my hammy Roo

[livlaw04]

hi there! i have a boy syrian hamster called Roo and he is 10 month old. i’ve had him for six months and i am absolutely in love with him! he lets me pick him up and the trust and bond is growing. i have a question however. he doesn’t seem to like being out of his cage! i put him in the bath (without the water of course!) over a blanket and some tunnels and food, but he seems to just stuff the food in his cheeks and then continuously scramble up the walls! i then put him back as i don’t want to stress him out. as i say, i put plenty of enrichment in with him so i don’t know what more i can do! he just loves his enclosure so much and i hate taking him out of it, but i know it’s good for him to be out and about a bit. any advice?

 

[Maz]

Hello and welcome He does sound a bit anxious to get back. Maybe the time of night makes a difference. I think also, if they pouch a lot, they are keen to get back to the cage to depouch. Maybe you could try him without food next time - just a chew stick eg? Mine also like the carrot cottages for out of cage time and chew on those.

As he's about 10 months old now, he might be better in a playpen rather than the bathtub possibly? Eg a bigger enclosed area. I also tend to put a spare wheel in the playpen along with hides etc. Sometimes they behave differently to other times when they're out as well.

Have you seen the taming guide on the home page as well?

How to tame a hamster

Hand taming a hamster can make life with your hamster very rewarding. Suddenly they will sit on you to be stroked or even go to sleep on you, and will be very easy to handle. It can take a bit of time and patience initially.

www.thehamsterforum.com

 

[livlaw04]

thanks for your reply! so he doesn’t like play pens like at all, i don’t know why, but he always shows big signs of stress when he gets put back in his cage after being in a play pen, and at least with the bath tub he doesn’t show any signs of stress after, he just wonders around his cage and maybe has a nibble of food after being in the bath. i did just get him in the bath without food and it did go better! after about 15 mins he started climbing up the sides. how long should i get him out for? and how many times a week would you think? i get him out every day but i wonder if thats too much? sorry for all the questions! just trying to make him happy

 

[Maz]

Maybe 2 or 3 times a week. How do you transport him? Do you carry him? It's a good idea to use a "taxi" (I use a large rat tube) as they get used to going into it and know that it's out of cage time - mine are both now basically trained to walk into a tube if they see it!

They sometimes do have a short attention span during out of cage time - unless they are free roaming. Even in a playpen, they can spend time working out how to climb out!

I tend to start with the bathtub for some hand taming, then move to a playpen, and then onto free roaming (once I've hamsterproofed the room). Some of mine have loved that. Another Syrian I had just used to sit in a corner!

 

[Jain]

I don't think you can have them out two many times ive learnt on here they are all different some actually ask to come out once they are used to being taken out and given a treat. Have you tried section of a safe space in a room on carpet putting a hide and tasty treats for him to find then just putting him down on the floor that way he won't feel trapped but my like something to hide under until he feels comfortable and brave.

 

[livlaw04]

thank you for the replies! so i would love love love to have him free roaming but my place isn’t suitable at the moment. because he’s not the biggest fan of being out of his cage, is it unfair to keep making him come out? i use a hamster ball to transport him from his cage to the bath (i don’t put him in the ball apart from transporting as i heard they are actually bad for hammies) but i have also used a hamster hide to move him from A to B and both work well

 

[Socks' Mum]

When Socks wants out, he stands near the cage door and meerkats. Giving the hammy some tunnels to scent mark can help to establish an area as their own. Some hamsters will slide all the way along the tunnel on their back like they are doing some hammy break dancing. When he wants back in the cage he will sit in the tunnel quite often, or try to climb out if he has the energy.