bathtub taming attempt fail

[chewit]

oh it all sounded so promising!

i waited for chewit to wake up and prepped the bathtub with a towel, her sand bath and a few things with her smell on and got the treats ready.... she was having a little nibble in her cage so i thought perfect! popped the cage on the bathroom floor and took the lid off.

She let me stroke her but kept jumping at the slightest thing, eventually she climbed out onto my hand but she was a lot more reluctant this time. I held her, stroked her for a few minutes and then put her in the tub. She sniffed around for a bit, took a treat or two off me but wouldn’t really go anywhere near my hands when i laid them flat. Then she realised she had no cage... and just went really panicked like she was trying to find somewhere to hide.... luckily i had her house at the ready so popped that in and she dived into it straight away. She’s now back in her cage, sat in her nest looking quite bewildered.

I’m really reluctant to try this again because i don’t want her to associate me with that and just feel freaked out. I might just stick with letting her climb out onto my hands.... she doesn’t really like her treats either which doesn’t help so i’m thinking a small piece of toast with a bit of natural yoghurt might do the trick... and she can just nom in my hands instead?

[kyrilliondaemon]

Did you leave the base of the cage in the bathtub when you tried it? If not, then maybe leave it in there next time.

Its all up to you what you do, but one thing we do with the bathtub is turn it into a game. Give the hamster toys (from the cage if you want) and let them play. We always make sure taming is done between/during playtimes so the hamster associates getting out with the playtimes not the taming.
Fwirl wasn't always overjoyed with taming sessions but she could never wait to get out of her cage because she got to walk herself to the bathtub and then play in the bath. Taming was just a side effect and she seemed to be excited for the playtime

[chewit]

yeh i had the base in there to start with but took it out :-S

she’s asleep again so will try tomorrow, i think i might leave the bath tub for now and once she’s a bit more relaxed i’ll make it more of a game. She needs a ball but p@h only had the tiny ones left and i’ve spent a ton already this month getting her cage sorted... next pay day tho!

[kyrilliondaemon]

Ah... Yeah, leaving it in there would probably help her feel more secure.

Good luck with the taming either way And a ball isn't essential, Fwirl just adores hers. Some hams don't like them but all nine of ours do. The syrians use P@H rat balls and the dwarf hams use the normal hamster balls.

[chewit]

thanks i’ll give her a night off i think, i’m pretty tiered myself lol

I was looking high and low in p@h but all the ratty ones were gone, i’m guessing 8” or more is the kinda size, there’s no way i was getting the small ones.

I might try her on the bed as per the taming wiki, it’s kinda awkward in my bathroom but atleast on the bed she has loads of room to explore and i can get more comfortable.... hunching over the bath plays havoc with my back!

[kyrilliondaemon]

Makes sense, good luck
And the biggest P@H have are the only ones I'd use for a syrian. (The normal ones and the gyms which are the same size really are too small for syrians) Were labelled as rat balls when we got Scamp hers

Good luck with the bed idea We found the bath easier but different things work for different people/hams

[mommyzoo]

I want to try the bath tub taming with my new hamsters. I hope you have better luck with the next attempt.

[Lynternette]

What you need is a 'Ruth'. You spend hours trying your best. Talking nicely, treats, a tiny stroke only to be spit at. She comes along. Hello hammy, picks him up, loves him and the puts him into his play area. You try and he runs away and hisses. I've always thought she's part hamster.

[chewit]

Originally Posted by mommyzoo

I want to try the bath tub taming with my new hamsters. I hope you have better luck with the next attempt.

go for it, i think my mistake was i took the base of her cage away which made her panic.... just keep it in the bath and let them do whatever and just offer treats and pet them to build up trust. she does come to me eventually but it takes a few minutes for her to figure out i’m not gonna eat her lol

[chewit]

Originally Posted by Lynternette

What you need is a 'Ruth'. You spend hours trying your best. Talking nicely, treats, a tiny stroke only to be spit at. She comes along. Hello hammy, picks him up, loves him and the puts him into his play area. You try and he runs away and hisses. I've always thought she's part hamster.

oh i know exactly what you mean!! my boyfriend just casually started stroking her on the sencond day and she didn’t even flinch! she’s ok with me now but at first i was like... oh this is not fair, i was armed with treats and he had nothing lol