Taming a P@H hybrid??

[Munchies]

Is it possible?! I've had Squeak for nearly a week, I've kept my distance, let him settle in and not even done any spot cleaning yet. The thing is, he terrifies me! He's so vicious :/ He squeaks very loudly and bares his teeth if I go anywhere near him with my hand. I've offered him treats which he's taken, but quite frankly sometimes Im too scared to let him take food from my hand incase he bites.

I know dwarf hammys aren't the cuddliest, but will there come a day when he stops squeaking at me?? And how can I help him calm down? Any tips greatly appreciated! TIA :)

[Silver]

I had a pet shop hybrid like this. It will take a long time, but you can do it.

What I found easiest is to get a THICK pair of gloves I got mine from a sports shop think they are ski gloves.

And be confident I know that's hard but when you have the thick gloves on you won't feel the bits

Put the gloved hand in with a treat on & wait until the ham is confident to get on for the treat. When ham bites the glove say firmly but not shouting no bite! & move the glove away from hams mouth.

Lots of talking good girl/boy when not biting

It will take a lot of patience

Silver xxx

[POLAR WHITES]

You could try placing a loo roll next to him encourage heim into it then let him climb out on to your hand this could work.

[neily]

I too have a hybrid, he doesn't show any aggression, but he runs and hides. He will take food from my hand, but that's about it.

[Munchies]

Ah, thick gloves are a good idea! Thanks. I'm scared to get him out of the cage, he's seriously wild, I think he'd take the opportunity to run off! Im quite happy never being able to have a cuddle, it's more his territorial nature that needs to go, he's scaring my kids too! Lol! Anyone who gets a bit too close to the cage, he tells them off! I'll definitely get myself some thick gloves.

[Silver]

He is scared & he dose not know how else to show it but to screetch.

To be honest I would put his cage away from the children for the time being as he is like this. he needs to get used to just you & the glove to start with.

So it's lots of peace & quiet, feed & change his water bottle at the same time every day & he will get into a routeen.

When you see him out & about try the glove

Silver xxx

[Munchies]

Ok, that makes sense. I'll try to get a routine going and tell the kids to keep their distance (theyve been too scared to go near his cage anyway!). Do you have any recommendations for treats I could offer?

[Silver]

Bless them,

It is scary the noise they make.

I've got a list of treats that are good for Hybrids:

Cabbage

Sprout

Nuts! only a small amount each day because they are fatty

Millet spray

Mix some Puffs up, Puffed Rice, Millet & Buckwheat (make sure the ingredients is 100% & no added anything can be found in health food shops)

Rice cake (with no salt again may need to visit a health food shop)

Saflower seeds

Bell pepper red or yellow

Runner Beans

French Beans

Cooked egg

Cooked Plain Chicken

Cooked Plain Pasta

Pumpkin Seeds

Egg Biscuit (make sure it is sugar free as sometimes the binder can be sugar based)

Sunflower Seeds

Sprouted Seeds

Plain Rice

I would not feed the veg just yet give him a couple of weeks first then one small piece twice a week all the other treats you can give one of once a day. You can leave the whole millet spray in his cage or cut a section off & give him that

Silver xxx

[Munchies]

Saved to my favourites! Thanks Silver :)

[Silver]

Your Welcome,

Let us know how you are getting on with him

And a Picture when he is more settled as I love Dwarfs!

Silver xxx

[Munchies]

I will. I'll try to get a pic up when Im next on my comp. Hes vicious but adorable ;) Thanks again!

[obscura]

Dwarf hamsters are not the cuddliest?

I beg to differ. Here are mine: YouTube (http://m.youtube.com/#/user/CaptivatingCampbells?&desktop_uri=%2Fuser%2FCaptivatingCampbells)

All hamsters vary in temperament. Even with selective breeding and friendly parents its never a guarantee you'll end up with hamsters that are friendly and social.

In any pet store hamster you have to take into account that they were not handled as pups and because they are prey animals they are naturally terrified of humans. I see aggression in hamsters as being their way of protecting themselves. Some hamsters are more aggressive than others and will seek you out to attack! I picked up a hybrid once who had a really nasty attitude and despite handling him with thick gloves or with towels, he never got any better. I've also picked up surprisingly friendly ones, much like my Campbell's are. I've had the same experience with Syrians. I've never had Chinese hamsters, robos, or WW's though.

