Training my baby robo, Tinker Bell??

PinkTeacup · 07-13-2016, 08:29 AM

I've had my baby robo Tinker Bell for 5 days now. I've given her a few days to settle in, last night I began hand training her. I did a lot of research on the subject, but can't find much info for taming young hammies. I tried the method where you give them treats on your hand, but Tink has never taken a treat from me. I leave treats in her cage every now and then, sometimes she gets them after I leave, other times she won't touch them.

I have read that babies are easier to tame because they are so young. I saw a video on youtube (posted below) of hand training the babies. Basically I did what the trainer in the video did, put some of Tink's bedding in a box, added her in there, let her sniff and get a feel of my hands and then gently scoop her up and put her back for several minutes. She was very skittish but a few times she went in my hand herself and sniffed around. After about 10 minutes, I put her back in her cage, where she nestled her little face in her bed until I left.

I know new hamsters are stressed, nervous and scared, so was it normal for her to be frightened after this encounter? Do you think this type of training is too sudden? I tried this method because it's simple and straight to the point. Do you think this will work, or is it much too sudden? Thank you for your feedback!

Here's the link to the video of the trainer and his method.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaPEFv2JOec

cypher · 07-13-2016, 09:11 AM

One thing to bear in mind is that pet shop hams have rarely been handled from a young age & a lot of the videos you will see taming robos will be breeder hams which will become tame much more easily & quickly as they start so early in life.
That doesn't mean it's the wrong thing to do just that it will take longer & your ham is much more likely to be very scared to begin with.
Some dwarf hams do better getting used to hands in the cage first & then once they're more confident with that then maybe move on to trying the taming box/play area.
Robos can take quite some time to gain in confidence so be very patient with her, if you go too fast it can just set things back so go slowly but consistently with her & you should make gradual steady progress.

PinkTeacup · 07-13-2016, 10:22 AM

Thank you very much!

PinkTeacup · 07-14-2016, 07:10 AM

She did extremely well last night! She never tkes food from me, but last night she ate a raisin from my fingers. She also stayed in my hand for a good 2 minutes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cypher

Some dwarf hams do better getting used to hands in the cage first & then once they're more confident with that then maybe move on to trying the taming box/play area.

A couple of hours after training, I checked on her in her cage and she walked on my hand a little bit. She went and stayed in her house after that, but she's making good progress. Thank you for the advice!

cypher · 07-14-2016, 07:51 AM

She is doing well, brave little one

I'm sure it will be steady progress now.

Unicorn · 07-14-2016, 08:11 AM

Hiya. I'm a first time hamster owner and we got our robo from pet store so I'll just let you know what we did with our Freddie as she made a huge progress with taming but i wouldn't say she's tame. I don't even expect her to be tame, I just want her to not freak out whenever she sees me.

5 days is very little of time so I wouldn't be to worried about your hammy not taking the treats. We brought Freddie home about two and a half weeks ago and at the moment she eats food off my hand. I can hold a peanut and she will stay and eat peacefully until she's satisfied, then she just ignores me. Occasionally when she notices my hand is in her cage she runs away even though she was sitting on my hand nibbling on sunflower seed two minutes before

First couple of days of taming was just keeping my hand in the cage without any movement for couple of minutes after giving her fresh water/food. At some point she would come around to check and then run for her life. At some point I started holding pumpkin seeds (I recommend breaking them in halves or smaller) and she would grab them and eat them nearby. I just kept doing this. Patiently because sometimes she would come sometimes she wouldnt. But I've never chased her. I've spotted a big improvement with taming when we bought her bigger cage where she seems to be more relaxed and less shy. I wouldn't try to pick her up or put her in a play pen as this might just freak her out. Keep persisting. She will take a treat eventually.