student1304
07-04-2012, 10:37 AM
So I've had my rescue/adoptee (chinese) for two/three months now, and I feel like I've made absolutely no improvement with him in terms of taming/bonding.
I scoop him out of his cage while he is trying to burrow away from me, and then he can be handled for a few mins before I let him free roam on the rug in the living room (supervised of course). He can't be handled for more than a few mins, because he nips and gets agitated but he does enjoy free roaming (he hates his ball).
I kind of got used to him as a look but don't touch hammy, but now I can't even watch him. He only gets up when all the lights are out/extremely dim so I never see him, and when he is up all he does is go on his wheel.
He is known as the miserable little bugger in my household, and I've only felt really good about him once. I left him with my parents for a week, and after getting him out once they deemed him impossible - this made me feel good because at least I can get him out and play with him for a little bit.
I'm at my wits end with him, he doesn't seem to want any human contact at all. I'm thinking of removing his house and cardboard car so that he can't hide away all the time and will have to build an open nest, but I don't know if that'd be a little cruel - he'd then only have his wheel and tubes. How do I get him to be more confident/less skittish and get used to me more, or do you think I should just leave him as he is?
It's the light thing that bothers me - only getting up in darkness means I can't even watch him - and it also means that to get him out I have to disturb him, which I don't like doing.
Advice?
I scoop him out of his cage while he is trying to burrow away from me, and then he can be handled for a few mins before I let him free roam on the rug in the living room (supervised of course). He can't be handled for more than a few mins, because he nips and gets agitated but he does enjoy free roaming (he hates his ball).
I kind of got used to him as a look but don't touch hammy, but now I can't even watch him. He only gets up when all the lights are out/extremely dim so I never see him, and when he is up all he does is go on his wheel.
He is known as the miserable little bugger in my household, and I've only felt really good about him once. I left him with my parents for a week, and after getting him out once they deemed him impossible - this made me feel good because at least I can get him out and play with him for a little bit.
I'm at my wits end with him, he doesn't seem to want any human contact at all. I'm thinking of removing his house and cardboard car so that he can't hide away all the time and will have to build an open nest, but I don't know if that'd be a little cruel - he'd then only have his wheel and tubes. How do I get him to be more confident/less skittish and get used to me more, or do you think I should just leave him as he is?
It's the light thing that bothers me - only getting up in darkness means I can't even watch him - and it also means that to get him out I have to disturb him, which I don't like doing.
Advice?