I also believe that certain health problems can increase aggressiveness, but that's a personal speculation. I just feel like if a hamster is suffering from a problem, they're going to be grumpy. Just like people who suffer fibromyalgia or similar issues. I worked with the nicest girl who suffers from that and had up and down days. What's to say it's not the same in animals? Anyway, since he's a hybrid he could have some health problems that aren't apparent that COULD be a factor but I honestly don't know. I'm not a vet, or experienced with hybrids health and behavior. It would be interesting to know the truth behind it but all we can really do is speculate!

It's more likely that he's just unsocial. Hamsters who aren't handled by people can basically revert back to their wild nature (this is the very definition of pet store hamsters in my area). Definitely put him somewhere where he can't be stressed out by your children for right now. He'll need to be worked with for several months if there's any hope of improving his behavior. Don't be discouraged. I know it's hard but its not impossible to tame a mean hamster! It definitely takes DEDICATION! Do not give up!

Your best bet (along with Silver's incredible advice) is to handle him at least once a day. If you're afraid he'll bite you, you can't let that stop you from handling him. Get some thick gardening gloves. That one mean hybrid I mentioned would try to bite through my thickest gardening gloves so I would pat him with the glove without actually putting my fingers down in it (I've never been bitten and I want to keep it that way). My biggest thing is NEVER let them get away with aggression. They want you to back off. So don't. Reach in there and grab him with those gloves and show him you won't be scared off LOL That's just the approach I take and it works for me, but like I said its different for everyone and every hamster (depending on the hamster I often also sit in the bath tub and let the hamster climb all over for me a awhile and let him come to me on his own - this method has also worked for me with unsocial hamsters as opposed to the more direct "pick them up" method). I use the "pick them up" method with baby hamsters. Around 5-6 weeks old they can get a little testy so I am firm about reaching in and picking them up whether thy want me to or not just to show them that I won't be easily scared away haha

Also you could try putting some toilet paper in your bra or sleep with some in your shirt and then place it in his nest. I used to do that when I had pet rats, and I tend to use those methods with the hamsters at times.

In the end love him regardless. Not every hamster will be the kind you can love and hold. Just like certain aggressive dogs ("DOGS WHO NEED SPACE" <3). Some animals just live a certain kind of life and you have to learn to come to terms with it and respect their nature. :) Definitely try handling him more with gloves and see how it goes over the next few months.
Good luck!!!

[neily]

Ivan sat on my hand tonight, nibbled me twice, i'm well chuffed as he's come a long way in just a few days :)

[obscura]

Ivan sat on my hand tonight, nibbled me twice, i'm well chuffed as he's come a long way in just a few days :)

That sounds great! Every hamster is different. It looks like you came across a rather relaxed little guy! :)

To the original poster, some hamsters can be known to be "cage aggressive." So another thing to consider is maybe once you get him out of the cage, he might act like a totally different hamster. Just start handling him with thick gloves and see if there's any improvement over the next couple of weeks. :)

[evel_lin]

FWIW my hybrid used to squeak when anyone came near her cage and was clearly frightened. I used to gently scoop her up and then let her walk off my hand and just kept repeating it. When she'd got used to that I had her walking from hand to hand. Then I started enclosing my fingers around her to touch her back as she walked through, kind of making a tunnel with my hands. Then I would stroke her when she sat on my hand. It took patience and a bit of time but she came on quicker than I thought she would. Now we've had her 6 weeks and she's the sweetest little girl who always climbs onto her shelf to say hello and come out for a cuddle :) She never bit me when she was squealing

[obscura]

FWIW my hybrid used to squeak when anyone came near her cage and was clearly frightened. I used to gently scoop her up and then let her walk off my hand and just kept repeating it. When she'd got used to that I had her walking from hand to hand. Then I started enclosing my fingers around her to touch her back as she walked through, kind of making a tunnel with my hands. Then I would stroke her when she sat on my hand. It took patience and a bit of time but she came on quicker than I thought she would. Now we've had her 6 weeks and she's the sweetest little girl who always climbs onto her shelf to say hello and come out for a cuddle :) She never bit me when she was squealing

Great advice! I also do that thing with the hand tunnel! XD When I handle hamsters whose temperament is unknown yet, I just hold my arms across my stomach and let the hamster walk on my arms at their own leisure, and gently use my hands to keep them from possibly falling if they try to climb up my arm or clothing. I think your advice is great. It's just a matter of handling your hammies and getting them used to it. :D

[olga]

I am sorry to read of your troubles Munchies.
Good luck with getting your dwarf hybrid out and hope with regular contact he tames a bit more.
Be firm when grabbing him with the glove but do not squeeze too hard but you can be firm to get a good grip of him.
It must be awful for him and you also. Poor wee thing.

