New Hamster behaviour!

[Vaderdader]

Hello, i recently got a new hamster (18th of december). First night he was running around and exploring, since then he never comes out when im around(unless its dark) He has a hideout on the top of the cage and a wooden bridge..? on the bottom. He has taken food from my hands, been very still in both my hands cupped together. He has also eaten while being on my hand

. I have been putting toilet paper in his cage for two days(put in pocket for a few hours and rubbed my hands). I have also done the bath tub trick twice(past two nights) He still doesnt want to come into my hands(actively runs away).

I'm slow, soft spoken. Yet he will hide from me, to get him out to try and tame/ bath tub, i have to open his hideout and scoop. Am i moving way too quick? WHen it is night time(he stays in my room) he comes out and goes on his flat wheel and runs, chews his wooden flexi bridge, eats food and drinks water. Yet as soon as im near he runs for the hills! He also sometimes takes food, sometimes not and it's always been little carrot slices, so i hide them around his burrow.

I know it is all patience, however i sometimes feel progress and then a reverse in it. Am i just overthinking it and i just need to leave him alone for a bit? or just keep doing what i'm doing and he'll just calm down and warm to me?

Help would be greatly appreciated.

[gorou]

well, hamsters are nocturnal [ they can adjust to your schedule slightly ] and my hamster gets very grumpy if he's woken up not by his own choice. its good that youre being quiet and you seem to have a nice setup with essentials like available food, water, and wheel.

where did you get your hamster ? from the pet store or a breeder. i had gotten my syrian from the pet store and thus i believe he took longer to warm up to me. even then on certain days he's more shy, breeders have the time and care to socialize them young.

with LOTS of patience and lots of treats he will eventually come to warm up to u !

i recommend just going by his cage and quietly doing activities you like to do [ reading, watching videos / playing a videogame on a low volume, etc. ] a little bit before he usually tends to wake up [ getting to know his schedule will be so helpful ] and if he comes out to be curious, dont interact with him. slowly start moving around and once he doesnt seem so skittish you can try other things, i had to do this before i could even scoop him to go to the bathtub because it would stress him out too much for me to feel good about it.

you can also just open the cage and leave a nice treat or even his own food in your hand, stay still and wait... even if he doesnt take it immediately he will learn that at best you have yummy treats at worst it's a new thing for him to see ! especially preferred if you give something he doesnt tend to have often.

lastly just know that hamsters have so much personality and are different from other pets, and thats the joy of having them. it means so much more to me this way when he's having a friendly day and im glad that at least i know that he is being cared for.

[ this is my first hamster and my experience with just mine btw, but i hope it gives u comfort that though it took a while, it is possible ! ]

[JennyP]

Hello,
I have had my new hamster for about a month and a half. she used her wheel for the first week and she burrows like a champ. Since I did her first cage clean she does not use the wheel or come out. I put a camera in the cage and she is literally only out 1 to 2 times in a 24 hour period, for a short time. We have had several hamsters over the years and I have never had a hamster that will not come out or use the wheel. All of her items in the cage are the appropriate size. This is a very large cage and she has 10 inches to burrow in. There is a lot to do to keep her busy. She has a food dish and I will sprinkle food to forage. She will collect all the food. Any ideas as to why she will not use the wheel or stay out for long even when she is alone?

[Hoosierhamster]

Hello,

I’m experiencing something similar with my hamster. Originally very curious, but now remains under ground almost entirely. He also has 10” of bedding. Please share anything you learn.

My new (and first) hamster has had similar behavior this last month. Initially, he was very friendly and curious! I followed some advice to give the hamster 3-4 days of minimal interaction to “adjust” to his new home. Since then, he’s been increasingly subterranean. There also seems to be a daily correlation between outside temp, sunlight, and his above-ground activity level and timing.

Another forum member suggested reducing the depth of bedding to around 3”. As prey animals, their natural tendency is to avoid larger predators that pick them up. Reducing the depth of bedding might reduce this behavior over time. Best of luck!

[JennyP]

I will try doing less bedding and see if that works. I just don’t understand why she is not using the wheel. One of the reasons I picked her was she was awake at 3 pm and running like a crazy girl on the wheel. Apparently there is a lot going on below the surface!

[Aegis]

I highly recommend trying to tame the hamster during the day, when they are sleepy, calm, and tired. This way they will remember you and slowly get used to you when they are more awake.