Help/Advice please :)

[Odi]

This is a long story but I'll try and keep it short.

Basically I'm very nervous of Syrian hamsters. I'm fine with robo's having had a couple previously.

Syrian's I've scared of since a biting incident 23 years ago (I'm 28 now!) and I won't willingly hold one in my hands.

In the last year I held a very very tame one at college, mainly because I didn't want to be the odd one out(!) and thought perhaps I gotten over my issues ( and I know they are purely my issues) but since getting Odi 9 days ago I realise I still have a problem.

I adore Odi and am happy for him to run over my arms and legs but I start to panic the minute his paws or nose touch my hands. He's only recently begun to understand that I am not scary and he can climb out of the cage onto my arm so I don't want to destroy his confidence.

I don't know his previous story, he came to me fully grown but he seems tame enough so I'm not worried about him being a bitey psycho.

I can't seem to control my nerves around him on my hands, any advice?

[Mama2six]

How would you feel if you put on gloves?

[Chezzu]

My girlfriend actually has this problem too! She's quite nervous whilst handling hamsters in her hands, even my old hamster, Cinnabun who was incredibly tame she was nervous with!

My best advice would be to bond with him. He might be tame, but that doesn't mean that you can't still use taming methods with him. After all, you are learning to put trust in each other, if you are nervous Odi will be able to sense it and it will make him nervous too.

It's important to firstly calm yourself down, it will be okay! You might want to try letting him sniff your hand at first, if you get nervous, pull your hand away slowly then calm yourself and try again. Then you can start putting treats on your hand for him to eat off of your hand once you're comfortable with him sniffing at your hands! Gradually you will be used to him being near your hands so you can start picking him up for a few moments then putting him down again!

You need to be patient with yourself, you need to establish trust for a good relationship with him! ♥

[Thin Lizzy]

It's important you stay calm whenever Odi's paws or nose touches your hands, this little guy seems to have taken to you quickly and he trusts you, so you suddenly reacting might set him back. Try the tissue trick, before you put some tissues up your sleeves, rub the tissues over your hands like you're massaging them and then put up your sleeves for a couple of hours before putting in his cage, do this several times, this helps your ham get really familiar with your smell.

[velma]

Hi, I'm very nervous of being bitten too, as a rule. Like the others have said, bonding is important and not being jumpy around him is too as this could spook him and make him bite from nerves but it's not easy to do is it? I'd also try what Mama2six suggested and try gloves to start with. Something like gardening gloves. If he has a nibble there is much less chance of him going all the way through to the skin. I think if psychologically you don't think he'll break the skin then you won't have a problem and won't flinch. And when you are more confident how he is around your hand, you can lose one or both of the gloves. It sounds like you're doing great if you're having him run all over you so you'll get there

[Penguin]

I find that bonding with a hamster is a 2 way process.
They learn to trust you and you learn to trust them.

As the others have said, patience is the key. My youngest hamster was really bitey. Not because he had mean intentions but he was partly curious and partly it is his way of telling anyone to stop whatever they are doing that he doesn't like. He has bitten me several times doing health checks and if I try to pick him up so I can clean his cage. Bit the vet, too, to the point where she apologised for bleeding on him. (just figured that he is extremely ticklish too, so if touch his back he will stop whatever he is doing and turn around)
Anyway, I, too, am very nervous about being bitten. But taking small steps seems to be the key. Even if Odi is gentle I would keep up the tissue trick. Gently talking to him and offering him treats. When you feel confident, try covering your fingertips with bedding and place a treat on your palm.
This sorta helps them not getting to your fingers. And them biting your palm doesn't hurt as much.
If he sits on your hand and eats then it's great! Just wait for him to finish and leave before moving your hand.
I have been doing this for 2 months now, still not too comfortable going further and picking my young ham up, but I'm starting to understand that I have won his trust and as long as I'm calm, so is he.

I used to pull my hand away from him if he just sniffed it as I was scared he would bite. So this has been a long process.
But take babysteps. Even if the hammy is comfortable going to the next step and you aren't, don't go to the next step.

[Bertiebobbins]

Definitely take baby steps. My daughter (she's 3) got bitten very badly by our first hamster in August, and it has taken her until now to be confident enough to let them both patter over her, feed them, touch them, carry them back to their cages in something (safer than letting her carry them in her tiny hands!). Luckily neither hamster we have now is in any way inclined to bite, which helps. From watching her, I think a fear acquired from a childhood experience is deeper than one you might get as an adult, and therefore a bit more difficult to unravel.

I gave her simple rules - stroke the back end because it doesnt have teeth was the first! also wash hands thoroughly before handling them helped aswell. I also talked to her about it which is the first step (you've already done it!) and pointed out that the hamster is just as wary as her to start with, and worked out ways she could interact with them that wouldn't be likely to provoke biting. She's learned a lot about hamster body language, and quickly learned that if she sat still they wouldn't hurt her, they might sniff her but they'll just walk on by! I also gave her things to feed them that would be easy for them to take without getting near enough to accidentally get teeth on her, like a long piece of broccoli or something on a spoon, to get her confidence, and now she likes to feed them tiny things she holds in her fingers, like sunflower seeds.

Of course she had the luxury of me being her "coach", you'll have to do that bit yourself! It's important to remember that animals can smell fear, so simply acting confident isnt necessarily going to work. Don't be too hard on yourself, and set yourself a goal like 6 months time so you're not pressuring yourself, it's realistic and if you achieve it early you'll feel really good about it!

[Shannonmcn]

I think you've gotten lots of advice already so I'll just add some words of encouragement.

You can do this!!! You're already doing so well letting him run around over you, it's going to take time to get over a long-time fear like this but there is no pressure, just take your time, Odi won't mind at all. He sounds like a lovely friendly little guy so I think you're in good company

Hammies only really bite when they're scared or stressed and Odi seems to trust you. He knows you're a friend so you're very very unlikely to get bitten. I know a bad experience can sit in your head and grow and get scarier and you can't really logic yourself out of it, but just to confirm it anyway, I promise you that if something completely out of the blue happens, a freak incident and a bite happens it won't hurt that much. It will bleed a bit and you'll put a plaster on it and in two or three days it will just be a little memento honestly I would take a hammy bite over a stubbed toe any day of the week.

[Odi]

Thank you so much everyone, lots of brilliant ideas to help me move forward in my journey with Odi

I picked him up in my hand from his position on my arm yesterday to put him in his carrier so I could weigh him and then clean out his cage.

[Bertiebobbins]

That's great! Please keep us updated along your journey so we can support you xx