[samzyzg]

Were you handling in the cage?
When I adopted my hybrid hammy he used to attack my hand whenever I went into the cage but was extremely happy to let me pick him up outside of his cage.
I used to use gloves to get him out of his cage, then one day he was looking to get out but I couldn't find the gloves so I had a nice little word with him about behaving. Went in and scooped him up and just like that he hasn't attacked since. I have had the odd nibbles but I think I must have something that smells nice on my hands at those times.

Glad there is progress being made :)

[Silver]

I had a really tricky girl no matter where you were she just bit until my fingers were bleeding. One very painful time she bit my wrist I could not work out why it hurt so bad I was seeing stars her teeth marks were a fraction from one of my veins. Could you imagine going to A&E because a blood vessel in your wrist was punctured by a Dwarf Hamster!

Another memorable time She was doing ok with me on my arms when all of a sudden she launched herself at my chin being the bit of my face nearest her & she took a mouth full of my chin & stayed there hanging! I got hold of her & gently pulled downwards trying to get her off me, but she just stayed there hanging. The only way I could get her to let go of my chin was to blow hard in her face, flip that was painful, I had 4 tiny holes in my chin.

Silver xxx

[Munchies]

Thanks for all the good advice guys, I'll be trying them all! Good to hear stories of aggressive hammy being tamed, just goes to show it is possible! I'll persevere with him and update when we have a breakthrough. Thanks again everyone :)

[neily]

Omg silver, that would definitely put me off handling. I'm quite lucky thus far as Ivan is an absolute tiny dwarf hybrid and lucky he isn't aggressive at all, he does nibble but not bite. If he did I think I'd just keep him a 'look but don't touch hamster.

[olga]

Thanks for all the good advice guys, I'll be trying them all! Good to hear stories of aggressive hammy being tamed, just goes to show it is possible! I'll persevere with him and update when we have a breakthrough. Thanks again everyone :)

Great to hear that you are keen to persist and do hope it pays off. I am sure some people would just give up. Well done and good luck.

[Munchies]

We're getting somewhere! Did a cage clean today for the first time. Put the cage in the bath and let Squeak out, he was sooo good! No squeaking at me or aggressive behaviour, he even took food from my fingers and didn't attempt to bite me :) Happy days!!

[Silver]

That is Brilliant & so quick

Shows your doing a great job

Well done You

xxx

[olga]

What encouraging news that is. Hope it continues. Do keep us posted.

[TheDoctor]

it took me around 2 months to tame mine. i never used gloves either. if she screeched at me, i just left her alone. all i did was give her time and made sure she saw me change her food and water. i talked to her a lot also and gave her sunflower seeds as treats. When it came to cleaning her tank I would use the roof of her hut to get her out. I would place a few seeds in the middle of the roof and she would just walk straight on to it.

Eventually she came round and now I can pick her up whenever she is up and about. she seems to look forward to coming out of the tank now. she takes food from my fingers but i've never been able to get her to just walk onto my hand, but i dont mind as she is ok with being scooped up.

[Pilgrim77]

My dwarf hamster, Vincent got very territorial after a few weeks of having him and would try to bite if you invade his territory. But if you pick him up and handle him outside his cage he's a sweetheart.

I tamed him by encouraging him to crawl into a toilet tube and then letting him crawl out on my flat palm, above his cage incase he did try to escape. He'd nibble your hand a bit as he got used to you but has never tried to bite when handled like this. I just kept doing this a bit every day and now we're best of friends ;)

[ncun4920]

My hybrid Livvy is very jumpy! She seems to be very highly strung and used to screech at me a lot, but she's slowly learning to trust me.

I haven't even been able to handle her yet because she's so skittish so I'm just taking it very slowly!

[LolaMcMuffin]

My hybrid Luna doesnt like me reaching into her cage unless its to give her food, she just runs away! I normally tempt her onto my hand with a mealworm, and scoop her up. I've never used gloves with any of mine, just got them to go into a jar or open-ended box that I keep in their cage for the first few weeks, and hold it next to my hand and they'll eventually come out onto my hand, but I keep the box there so they have somewhere they feel is safe if they get frightened. I also reward them with a little treat as soon as they go back in their cage so they associate coming out with something good afterward.