New hamster boy, so yay?

PhoenixEcho · 02-28-2022, 08:02 PM

A week ago today, one of my boys, Jak, passed away. It was unexpected but I'm okay with it. These things happen and while I miss him, I'd rather he not suffer if something was really wrong. Plus I still have my other two boys, Daxter and Raz, so I'm good.

Though now it would seem I just got a trio again. A friend of mine knew that I have hamsters and recently lost one. So she asked me if I would be willing to adopt the one she tried giving to her son. Apparently it wasn't going so well because as she put it 'the little asshole either bites me, my son or the cage. He won't do anything else. If he draws blood one more time, I'm gonna feed him to the cat.'

Now I doubt that she would actually go through with that but Little Shit, and yes that was his name, had to go. So it was either I take him or he goes back to the pet shop. I figured that I was the lesser of two evils, so now I have a new member of the family. Who has been officially been renamed Jaeger, for being such a little fighter.

I wasn't planning on getting another hamster so soon or getting one this aggressive. And yes, he does try and bite everything. I know it's the stress of a move and maybe a bit of his personality but still, I'm not even gonna pick him up without gloves for the next month. As I tell people, I'm crazy not stupid.

Ria P · 03-01-2022, 01:38 AM

Congratulations for saving Jeager!

I have two Syrians who were "nasty" hamsters who bit their previous owners. They bit because they were scared and had to live in small, bare cages with wheels so small they weren't able to run in. They had nowhere to hide and were exposed to the grabbing hands of small children along with clueless parents who expected the hamster to "perform" and instantly turn ino their child's new fluffy toy.

I housed them in 85cmx5cm cages with 28cm wheels, a guinea pig sized house and lots of enrichment then left them alone to settle and destress.
The new environment alone worked wonders and with time, love and patience they turned out to be friendly and confident hamsters with lovely temperaments who don't bite at all.

Looking forward to hear more about Jeager and his progress. He is a lucky hamster to get a second chance of a home where he will be loved and cared for.

cloudy · 03-01-2022, 01:54 AM

Jaeger is adorable! I am so happy he is with you in a home who will understand his needs.

Stanza · 03-02-2022, 02:50 PM

Oh wow, he looks cute. With your patience, kindness and care I’m sure he’ll be settling in soon. Lovely to hear he’s been saved from a return to the pet store.

We’ve had a similar thing with our new hamster, my daughter’s friends have had hamsters who have all been super friendly pretty much from the off but for some reason our new hamster (we are first time owners) just seemed very fretful all the time. To be honest I didn’t really expect to be bitten with no warning and sadly it did put my daughter off…….. but no way would I return him, we already love him so much and now nearly 9 weeks in we are not at the holding to give him a stroke/cuddle stage but we can stroke him in his cage or play pen and he’ll come right to the front when the door is open. If he’s happy to come out in his playpen he’ll hope in a plastic jug for us to move him from his home to the pen and back again. I do this slowly and carefully so he is not scared, in fact I’m sure he now knows it means he’s coming out for some playtime and he sits peering over the jug edge and I’m super careful to make sure he won’t suddenly jump. My daughter is slowly gaining confidence around him too, it’s just going to be a slower process. It’s such a shame people give up on them so quick but I can kinda see how it happens. This site has been a real treasure for me. They all have different personalities and as I’ve learnt from this site, maybe our hammy just isn’t very sociable but as long as he’s happy we’re happy.

PhoenixEcho · 03-02-2022, 11:00 PM

Update for Jaeger. Well he's getting his first lessons in how to behave. I usually feed all my boys when I get off from work. That means that they get their dinner and a treat at about the same time each night. It's not a perfect schedule but it keeps things regular.

Well one thing I do before giving them a treat is what I call Nightly Greetings. That's basically where I talk to each one individually, then put my hand in the cage so that they can smell me. I've found that it helps them to recognize me better. If they sniff and then let me give them a stroke without any biting, then they get a treat. That way they learn that being nice means they get something tasty.

Daxter has been doing this for months, so there's no issue with him. Rasputin is a little younger but he's getting the idea. So they got their treats for the night. Jaeger on the other hand, tried to take a snap. Which meant that he got dinner but no treat. Hopefully a couple of nights of this will help him realize that biting means no goodies.