hello, help please?

tabsmad1 · 07-26-2018, 03:30 PM

I have no idea how to work this page but i'm sure i'll get to grips with it! I'm a new hamster owner to a beautiful Syrian called Peach and she's so so cautious and nervous with everything I do. I've had her for a week and she will take food from the tips of my fingers but is reluctant to crawl onto my hand to take it and even putting my hand in the cage freaks her out. I feel like i'm doing more harm than good and don't really know what to do next. I gave her time to settle for the first few days but she's such a timid thing it's probably more stressful for me upsetting her. Any advice would be great, thanks. x

Pebbles82 · 07-26-2018, 04:26 PM

Hello. It's still very early days. It takes about 2 weeks for them to settle into a cage so it's important during that time no to clean the cage out or move things around as that will make her nervous. Just spot clean if it's really necessary before the end of the two weeks (ie take a handful of pee'd on substrate out and replace it with a new handful and mix it in a bit). If you use a litter tray for her the cage should stay mostly clean

Generally they don't like a hand in their cage anyway as it's coming into their territory You are doing well that she is taking food from your fingers.

I would give her a bit longer to settle into her cage - feed her treats through the bars and talk to her regularly so she gets used to your voice. You could also do the tissue trick - put some sheets of toilet paper up your sleeve or down your bra for a couple of hours then tear them into strips and put the pile in the cage somewhere - she'll take some for nesting material and it'll help her get used to your scent.

It's frustrating when they're new and you just want to hold them but it's time and patience.

If she shows signs of wanting to come out you could maybe hold a tube into the cage and let her walk into that - with the other end of the tube in a hamster ball so she walks straight into the ball. Then pop the lid on and carefully carry the ball to the bathtub and let her out in there for some taming sessions (dry bathtub). It helps to have a couple of toys in the bath - eg a mug on its side or a kitchen roll inner tube slit lengthways (so it expands) so she has somewhere to hide occasionally. They tend to run around in the bathtub and you can start by stroking her on the back with one finger while she's in there - just once then leave it a bit. When she gets used to that and doesn't panic then move onto cupping a hand under her and lifting your hand just 1cm or so and then just let her walk off without trying to hold her. Once you've done that a few times you could try lifting her a bit further and cupping your other hand over and holding her while she runs through your tunneled hands. She should feel safe with you by then and be easier to handle.

CookieBlossomBella · 07-27-2018, 12:48 AM

Serendpity has provided you with a great answer. As already stated, Peach is probably still settling in, it is a long process often. She will also still be adjusting to her new home which may take a while also.
Good luck!

tabsmad1 · 07-29-2018, 04:56 AM

Thank you so much, I'm just going to take things nice and slow at her pace and hopefully she'll warm to me a bit more

tabsmad1 · 07-29-2018, 05:02 AM

I've taken her for a bath tub session a few times and she seemed to be quite calmed, she even climbed up onto my lap as a sat there with her, just she is reluctant to crawl into my palms right now. The tissue trick sounds like a good idea I'll definitely be giving that a try thankyou! For now I think I'll let her settle in a bit more and then have some more bath sessions with her. Thank you for your advice!