Is Max scared?

**jayne** · 03-01-2008, 03:37 PM

I thought i would ask if any of you have experienced this with your hamster while trying to tame them.
As you may have read on some other topics, i am still in the process of taming Max and although there are positive points, like taking treats from my hand, walking/running on me and being responsive to my voice, there has been something which is worrying me

He was at the side door of his cage to get a treat from me and while he was sitting at the door eating his treat i put my hand in to fix his water bottle and he turned over onto his back and i think i really scared him

He hasnt been held in my hands yet as i'm still a bit of a scardy cat, although i have picked him up while trying to escape from his playpen

Can anyone please put my mind at ease and advise if this has happened to them and if so, any other advice you can offer me. I will have had him 4weeks tomorrow, is it just going to take more time and for me to just get him used to being handled and start scooping him up every now and then?

souffle · 03-01-2008, 04:41 PM

That is the sign of a frightened hamster Jayne and he likely got a fright when he saw your hand come in the cage. I would say that now he is settled and doing well you should really take the plunge with him and go for intensive taming. If we were closer I would send Pophammy round

Take the lid of the cage on a low soft surface and two or three times a day give him a good five minutes hand to hand running till he is really comfortable with it. Make sure he sees your hand coming and never present a finger he could bite. Pick him up by pretending he is a computer mouse and his tail is the cord. That way there is nothing at the mouth end he can bite while you pick him up, not that I think he would actually bite anyway. He will be speedy at first and may wee on you but keep going with the hand to hand running and he will soon settle.I am sure he will not bite now so be confident and really go for it. I know you can Jayne and you and he will learn confidence together.

Remember this is a window of opportunity while he is a youngster and you do not want to miss it. He will tame easily at this age like millions before him. Go for it Jayne

Gust0o · 03-01-2008, 05:27 PM

Quote:

He hasnt been held in my hands yet as i'm still a bit of a scardy cat

I think, in taming hamsters, there's a lot to be said for being confident enough to handle the animal - I couldn't say for certain if they can sense your unease (though, at times, it certainly feels that way!), but, if you're confident, it's a lot easier to manage the handling.

Souffle's covered the salient points, above, so I think the best thing you can do is keep your chin up and take your opportunities!

suga · 03-02-2008, 02:23 AM

Hey Jayne - LilBear does it as well, when she sees my hand coming into the cage. I'm going to try and move on as well - still scared but as souffle said we have to try whilst they are young.

Holly · 03-02-2008, 03:07 AM

All mine do that occasionally - usually on show days when I have to wake them up in the morning when they've just gone to sleep, bless them, but also if I put my hand in a bit too quickly or something - so it isn't just untame hamsters who do it, any one who is startled will do it. It definitely doesn't mean he's untameable (just in case you were worrying about that).

Matty Day · 03-02-2008, 04:18 AM

that’s the one thing i hate about show days getting them up as a general rule of thumb I never normally wake my hams up id rather wait for them to be up

and as it always fits into my time table

Its probably because I hate being woken up

**jayne** · 03-02-2008, 06:17 PM

Thanks everyone, you have made me feel slightly better knowing that even tame hamsters do this. I will just be more careful when i approach him.
Will keep you all updated on the taming thread Suga started

harry182 · 05-17-2008, 05:54 PM

when animals lay on their back and show you their tummy isnt it subbmisive? or a way of saying ok, i know your boss! i duno if the same applies to hamsters as im unsure if in the wild they live as a pack, but thats what our dogs do to each other, its like a higher acrhy of whos top dog and the rank of the others! and many other anumals do it too

Mollz · 05-18-2008, 06:05 AM

It is a sign of being scared, but to be honest if I don't make it known that I am near the cage and just stick my hand in then I have known alot of mine do exactly the same thing. It's just like a human jumping when something shocks them or they don't expect something to happen.

I would also go for intensive taming. It has always worked wonders for me!