Screaming hamster

[Laree]

I've had several hamsters throughout my life, and just acquired one Syrian two weeks ago...his name is Bandit. It was an adoption through CraigsList, the owners said they had too many animals and had to give him up, so I thought I'd give him a good home. He is a cute little guy. The previous owners says he's about 10 months old.

When I went to pick up Bandit from the previous owner, the hamster started making a screaming noise as he was pacing back and forth in his holder crate. I don't know how to describe it, but it didn't sound happy! It sounded like he was screaming. I have since researched it on YouTube, and have found that other hamster owners say this is a sign of anxiety. Makes sense. I am in the process of hand-taming Bandit, and have followed all of the tips (scenting some tissue and keeping it in his cage, offering a treat every time we hang out, speaking softly, never reaching from above him in his cage, moving slowly so as not to scare him). I understand that screaming must be a sign of anxiety, because as we are getting to know one another, he seems much more relaxed and enjoys me handling him, and no more screaming, so I know I'm making progress... It is slow going, though. I have never seen a hamster so skittish, and can only wonder at what made him that way - (is it just his personality, or did something happen to upset him)...I'll never know. All I can do is respect him and continue to try to familiarize him with his new life.

He lives in a bin crate in one of our spare bedrooms, (nice and peaceful), and I made sure I got a wheel for him that is the biggest they had at the pet store...14"...I realize how important a proper wheel is for healthy exercise. He runs on it every day, for hours, so I know he's happy with it. I give him little homemade toys made out of toilet paper rolls for activity/enrichment. I love YouTube for all the hamster info and ideas, and use a lot of what I find around the house to make little toys for him. I'm not big on spending a ton of money in a pet store, when Bandit seems to enjoy his little tissue box bedroom! I can't believe how expensive some of the hamster bedding is...the colored paper bedding sure is pretty, but I could never justify spending almost $20 on a small bag of bedding, so right now I'm just trying to keep it reasonable.

I eventually want to get a huge cage for him, like my hamster vloggers on YouTube show. The converted cages from IKEA glass shelving units are what I want to get, and the total cost is going to be about $120 for the whole thing, so that won't happen for a couple of months, but I am excited about eventually getting Bandit a deluxe mansion. Till then, his humble bin cage will have to do. I'm confident it's sufficient for now, (and if it isn't, quite honestly, there's nothing I can do about that till I pick up some more overtime at work and shell out the big bucks), but it's definitely coming.

Just looking for any advice I may not have heard yet, about taming new Syrians who are particularly skittish. Also - any advice on treats that double as chew toys? I've tried dried tricolor pasta, and mini dog bones, because I've seen hamster owners on YouTube give those treats...Bandit isn't really keen on those. He LOVES strawberry yogurt drops, but I'm trying to offer hard items that will help him keep his teeth short.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

[Sasha04]

Hi an welcome to HC!
congratulations on Bandit! When I first adopted my ham, he was screaming all the time. After two weeks or so, it completely stopped! Screaming is very noramal. It sounds like you know your things. The tissue trick really helped my ham out with taming. My ham, Libby, is still in the taming process and I find that just putting my hand in the cage with some treats on it really helped him gain m trust and realize I’m not that scary.
Do you mean the IKEA Detolf? I think it is a fabulous cage! It has lots room to burrow so I can put lots of substrate! In the US, the Detolf cost about $62. If you want to stand it up I would reckoned the IKEA Kallax unit. The detolf fits really nicely on it. I found mine for $20 off of CraigisList that was used but is still very nice. This a video that explains the detolf very nicely: https://youtu.be/SQXI8pgRhmA
For chew toys I would highly suggest Whimzee Dog Chews. Most hams tend to love them! Unlike most chews, they are vehicle based and I believe they contain potatoe for there main ingredient. You can normally find them at any petstore in the dog isle for about $1. If you have any questions or consensus feel free to ask!

[SergeantZoo]

Whimzees are great for chewing and I’ve also heard the Ecotrition Cheese chews are also liked among some hamsters. Walnuts can also be doubled as chews and stimulation for their brain but I believe should be only given 1-3 times a month.

One thing I’d like to mention is that the IKEA Detolf is a nice cage for dwarf hamsters but definitely not great for Syrians. The cage is too narrow to fit in Syrian sized toys and it’s not good in height either. Syrians ideally need 8-10 inches of bedding and still need at least 6 inches extra for them to be able to stand up on their hind legs. The detolf is about 13 inches tall laid on its back. Not to mention it’s also prone to cracking since it’s not meant to be laid on its back.

I’m assuming you’re from the US since you used $ and said colored instead of coloured. If you’re okay with cages around the $120 price range I’d recommend making a DIY cage with melamine and plexiglass. There are tons of tutorials on YouTube on making them. One in particular would be StormyRabbits’ tutorial which is 1000+ square inches of space and costed around $90 for her.