week he was happy to be handled. Now he will take a treat from my fingers. He's still nervous but getting there - and he hasn't screeched again :)

Good luck!

[Arraminta]

Hiya, the scream is kind of like a hammy war cry!! Hammies look cute and cuddly but when threatened or put near another hamster (syrians) will emit this sound and attack!! It is likely she is scared and needs a bit of time to get used to her new surroundings. It's a warning to back off or get bitten!
I have a hamster which suffers from cage rage and would take flying ninja leaps to bite my hand if it was near her cage!!
Try letting her settle a bit and try not to move her house etc while she is getting used to her new home.
Now this is a weird one.... Put some tissues down your bra, down your sock And leave there for a few hours.. Then put one or two in hammies cage!! They will shred the tissue and take it to bed and it will introduce your smell.
Patience and a bit more patience.. Try feeding from your fingers, then progress to putting food in your open hand and letting hammy sit on it nom in food.. Then try scooping up and putting straight down again..

Hope that's of some help!

Arraminta x

[obscura]

Storm was exactly the same when I got him a few weeks ago. The screeching was quite chilling!

I was advised to sit on the bed with him just in the base of his cage and talk gently to him. After a couple of evenings he stopped jumping when I put my hand in the cage base. After about a week he was happy to be handled. Now he will take a treat from my fingers. He's still nervous but getting there - and he hasn't screeched again :)

Good luck!

Sounds good to me! That's kind of what I was doing. She kept looking at me when I talked to her. I think if I just give her some time, and keep spending a little bit of time a few times a day with my hand laying still in the bin and talking to her, she will get used to my company! Maybe if I bring tasty treats with me, she will learn that good things come from the big scary hand! :P

[Kirsty1987]

When i first got carmine he used to hiss and make weird grumbling noises if i put my hand near him he took a few months to tame so patience is the key and he is a big softy and doesn't bite now. I used to scrunch my hand into a fist when i put it in his cage that way he couldn't bite me properly when he did go for just scraped his teeth on my knuckles yes was painful but better than him sinking his teeth into me. I just put the cage on the bed let him crawl out on his own left the cage there so if got scared he could jump straight back in did this for 2 weeks then started stroking him and then started picking him up for a short amount of time then put him back on the bed did this repeatedly now he is very calm loves cuddles and sleeps on my bed :)

[obscura]

Hiya, the scream is kind of like a hammy war cry!! Hammies look cute and cuddly but when threatened or put near another hamster (syrians) will emit this sound and attack!! It is likely she is scared and needs a bit of time to get used to her new surroundings. It's a warning to back off or get bitten!
I have a hamster which suffers from cage rage and would take flying ninja leaps to bite my hand if it was near her cage!!
Try letting her settle a bit and try not to move her house etc while she is getting used to her new home.
Now this is a weird one.... Put some tissues down your bra, down your sock And leave there for a few hours.. Then put one or two in hammies cage!! They will shred the tissue and take it to bed and it will introduce your smell.
Patience and a bit more patience.. Try feeding from your fingers, then progress to putting food in your open hand and letting hammy sit on it nom in food.. Then try scooping up and putting straight down again..

Hope that's of some help!

Arraminta x

It's not funny, but I kinda laughed when you said "flying ninja leaps!" She doesn't lunge towards me at all, but I can definitely see she's afraid, which is the cause for the behavior. I'll take you guys advice and be patient. I know in time she will get more comfortable. It just caught me off guard because I've had hamsters before and had never heard that sound!!!

Also, do you know if hamsters are prone to upper respiratory infections? I know rats can get them easily. I've noticed she is doing a bit of sneezing. I'm not sure if it's really sneezing, but it sounds like it. Obviously I wash my hands before and after handling her, as to not spread anything to my other hamsters, but if it seems to be a problem, I'll need to have a vet look at her to make sure she's alright!

[Arraminta]

Ps: she's beautiful x

[Lougarry]

Some hamsters react badly to certain substrates, so it might be worth trying something else to see if that cures the snuffles.

[Arraminta]

Am glad flying ninja bite made you smile!! We have to laugh at these things!! For her most impressive attack she climbed onto her yellow block and did a flying ninja bite from there as my hand was high up!! She drew blood as well but thankfully didn't do her patented flying ninja bite hangy on hammy!!!
It's been quite a while since she has attacked me but every now and then you see the glint in her eye hahahahaha :)

Arraminta x

[gutterglitterxx]

She is soooo cute!

