Beginner with Syrian hamsters

BellCheg · 05-24-2013, 03:50 PM

First of all let me say hello as this is my first post on here.

On monday me and my girlfriend purchased a Syrian Hamster, we were told to leave her to check out the cage for a few days for her to get settled in, and then start introducing our hands to get her comfortable with our contact.
So, we left her to herself till Wednesday as it had been a whole 48 hours. Peaches (girlfriend picked the name!) was up and about in her cage and seemed to be enjoying herself, we decided to get her used to our voices before putting in our hands to pick her up.
And today I put my hand in as I had a treat to give her, she took the treat without any trouble and I was able to stroke her back, I though this was a breakthrough and was really happy.
Since this, she is acting weird, like really hyper! and whenever I move she jumps out of her skin.
I'm worried I won't be able to pick her up.
Any advice would be great! and Thank you!

linford27 · 05-25-2013, 03:16 AM

hamsters can be naturally skittish, and female hams come on heat often which makes them hyper!
So its all normal! Make sure she has a big enough cage (80 x 40 x 40 cm minimum) and a big enough wheel so she can burn off all her energy!
just keep persisting with the stroking and feeding, eventually she will climb onto your hand!

BellCheg · 05-25-2013, 03:26 AM

Thank you very much, wanted to make sure I was doing everything okay, which it seems like I am

Like I have read, patience is the key

BellCheg · 05-25-2013, 01:52 PM

Today she seems very jumpy, is there any reason for this?

linford27 · 05-26-2013, 07:22 AM

Some hams are just jumpy hams! Just make slow movements around her, and no sudden sounds or movements that could scare her more. Just keep persisting with training - a treat is usually enough to calm a ham down!

Anthorn · 06-01-2013, 03:48 AM

First of all hamsters go by scent and not by sight because they can only see about 6 inches in front of their face. So it doesn't know that it's your hand. Second it shouldn't be a hand but a finger. Third preferably a fist and not a hand. For all the hamster knows going by instinct first, your hand could be an eagle's claw!

So first contact is a fist which lets the hamster get the scent and that continues for a couple of days and then the hamster should know that your hand is not a threat. Then you can try an outstretched finger and a light stroke. And then take it from there.

A tame hamster could actually climb onto your hand and then you can cup it in two hands and lift it out of the cage. Make sure it's low down so if it jumps off your hands it won't get hurt.

HammysMom · 06-01-2013, 11:19 PM

Check out taming threads in this community and google 'how to tame a hamster' and you'll get a ton of ideas and learn a lot. I'm new-ish to hamsters and this is what I did. You'll still have questions, I do lol, but you will find out some great stuff to know about your hammy and ways to bond with it. They are such interesting little guys!!

A couple of the things I've been doing is giving him scented tissue, we sleep with a kleenex in our pillow cases and then give it to him to shred and use as bedding to get/keep him familiar with our scent. And I've had great success with the bathtub method. Good luck taming you hammy! I'm a new member here but everyone is so friendly and willing to answer questions, you'll get lots of good advice.

northmcqueen · 06-02-2013, 02:09 PM

It took me around 3 months to fully tame my syrian Sooty. She too was very skittish at first. I spent about a week just talking to her and sitting by the cage before putting my hand in. I then used to let her crawl into the ball to get her out, and would sit with her in the bathtub, letting her climb all over me. She quickly became fine to be handled this way, but its only very recently that she has started to let me pick her up from the cage, so I'd say she is now 100% tame, but it can take time and it varies for each hamster. Sounds like you've made a good start anyway. Good luck

Alright · 06-02-2013, 02:51 PM

Most, if not, all hams are pretty skittish at first. And even the more calm hamsters are a bit worried/skittish when you first take them home. It just takes time. One day your ham will learn not to bite the hand that feeds him/her!