Nervous hamster

[Heather]

I've had my hamster for about 2 months, he was very nervy when I brought him home but I've spent time slowly taming him and I got to the point where he would crawl onto my hand and he seemed much more comfortable being around me. However in the past week he seems to have gone back to square one, he is very nervous whenever I come into my room he freezes and he will either run into his tubes or hide in his wheel (he has an enclosed wheel). If I hold a treat outside his wheel he will poke his head out and quickly snatch it from me, but I can't seem to tempt him out anymore. I feel really sad that he seems so scared of me when we were doing so well.

I have a theory on why he's a little nervous but I have no idea if it's right! His usual cage is the hamster heaven, but I recently bought another cage and attached it so he has even more space. I'm not sure if it has upset him somehow because he has only ventured into the new cage once. I wondered if this could have something to do with him being more nervous?

I'm not sure how to help him feel less nervous?

[cypher]

I would detach the new cage & just go back to the beginning with taming, he should settle again & maybe you can try giving him more space once he's more tamed & confident.
Taming hams can often be a step forward, step back process so don't lose heart!
Try doing the tissue trick if you haven't already, put a tissue up your sleeve for a few hours then put it in the cage & repeat each day for a while, this will help him adjust to your scent & stop be nervous about it.
Just spend as much time as you can talking quietly to him then when he seems a little more confident begin to introduce your hand into the cage again offering him a small treat as a reward if he comes to you.
If he still seems nervous try taking him out of the cage with a ball or box & spend some time with him in the bath, some hams are just more nervous when they feel their territory is being invaded & so do better that way.
Just take your time & don't try to rush him & I'm sure you'll get on fine.

[Heather]

Thank you, I'll take the cage away for now. I feel awful I was trying to give him something nice by adding space but I inadvertantly upset him! Poor Ethel (Ethel is a boy, I was told he was a girl at the shop but it's become very clear that he's not!). I'll try the tissue trick hopefully he will get used to me again.

[cypher]

Don't feel awful, many of us make mistakes with our hams thinking we're doing something good for them so you're definitely not alone there! All we can do is try to read their behaviour & somehow figure out what they're trying to tell us!

[Thin Lizzy]

Heather, maybe he felt a bit overwhelmed by this addition. It could be he had just got settled into his hamster heaven cage, marked his territory and all of a sudden he's got an extension.
Once you've bonded then maybe introduce him to the extension by letting him check it out for so much time over several days.

[Heather]

Thankyou, I think once he seems less nervous I'll try him out with the new cage. I bought a spare cage which was one of those habitrail things which I put him in when I clean his main cage and he loves it in there. Maybe if I get him used to the extension before I add it he will adjust better. When I buy him new toys he's always been really interested and come to investigate right away, I think I expected that adding an extension would get the same response. I guess it was too much change for him. Hopefully removing it won't add to the upset!

[Thin Lizzy]

Heather you are a wonderful hammie mum, buying all these great things.
He'll adapt in time. He sounds lovely. What's his name?

[Heather]

It's a learning curve! I feel like I've made so many mistakes but I'm trying to correct them. He is a really lovely hamster. His name is Ethel... We were told he was a girl in the pet shop but it's quite clear now that he's a boy haha, we're so used to calling him Ethel we decided to keep it though.

[cypher]

Aww bless him! I think Ethel quite suits him :)
It is a learning curve & they're all so different it can be a bit of a guessing game too but it sounds as though you're going to be fine!

[Heather]

I think so too, it's taken a while to stop calling him 'her' though! He actually ventured out of his wheel to take a piece of broccoli from me last night and stayed close to my hand while he ate it yay :D

[Thin Lizzy]

He's very handsome! Brilliant news about him taking broccoli from you. Wahey!
Everyone has made mistakes with their hamsters, but the good thing is we learn from them.
No one's perfect!

[Heather]

I just looked back to my first thread and it makes me so happy how far Ethel has come! I think we were both nervous because he was my first hamster since I was a little girl. Now he crawls all over me quite happily, I wish I could have told past Heather this, I was so worried!

[Thin Lizzy]

Ethel has done you proud and vice versa!
There's nothing wrong about being worried, we all worry about our little ones, it shows how much you care.

[Heather]

He really has! It's such a lovely feeling to know he trusts me now :)

[cypher]

It is quite funny when we look back & remember how unnerving it all is to begin with & how much we worry lol! Not that we ever stop worrying about something or other but it is a lovely feeling when they really trust us, you've done really well Heather :)

[Heather]

It is quite funny when we look back & remember how unnerving it all is to begin with & how much we worry lol! Not that we ever stop worrying about something or other but it is a lovely feeling when they really trust us, you've done really well Heather :)

Thank you :). I really never thought Ethel would be comfortable enough to sit with me eating his food. It gives me hope for Basil and Albert who are currently very very nervous!

[Thin Lizzy]

Basil & Albert maybe nervous now but, I'm betting you'll work your wonders on them and you'll look back and remember the progress you've made.