My hamster?

Question

Okay, I have this hamster. Well, I've had a few before her. Her name is Pippi.(Like pipsqueak or pippi longstockings) well, my old ham ham used to love it when i held her and put her in her ball. Pippi hates me and acts like she is scared to death of my hand when i gently and barely touch her, and she kind of likes her ball. Is there any way to gain her trust?

Answer 1

This is a tough one to answer. There's a few other things involved that you may have to overcome. I am guessing that Pippi is a Syrian hamster. Syrians are the largest of the five hamster species and are sold by pet stores with "cute" names to get more money for them. I haven't seen a pet store yet that sells a "Panda Bear" at the same price as a "Golden" even though they are the same species. Hamsters are the only animals that I know of that sold so incorrectly.

So, I'll assume you have a Syrian hamster that you bought at a pet store. Unfortunately, since it's a pet store hamster it probably came from a commercial breeder. Commercial breeders produce as many hamsters as they can, as fast as they can, in as many "fancy" colors that they can. They do not select animals based on health or temperament, the breeding animals aren't around long enough to determine if there's health problems and they aren't handled to know if there's temperament problems. I have seen some down right vicious Syrian hamsters landing in the pet stores.

I own over 100 Syrians at any one time and have had so over the last few years. I've had hundreds of litters and thousands of pups. I do not use any gloves and have only been bitten four times. That's it, four times. I'm no hamster whisperer, I just have animals selected for their temperament. I get new hamsters from other breeders that also selectively breed. Some of my hamsters get very little interaction from me. Some are just taken out of their cage into a "holding cage" for five minutes while their's is being cleaned. Even these hamsters are calm and gentle and they're only being held briefly once a week. This is the difference between selective breeding and not. I have begun selling animals to a distributor and with my first shipment to them, just everyday people noticed a big difference between my animals and the animals they typically receive. They couldn't believe that not a single one of the hundred pups I shipped them tried to bite. Their clients also noticed the difference. What a nice compliment to me.

So, back to your situation. Not to suggest that it's a lost cause with your new friend because you bought her at the pet store, you may just have to work harder with this one than your previous hamsters because of her genetically determined temperament. She may always be a bit persnickity but if you stop working with her altogether, she will get harder to handle when you need to change her cage.

You need to start holding her a couple times each day. If you can't get her out of the cage, then get her into a toilet paper roll and then dump her into your hand. Begin walking her from hand to hand, one in front of the other. You can also make it an unending "staircase". If you keep her moving you probably won't get bit. Do this over your bed so that if she manages to jump off your hand you can catch her. Once you're comfortable handling her in this fashion, begin to closing your fingers as she's walking from hand to hand so that she's now moving through an unending "tunnel". This will get her accustomed to being held and touched on her back. These sessions only need to last five minutes but you need to do them at least twice a day, preferably more. If you're scared of doing this at first, then wear a pair of leather gloves to get her accustomed to the "exercise".

Do this before putting her in the ball. You may think that she'll be more tired and easier to work with after having some exercise but she'll be more excited and actually harder to work with.

She may never be as easy to handle as your previous hamsters and you will just have to recognize it as her individuality. I bet she tames quite quickly once you start working with her though.

-Janice
http://www.holmdenhillhaven.com

Answer 2

I have had several hamsters and none of the ones that I have cared for were loving and accepting when I first met them. some of them took months to let me pet them! The hamster I own now, Kiwi, is almost four months old. We bought her when she was less than a month old and she would run and hide when we passed the cage. Now she will slimb into my hand when I open the cage. I would advise putting extra shavings in the cage(at least 2 inches) so she can burrow if she feels threatened. It seems like pippi is new so you should let her get used to her new home in peace for at least 24 hours if you havent already. Then start putting your hand in the cage so she can get used to your scent. You must seem scary to her now. when she seems fairly comfortable with your hand and knows that nothing bad will come from it (try handfeeding her fresh foods- its ok to bribe her) lightly stroke her back (dont frighten her by stroking her face) When she is fine with that you can CAREFULLY pick her up. dont make sudden movements and speak soothingly to her while doing this. Dont lift her high off of the ground, just in case she panics and jumps. Although they are so small, hamsters are tough little guys so they may bite if they are threatened. All hamsters are different so dont try the same taming strategies on pippi that worked on your old ones. by the way, try and figure out which foods your pippi likes most. They are great for praise and training. good luck!

