Frightened hammy

[CarpeNoctemCorgi]

Hi all! We brought home our 5th hammy a few days ago. This Little guy, Smokey is very scared! He lives in a 40 gallon breeder tank. If he so much as sees us near the cage or a reflection in the glass, he bolts down to his burrow. Any tips on helping him adjust to the point where we can start giving him presets and start hand taming? Smokey the hamster - Album on Imgur (https://imgur.com/a/0QbdILf)

[Ria P]

Hello and welcome to HC!

What a lovely looking hamster. You need to give him a couple of weeks to settle in before you can start taming him. Some hamsters are more nervous than others and need more time to adjust to their new surroundings. It took one of mine six weeks before he started to trust me so don't try and rush him. Go at his pace and give him plenty of cover like hides, tubes etc. He'll get there and it's worth it in the end to be patient. Talk to him gently so he gets used to your voice and put some tissue up your sleeve for a few hours then tear it up and put it in his tank so he gets used to your scent.

[CarpeNoctemCorgi]

Hello and welcome to HC!

What a lovely looking hamster. You need to give him a couple of weeks to settle in before you can start taming him. Some hamsters are more nervous than others and need more time to adjust to their new surroundings. It took one of mine six weeks before he started to trust me so don't try and rush him. Go at his pace and give him plenty of cover like hides, tubes etc. He'll get there and it's worth it in the end to be patient. Talk to him gently so he gets used to your voice and put some tissue up your sleeve for a few hours then tear it up and put it in his tank so he gets used to your scent.

Thank you so much for the advice! He is the most skittish so far of all my hammys. I will take your advice and let him be until he is ready. I love the tissue advice! I may even read him some bedtime stories :)

[cloudy]

Hello and welcome. Smokey is beautiful. :)