Need taming ideas!

SnickersTheFirst · 05-31-2011, 11:36 AM

When I took Bailey on, I was prepared for alot of work as he was labelled as a biter. However, for the first two bath sessions he was running all over me and would run along my hands. He would freak out and bite as hard as he could, if I picked him up though.

Then the vet prescribed Hibiscrub for me to wash his stump with, which involved me scruffing him twice daily. Since then I haven't been able to re-gain his trust. He'll either nip/bite/sniff my hands then run away. I've done about 13+ sessions with him but he's just so nervous and when he bites hard, it's difficult to not flinch and I feel I'm encouraging to bite more by flinching. I always wash my hands and then rub them in his bedding so I smell of him. I've not tried picking him up since as he gets really stressed; squeaking and chattering his teeth, plus he bites pretty hard!

I'm not going to give up on him, I'm going to keep at the taming - I'd just rather he could trust me.

Any ideas?

I was thinking of using gardening gloves but this hasn't worked with my previous pets and if anything it encouraged biting as they enjoyed chewing the fabric and also, once the gloves were off they seemed to know something was different so would freak out.

Gillzy · 05-31-2011, 12:55 PM

Aww that's a shame you're having so much difficulty with Bailey. I guess it might just be a case of keeping pushing. I'm sure KatiePillow has a ham that she can't handle (Sandy, I think) and she might be able to give you more help :/

It's strange that he is okay with running on you. Is it when you pick him up in his cage? My old dwarf had cage fury, and would have to be picked up in a toilet roll tube, but was fine when out of the cage...

amyXlovesXhamstersX · 05-31-2011, 01:09 PM

Have you tried putting food on your hand and seeing if he will come and take it? I dont really know what else you could try... I hope that taming starts to go well with Bailey soon!

mangoandmimi · 05-31-2011, 01:16 PM

i'm a bit like this with pumpkin now, as my sister keeps getting bitten by him so has given up. now i have 2 winter whites pumpkin and 2 robos to work on -.-
i found offering treats really helped gain trust, you probably already know that though :L
maybe if you catch him in a cup then put him on your lap in the bath he'll learn to associate your smell with well being fine :P and also treats
maybe every time he sniffs your hand (not biting obviously) give him a nice treat?
and i also find talking a lot to them help them to get used to you
goodluck with him , hope he comes round to you soon xx

**Hamtastic** · 05-31-2011, 01:24 PM

I think a big part of his biting and distrust might be because of his leg incident and doctors handling him for the amputation, and the later pain. He might just not like being scruffed and handled in a certain way after that as it brings negative associations. (When he's picked up, it's usually something unpleasant or unrewarding).

I'd try avoiding picking him up as much as possible for a while maybe (except when you absolutely need to) or pick him up and immediately give a treat every time.

SnickersTheFirst · 05-31-2011, 02:05 PM

Gillzy: Sorry if I phrased it wrong, he refuses to run on me now but he would before the op.

He's not too keen on taking things from me, he will ocassionally though. I haven't picked him up for a couple of weeks now, I just transport him to the bath in his jar. I guess I'll just keep at it and if there's no improvement I may have to try gloves.

Gizmodo ^_^ · 05-31-2011, 03:43 PM

Dont give up on Pumpkin mangoandmimi :P
he has an amazing life with you and he'll tame eventually xD
if not, ill hamnap him

lol

Snickers your doing a great job so far im sure

, and im sure he will come around eventually

fluffymunchkins · 06-01-2011, 06:23 AM

Unfortunately poor Bailey has been through such a lot, I can hardly blame him.
He'll still be a very happy ham, even if he can't be handled.
But your doing very well to stay patient and keep at it, I really hope it'll all pay off soon

thelittleteacup · 06-01-2011, 06:49 AM

hello snickers

i got a new ham 2 weeks ago from the pets at home adoption, she was dumped on the doorstep and very nervous and ran and bit if you put ypur hand in the cage...anyway she has really turned over a new leaf and is enjoying being picked up!

I used leather gloves...that i had put in my dirty washing pile of my clothes only for a few days...they were tight gloves..you could still feel the teeth but it didnt hurt. everytime she bit i gently blew on her and said no firmly...she only continued to bite for a while after that...then i started giving her treats from the glove...next started to lift her out of the cage..after a couple of days she was confortable with this and stopped biting the glove completely.....i then handled her with one glove on and one off....this is going very well so far..she did nibble at my non gloved hand a bit but not hard and i blew to warn her off...i am hoping to go completely gloveless soon!...maybe you could try this with bailey

sounds like you are doing well with him already, i followed your thread about adopting him and the operation ect and hope you succeed in taming him

x

KatiePillow · 06-01-2011, 06:52 AM

I found treats didn't really work with sesame, which is a real shame as it's such an easy route -
I found with sesame that she was much less frightened of me in her cage once I stopped trying to tame her, before she would hide as soon as I went near the cage etc, she'll take food from my finger tips, and will eat in the open - but she'll still bite my hands, and is obviously not very happy with them
[another thing is that she'll keep biting getting slowly harder and if I don't leave once she's broken the skin she'll run away and hide, and refuse to come back out]

I felt I was causing her too much stress by doing this, since everytime I'd get her out using a tube etc she'd be shaking and obviously very unhappy. She's now just got out using a tube and being put right into the play pen, I do get her out once a week to do a health check, but she came out of her shell so much more when I stopped trying to handle her.

It sounds like I'm a really bad owner, and that I gave up on her, but I felt that this was the best option for her, she was from p@h adoption also - and obviously hadn't been held for her first 6 months except for trying to sell her.

I think that you should possibly take a little break until his leg is 100% better and he's forgotten the pain a bit more, like hamtastic said. I know how tricky what you're going through is, and how painful their bites are. They're such beautiful animals, and I hope you can tame little Bailey. I'm always jealous of how tame Mels Bacardi is! So hope your little man will end up as snuggly as he is.