Hi! Important question

Bijouhamham · 12-28-2017, 09:14 PM

Hi! I got a beautiful new hamham today that I named Bijou. She is a sunfire Djungavan. I got a Djungavan because I read they were very easy to tame and had a good temperament and wow was that right. I got her today and I was wondering if I could start taming right away or if I should wait a few days. She seems used to everything and likes to run and bury all around her cage. Kind of like she was ment to be here! She is already eating (I got her a mix bag even though I know just pellets are better but she was fed this first so I am slowly going to change it) she has already climbed on my hand when I was placing her in her cage and she doesn't seem afraid of humans at all. She approaches me when I walk by and seems to be loving it already. Would it be okay to start and see how good she is or should I wait a day or 3? It would be lovely because she is my first hamster. I have 2 birds as well but a hamster is not the same

cypher · 12-29-2017, 02:04 AM

Congrats on your new ham

You don't need to wait long for taming at all, just go slow & don't rush things, if she's confident already then begin by talking to her & offering a treat or two, sunflower seeds or mealworms are good but wait for her to come to you & I'm sure she'll soon begin to become tame & bond with you.
sunfire Djungavan is a name used for a particular colour type of Russian hybrid hamster (a cross between Campbell's Russian & Winter White Russian hamsters) this colour type can be particularly prone to diabetes so do be careful to feed a food that contains no sugars or fruits & only give fresh veg rather than fruit when she's ready to have that, avoid all sweet treats too, no sugars including honey which is found in many hamster treats.

Bijouhamham · 12-29-2017, 01:22 PM

Okay awesome! And good to know that about my little hammie. I couldn't find more than they were easy to tame. Which I think she was already tamed or at least super used to humans because I placed my hand gently in last night and she immediately crawled on to it. And could you go to the vet to see if mine could have diabetes? I got her from the humane society but before that she was at Petco (our petco is really nice and takes great care of their pets and tend to spend more time getting them used to people before selling to possibly kids)

Stardust79 · 12-29-2017, 04:25 PM

My new lil one, a Campbells dwarf, she is so tame! I put my hand in the cage after a day and she stepped right on. I was shocked! Saying that though, she wasn't from a pet store and had been used to being handled. So every night now, she has to be cuddled! She actually climbs up my arm to have a cuddle. I think you know when to leave them for a bit, and you also know when it's fine to go ahead when they don't appear to be nervous at all. It's wonderful when you get such a tame hamster. I have had 4 that took months to tame in the past 3 years, and even then, they couldn't fully be tamed. So it's so lovely when you get one that cannot wait to be cuddled.

cypher · 12-29-2017, 10:15 PM

You don't need to take her to the vet to check if she has diabetes Bijouhamham, just feed an appropriate diet & be aware of the symptoms (first signs are usually excessive drinking & peeing) in case she does develop it at some time in the future.

Good to hear she's settling in so well