Rehabilitating aggressive hamster--how hard?

[tentoedsloth]

** Warning: sort of sad, but the story isn't over yet. **

I was in a pet store today and I heard about a hamster that had been brought back for aggressive behavior several months ago, and was now being kept in a room in the back of the store. Nobody since had wanted her, and the employee said that she'd probably live out the rest of her life back there.

So I went back to at least look at her. Yep, aggressive. The employee put her hand a little way in to the hamster's bin and offered her a wooden chew stick, and she walked over and attacked it. It was just a couple of bites, but still, not very appealing.

I've read a lot about hamsters, and that some of them just don't like their territory invaded like that. And she's there in about a 5-gallon bin, without much to do, in a small room where she'll never see the slightest bit of sunlight.

What if I brought her here, and at least gave her a ten-gallon tank in a room with windows and gave her some toys? I could avoid invading her space unless absolutely necessary and I could just talk to her and not make any fast moves. I guess I'd have to clean out the tank with heavy gloves on. If she never stopped biting then that would just be expected. But it'd be a thrill if she did eventually calm down and I could get her out to play around sometimes and we could get to know each other.

I already have 3 new rodents in the past three weeks. I've never had any before. Things are progresssing with taming them--I've finally had the gerbils out of the tank twice and they walked all over me--fun! But that took a while, and I still haven't picked up the very shy Chinese hamster.

The aggressive hamster would take some of my time away from my other pets. I have a lot of things to do and some days I don't spend as much time with them as I'd like. And the thought of providing for an animal who didn't respond to me positively--my self-interest objects.

What would be the chances of her becoming tame enough to handle? Do you think I'd be taking on too much, especially being new to pet rodents? Talk some sense into me !!! A person can't just go around taking in every one who needs a home.

[Biscotti]

I think it's very commendable that you're considering adopting the poor thing. But given what you've wrote, I think it is also very important to be honest with yourself how much time you can devote to rehabilitating this ham and how much interest you will have in the long run. Your current pet should come first in your priority.

I've seen very cage aggressive hams in my local Petco and Petsmart and the most obvious problem is that they're kept in too small of a tank, but it's hard to say if just remedying that will solve all the issues. I'm like you, wanting to save them from the horrible situation, but the reality is that I don't have the space or time, so I hope a kind person will adopt them eventually. It is absolutely wonderful if you're able to take this on, but I don't think people will think any less of you if you decide not to. All of us do what we can, but unfortunately we can't save them all.

[gutterglitterxx]

I feel your pain and I think it's awesome that you want to help this little one. I also have such a strong desire to save as many little furries as possible but I know I just can't do it all the time.

I saw one once, in a Petco, that was up for "adoption" which is unusual around here. I asked the sales associate why he was adoptable and not simply for sale like the others. He said that the little guy had been dropped off by a family who said he was "psycho" and they couldn't handle him. He had tons of cage rage, I guess, and the workers were all afraid of him. I felt so terrible for him because he looked totally sweet and absolutely harmless... and, well, lonely. Like you, I struggled with whether I could realistically take him home with me and work with him. He was on my mind for days after seeing him but ultimately I had to just let the idea go because I knew I didn't have the time and I certainly didn't want to neglect the hamsters I already have.

It's SO hard to walk away from these little guys but it doesn't mean you're a bad person or anything like that. You just have to take comfort in knowing that there are other people out there with the same desire as you- to help them. So I'm sure if it's not you, someone else will take the little girl home.

[Eriklover555]

I'm currently trying to tame an extremely aggressive ham right now. JJ will go out of her way to draw blood from anything that gets to close to her cage. Taming her is taking a lot more time and effort than I thought!

It's extremely hard and awfully time consuming to tame an aggressive hamster. If I knew then what I know now, I probably wouldn't have adopted her, because I just feel like I lack the knowledge to do it properly.

So the question to ask yourself is: do you have the time and patience to tame her?

[racinghamster]

I agree with Biscotti in that having already the responsibility of new pets who take up time and money, bringing in another one with issues could prove demanding on you. The only thing I would advise is, if you felt stongly about getting the hamster out of it`s current situation at the store and have space for it`s accommodation, it could well live happily doing what it does without actually being `tamed`, but could be given enough time to settle and get used to being spot cleaned around and spoken to daily. Some hamsters thrive like this and don`t necessarily want or need to be handled a lot or handled at all. But it depends how you feel about that and whether it might frustrate you in the longer term.

Personally, I have a wee roborovski whom I love, yet he`s a loner and prefers his own company and space, which I don`t mind because he`s such an easy lttle guy to keep, yet he`s still my little companion even though I can`t handle him.

Gerbils (I`ve kept aswell!) also like human contact, but again, if they have enough space, they can be quite happy digging away and doing what gerbils do, which is not necessarily being handled, but allowed to run free.

Sadly, there will always be cases like this in pet shops because of the way they do things. Keep small animals in small spaces and if they don`t sell, they are seen as non-profit unless they can be sold to someone who is willing to take on a hamster who may or may not be biddable, but will still enjoy his or her life regardless if given a chance. x

[tentoedsloth]

Thanks for the advice, and the permission (really, I kinda needed it.).

I didn't go back for the hamster, but am waiting for my otherwise-life to get more orderly.

When it does, first I'll go back to the store and see if that hamster I saw is still there. If not, I'll probably be able to find another one with the same problem. There are 5 large pet stores within 10 miles of me.

To justify answering and getting back to the top of the page: hamster people, if you can't find a hamster at a shelter, check at the pet stores whether they have someone in the back room that nobody wants.