Hi everyone,
I got a new hamster on Monday from a breeder. I'd done so much research and made sure he was coming from a good home which I do believe he has!!
He's got a wonderful Savic Plaza cage set up with everything he needs.
When we got him, the breeder said after getting him home we should try to handle him straight away as he was already tame and it would scare him more to not be handled. This went against all of my instincts but I trusted what she was saying and gave it a go.
Unfortunately, this really distressed the hamster - he was loudly squealing and running around, trying to hide under bedding etc. We put the lid back on the cage and left him.
I am so mad with myself because I had done sooo much research and my instincts told me to leave him for a week to settle before trying to remove him from the cage or do anything very much!
Since then, we haven't seen him at all. He's hiding all day and even if I sit in the room at night in complete silence I still can't see him. I know he gets up when I'm in bed because food disappears etc.
I'm so scared about the following:
-The stress may make him ill for example wet tail however because I don't see him, I don't know - and I don't want to force him to come out as that's what's caused this problem!!
- Will he just always be scared of me now? I'm worried that I have traumatised him and he will always be a hammy that hides from humans and comes out when we are asleep only.
- When it does finally come to trying to tame him, what do I do if he starts squealing again? The noise was really heartbreaking and I am scared of upsetting him again
I am going to leave him for a week now to settle and see how it goes - however any advice or ideas about my above questions would be really appreciated.
Thanks,
Cathers97