I want to say good luck with the taming. It can be quite the process! Jasmine was TERRIFIED of me when I first brought her home. She never hissed or screeched but she would dart away if I even came near the cage. When she was in her temporary cage for the first few days, I would take the top off and sit on the bed with the base like Lougarry mentioned. Ultimately Jasmine's curiosity would get the best of her and she'd crawl out onto my lap. For the first few times I didn't touch her at all, just let her crawl around on me until she crawled back into the cage. And then I would just pet her with one finger, then two, then my hand, then feed her a treat from my fingers, then place one in my palm, etc. Until I was finally able to pick her up.

To this day, I pick her up VERY slowly because sudden movements still make her nervous. She sometimes starts flailing around sooo badly that you can't grab her to put her back. Her cage is on my bedroom floor so I will sit down on the floor in front so she can climb out onto me. She still doesn't take too kindly to me trying to pick her up inside the cage so I've made peace with the fact that she will come to me when she's ready. She will gladly take treats when inside her cage though! ;)

It can be a difficult process but it's SO worth it. I felt so badly for Jasmine because at 6-7 months old she had never been handled and the woman at the shop basically talked about her like she was a lost cause. :( I can't even tell you how wonderful it felt to pick her up in my hands for the first time and give her a smooch. So rewarding!

Good luck! And hello to your little one. xxxx

[student1304]

When I first got my syrian he did the screech and posture thing, but only in the first day or two and it was when I was messing with his cage and disturbing him in the first day of getting him (I had a good reason though, I found a maggot in there from a bad batch of food!)
I just had to leave him for about 3/4 days to settle in before I introduced myself in any way.

I think you said you only just got her today, in which case you should leave her for a few days and then try to start taming. Don't take stuff (like the wheel) out of her cage and try not to take the lid off other than for the essentials (food and water). The move is stressful enough and constantly checking on her or trying to tame her now isn't good.
Try her in two days, and if she's still unsettled leave her for 3 or 4. When she's more comfortable you can start the taming process.

[obscura]

It's been quite a while since she has attacked me but every now and then you see the glint in her eye hahahahaha :)

Arraminta x

LOL!!!!!!!!

It can be a difficult process but it's SO worth it. I felt so badly for Jasmine because at 6-7 months old she had never been handled and the woman at the shop basically talked about her like she was a lost cause. :( I can't even tell you how wonderful it felt to pick her up in my hands for the first time and give her a smooch. So rewarding!

Good luck! And hello to your little one. xxxx

Thanks, it makes me sad to know that so many hamsters go without attention. You should have seen them, her and her siblings were crazy - kind of like the flying ninja leaps, except they weren't leaping, they were doing acrobats across the cage to get away from anyone who tried to pick them up. I could barely keep her still in my hand long enough to examine her to make sure she was healthy! None of them were hand tamed at all. :(

When I first got my syrian he did the screech and posture thing, but only in the first day or two and it was when I was messing with his cage and disturbing him in the first day of getting him (I had a good reason though, I found a maggot in there from a bad batch of food!)
I just had to leave him for about 3/4 days to settle in before I introduced myself in any way.

I think you said you only just got her today, in which case you should leave her for a few days and then try to start taming. Don't take stuff (like the wheel) out of her cage and try not to take the lid off other than for the essentials (food and water). The move is stressful enough and constantly checking on her or trying to tame her now isn't good.
Try her in two days, and if she's still unsettled leave her for 3 or 4. When she's more comfortable you can start the taming process.

Thanks! I will take this into consideration. I know I did kind of rush things, but every hamster is different. Some are okay with the immediate introduction of a strange hand in the cage, while others aren't okay with it. My four dwarfs could be handled on day one. The first one I got, I left alone for a day before doing anything. But the other three, I just started handling them immediately. Of course, they were used to it because the breeder handles them at a very young age, and socializes them with human interaction.

When I had rats, I took on a 6 week old baby from a rescued litter that came from a backyard breeder, and immediately I could handle him with no problems (then again, rats are different than hamsters). I just kinda thought that since she's a very young hamster, that she would be okay with my presence. Maybe another hamster from the same litter would have been okay, but mine isn't and I should respect her space! She doesn't like me looming over the bin staring at her, and I can understand that! LOL

So I'll give her a couple of days to relax. I'll need to go move her to a different room cause I have all of my hamster bins in one room and I go in there a lot to play with my dwarf hamsters. Do you think I should go ahead and put her in the spare bedroom for a couple of days, or would she be okay in the room as long as I don't bother her bin at all?