Answer 3

Hamsters are like any other pets. Some pets are friendly right away, others are scared of people for awhile until they get used to them. The best thing to do is handle your hamster a little bit everyday until he/she starts to get used to you. Many hamsters at the pet stores are shaken and afraid because they have been back and forth between breeders and the pet stores. Plus being in a pet store is stressful, imagine all the people trying to paw at you in a cage and tapping the glass. Like I said, a little each day. Watch out for a condition also called Wet Tail. Hamsters that are under a lot of stress often get this where they get the runs and get very dehydrated. This condition is fatal, so if you see any signs (a wet bottom, not eating, etc.) get to the pet store asap, and get a product called Dri Tail.

Answer 4

I had that. But it was a cat. . . The best way to gain their trust is to be nice to her. Talk to her in a soft voice. Maybe let her come out of their cage when she wants to. just leave the door open and she'll come out in time. Try this for awhile and see what happens. I wouldn't put her in the ball just yet. she's getting used to the change and scared. just talk to her in a soft voice a lot and be very careful with her. If you have any other pets keep them away from her. And make sure there's not a lot of noise around her or movement. Maybe give her a treat every once in awhile and she'll trust you in time. It just takes awhile to gain their trust.

It took my cat a month to even be in the same room. So just take it one step at a time. I bet she's scared of the changes around.

Answer 5

Whatever you do just dont pick your hamster up too much like maybe 1 or 2 times a day. Picking up small animals causes them stress and they can get scard and stop breathing. To gain trust give your hamster healthy treats and let her grab them from your hand. Be patient and dont pet her while you are doing this.

Answer 6

I have a hamster like that now. I have had several in the past and have another one now that is perfectly comfortable with me. So in order to react to her, I have been reading more books about handling new hamsters. They say to rub your hands in bedding/shavings (clean or dirty) so that you smell more familiar to them and they will be less likely to trust you. I've had mine a few weeks and managed to pick her up tonight for the first time without her going nuts. I'm sure she'll adjust, just give her some time

Answer 7

I got each of my daughters hampsters for Christmas at the beginning of December (yes, they gave the puppy dog eyes and got them early) Both acted like yours. My youngest daughter isn't afraid to touch them, but she didn't really know how to act with it because she wasn't used to a small pet like that. My older daughter seems to be scared to death of hers. I tried to explain to them that they would need to get the hampsters used to them by giving them treats and touching and holding them as much as possible. Well, after the younger daughter got bit (it bled) when sticking her finger in the cage; they sort of held back. I on the other hand, went to each hampster each day for about two weeks and fed them Cheerios. At first I almost had to throw the Cheerios at them, but after a couple of days they would come to the cage and take them through the wires, then I was able to put my hand in the cage and they would take them from my fingers with me occassionaly touching them. They are now almost to the point of allowing me to pick them up. What is really funny is that if they are sleeping and my daughters try to wake them up or get their attention, the hampsters just ignore them; but the minute they hear my voice and see me, they run over to the bars and if I don't pay attention to them they start climbing the bars and chattering at me. Just take your time and build that trust that they need; after all, if you were looking out of a little cage at someone who was 500 times bigger than you, you would be hesitant too.

Answer 8

i think of Twinkle is a very lovable call, and "tinkle" is the washing room euphemism, no longer Twinkle! have relaxing including your hamster, and make effective you do your study to furnish it the superb care attainable.

Answer 9

put the ball in front of cage door so she can walk right in without your hand there. offer her a snack.

Answer 10

Its a rodent. To her you probably look like a predator. Aren't they responsible for spreading the Black Plague?