Am I rushing taming?

[rynnamin]

I got my little Syrian on Sunday from a breeder. She's 5 weeks old and already tamed, according to the breeders. While I was at the hamstery she was very receptive to being picked up and held by the breeder, and was relatively calm when I held her as well. The breeder suggested I wait 24 hours before handling her, to let her settle in to her new home.

Well...it's been 24 hours, so I thought I'd try laying my hand in the cage with a treat in my palm. She alternated between warily staring at my hand, and ignoring me to hop on her wheel. Once or twice she accidentally touched my hand after hopping off the wheel, and immediately darted off to the other side of the cage.

From what the breeders had said and my previous handling of her, I was expecting her to be a little more receptive than this. Did I try to rush things? Should I give her a few more days to herself? Or will the taming "wear off" if I leave her alone too long?

[Vectis Hamstery]

She's still a baby at 5 weeks old and moving home is a big change for her. If she was in with her sisters still before you got her then it will also be the first time she's been housed alone. Until you both gain confidence in each other, you could use a small box/tub/carrier to lift her out of her cage into a playbox to handle her. If you hold your hand over the playbox and then let her walk from the carrier/tub onto your hand you can then let her walk from one hand to the next over and over to get you both used to each other. If she jumps off then she'll be secure in the playbox and she won't have jumped far as your hands are close to the base of the playbox. I find little and often sessions of handling good for babies - just 5-10 minutes then let them rest. You can then start picking her up in the playbox (though you can use the tub/carrier until you feel more confident). I find it easier to use an empty playbox for handling as then there's nothing to chase the hammy around like the wheel etc in the cage. You can always add the toys etc back into the playbox if she's in it for a play time rather than handling session.

On a side note, I don't usually give my babies wheels at 5 weeks old as they can get a little obsessed with them and run too much. Do keep an eye on how much she is using it. If she's overdoing it or getting skinny because of how much she's using it then it may be worth giving her limited access until she's a little more grown up

Also, you could contact her breeder. I know I'd want to hear if someone who had one of my babies was in need of help and I'd know the hamster they had so could offer perhaps more specific advice for that hammy.