My new hamster doesn't allow me to pet him. ):

[n4tive]

I will, thanks!

And yup, I've noticed that he outgrew the wheel as his back is arching a bit. The pet store didn't sell any bigger/big wheels, so I'll have to look around for places that do sell big wheels.

Edit: oh my gosh. Gyu's still chewing on the bars. Dx How do I get him to stop?

[NiceCrocs]

Your best bet is to look online trixie wheels and Wodent wheels both come in 11 inch, and comfort wheels and silent spinners both come in 12 inch. Since your cages has a shelf taking up a lot of the vertical space, you may consider a 12 inch flying saucer, which utilizes more horizontal space

It's very difficult to find good syrian wheels at pet stores xD

[n4tive]

Oh my gosh you guys. Please help. ;^;

Gyu's suddenly afraid of me. Or something in the cage. I don't know. He was fine in the new cage until last night. I'm not sure what happened. I bought him a Wodent wheel but it shouldn't be the thing that's scaring him (he was enjoying it quite a bit). He stopped chewing at the bars after I gave him a gentle blow (it was probably a bad thing to do) yesterday, and after that, he started flinching at everything. I can't even feed him without him taking the food, flinching and running back to the house. He's usually up and asking for attention at the bars around now (11-11.30pm) but he's still in the house.

Was it the blow to his face (when he was biting at the bars) that scared him? Is he not feeling well? Or is it possible that he might have ate/bitten off something from the new wheel and it's hurting him somewhere?

I've never been so worried about him until now. Is this normal? Should I just repeat taming him again from scratch? Please help.

Thanks guys.

Edit edit: okay you guys it's almost 12am and I'm worried and I don't think I can sleep. He's not biting the bars in the front, but he's biting the bars on the side. He ate, drank and groomed himself but he's pacing the top floor. I think he's afraid to go to the bottom floor. He won't go down. I'm not sure what's happening, really.

[KMPlays]

To be honest, if he's eating, drinking and grooming fine he's probably not ill. I'm sorry to say it, but you've probably scared him. Maybe try hanging your hand over the top of the cage, so he can smell your hand. Starting from scratch (trying to hand feed and letting him smell you) will hopefully help him know you're not a threat.

Also, leave him for tonight and get some sleep .

[Skeever]

Hmn, I can understand why you're concerned...something is really disturbing him, and one puff of air, shouldn't be that traumatic....though every ham is different. When we accidentally walked past a fan the wrong way, 8 month old Ziggy freaked, leapt out of my hands one and a half times, landed on the floor, stood up and then fainted out of fear.

Five minutes later, he was on his way to forgetting about the BIG puff of air that unhinged him and me, hehe.....Why is he avoiding that first floor is one question....can you run your hands through the litter to see if theres anything in there? I'm pretty sure I watched a ham catch a gnat out of the air and munch it down before I knew what happened...so they're aware of anything we might not see.

When in doubt, start over with taming, but I'd be worried about that 'first floor' apparently upsetting him so much. For the cage biting, the fastest way to get rid of the problem is to switch to a bin cage, if he doesn't stop. Keep us posted

[n4tive]

Hey guys! Thanks for the replies.

I think Gyu's much more relaxed today. He wasn't jumpy and flinchy at everything. He ate, groomed himself, stretched and now he's sleeping outside (which is pretty unusual - it's a first (I do hope that it's a good thing, though xD)). He also took food from my hand without hiding in the house.

He worried me a lot last night, and I really couldn't sleep. I do hope he's much better today though.

[n4tive]

I can't edit my previous post so I'll be posting again.

I've moved Gyu back into his old cage as he is very nervous and jumpy for some reason. I tried taking him out, but he literally flew when he heard his food bowl making noises. He still takes food from my hands though, but he's not as calm as before.

This is just quite upsetting for me as I've really put my all into raising Gyu. So, yeah, if he's more comfortable in his old cage, I'll have to find a way to sell or use the new one. Cue angry parents. Haha.

Edit: ever since I've got him the new cage, he hasn't climbed out. But right after he got back into his old cage, he climbed into my hand. Hamster behaviours confuse me. D: He's not flinching/jumping/so nervous anymore, though.