[obscura]

PS: good point about the bedding... They were using wood shavings, so she's probably not used to the CareFresh mixed with paper crinkles and Oxbow botanical hay. And even though I use CareFresh Ultra, it's surprisingly dusty in those bins. My camera can zoom right up to the little dust particles. Speaking of which, maybe I could send those pictures to CareFresh and insist on a less dusty version (the Ultra is supposed to be less dusty than the original... but it's so dusty that I can't even imagine what the regular is like).

If it seems to be the bedding, I'll try using some shredded paper towels or tissue paper. If I see an improvement, then I'll go ahead and buy a different bedding. Thank you guys so much for your input! :)

[Lougarry]

I would leave her where she is. I think it's best she gets used to hearing your voice and smelling you.

[student1304]

yeah my first hammy magoo could be handled from day one, but my recent hammy Gimli needed the 4 days to settle - you're totally right it does depend on the hammy, and I think my Gimli was very much like what you described - aggressive posture and hissing. But like I said after those days of settling he never hissed. However he did take longer to tame.

And I would leave your hammy where she is but don't bother her bin cage, I was paranoid about moving gimli to a quieter place I'd literally tiptoe around him but I eventually stopped cause I realised he had to get used to it at some point. I also think getting used to the noises will help with your hams confidence - he won't jump at every sound.

Hope your hammys settled soon :)

[vanilla-yazoo]

the scream of a hamster is a sound you dont forget she is still settling to her enviroment by the sounds of it. let her be in a room with you and do your normal things, play music, watch tv, use phones, and she will get used to it of sounds of the enviroment.

young hamsters are still learning, she is just defending whats hers, as she hasnt learnt yet that you are good. breeders handle their hams from about 14-16 days old till when they leave, they probably do get many nips and taists, i have myself with hush.

i find getting them out in your area is best, the new smells sights and obsticles will keep her busy whilst you put her from a-b aound where she is, soon she will feel fine walking over your hands, being lifted, held and scooped, from there you can work on in cage and some hams will climb the bars/doors to get to you.
jane went from a ham who pfft and flicked over when you pass to begging to come out and walking out as soon as the door was opened. I was happy to let her be picked up knowing how good she was.
that took about 2 weeks. could take 2 months, 2 days, you need to build a 'safe' home, then work to beocoming 'safe' then that trust becomes love :D

[obscura]

the scream of a hamster is a sound you dont forget

No kidding!!! @_@ It will haunt me for the rest of my life! Thanks for the great tips, to everyone who has posted their advice on the matter! I've left her alone since that day, but today I went into her bin because I noticed she was trying to drink from her water bottle and not having any luck. Apparently the bottle isn't allowing the water to come through.

As I removed the top of the bin, Camilla hopped into attack mode before fleeing behind her wheel. I took the water bottle and examined it. After seeing that it wasn't leaking very much water, I held it over behind the wheel and gently squeezed it when Camilla came up to drink from it. Poor thing was thirsty, I had to squeeze that water bottle for a couple of minutes before she was done drinking.

It felt kind of nice being able to help her (though I know it's my fault for getting a defective bottle to begin with - I'm so sorry Cami!!!). She wasn't so skittish of my hand when I went to place the water bottle back on the side of the bin. I put a little bit of water in a shallow ceramic bowl so she could have access to some water overnight. I'm going to need to go return that water bottle and get a new one. My other bins have the same type of bottle, and the hams haven't had any troubles in the past so I'll just get a new one.

I think tomorrow after work I'll start to place my hand in the bin for short periods of time each day and let her approach on her own. I was wondering if you guys think that having extra special treats available would help the process? Maybe if I put some yummy snacks in her cage around the same time I place my hand still on the bottom of the bin, she might start to think that hand = supplier of yummy treats?

[gutterglitterxx]

I would definitely try and use yummy treats to your advantage. You could start off, like you said, placing the treats and the leave your hand there. See how she reacts and then move on to placing the treat on your hand to see if she'll take it from you. Once they're okay with that, I usually move on to giving it right to them with my thumb and index finger. Good luck!