Timid new female Syrian hamster

[Grannytohamster]

Hi there, messaging on behalf of my daughter who is 9. She got her first Hamster (Syrian) on Sunday. I had two Hamsters when growing up who were both boys because I had read boys were usually more chilled and better for first time hamster owners. However we went to choose her Hamster and the pet shop only had girls all of whom seemed very timid from how I remember mine to have been. I did suggest we wait longer, look elsewhere but it’s very hard to persuade a 9 year old who has spotted the one she’s fallen in love with. So we’ve taken home Little Luna is is absolutely lovely but extremely timid, hides or freezes when we come close. We have been speaking softly by her cage for the first 2 days and she does appear slightly more used to us.. or did but tonight back to just running to a corner. Is this normal 4 days in? I feel I was extremely lucky with my first Hamster. He was a very friendly boy from the start. I left him 24 hours but then he was completely happy being picked up and handled very early on. I don’t want the Hamster or my daughter to get a fright so trying to take it slowly but equally worried she has maybe chosen a Hamster that is going to be timid and difficult to tame. When my daughter is sleeping I’m trying to again spend time talking to Luna and just rubbing my hands on the bedding to get her used to my smell but any advice would be really helpful from anyone who has had very timid Hamster. I would love my daughter to have the experience and love I had for my Syrian Alfie. Thanks in advance.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Congratulations on becoming little Luna's proud owners. Females pick up confidence quite quickly once they settle in and can be far more active than males. I'm sure she will catch up soon. You are doing the right thing by letting her settle I think food is the secret to hamster training. @Yorkie has a young girl hammy who is getting used to her new family, so you are not alone. A pet camera can be useful too. I have a Tapo. I think once Luna has settled in you can try some to time in a playpen or bath tub. If you need to transport her, the safest thing is to lure her into a mug or jug and use that as a hamster taxi

 

[Vanessa1]

Hello there, welcome to the forum, Luna will settle in I'm sure, it's all down to patience now. Give her time to settle in There are female hamster guardians on here that I'm sure can give you you advice. I have a male hamster called teddy who took time, patience lots of love and good food and deep bedding to burrow in l look forward to hearing about Luna and her adventures and a picture would be great Ness

 

[Maz]

Hi. She is probably a baby and only about 6 weeks old, so yes this is pretty normal - just a scared baby It generally takes about 10 days to 2 weeks for them to fully adjust to a new enclosure or cage, and new surroundings, and then you can often see a visible change in behaviour That can be pretty tough for a 9 year old but it's time and patience. So for the first week you can do as you are - talking through the cage, don't clean anything or change anything in the cage or that will freak her. It's just about building trust really - once your scent, voice and presence are familiar - then the next thing is handling trust. Hand taming can also take a while, but that can be fun too

I've added our taming guide below. It is something that will grow - the bond and the love - it's just very hard for a 9 year old who wants to handle them now As Socks Mum says, a nightcam can really help in the early days and weeks so you're not just looking at an empty cage! They get up to all sorts at night.

There are quite a few available now - but the Tapo sounds recommended - mine is a Eufy and I find that very good and easy to use. You just need a micro sd card to put in it, connect it to wifi and find somewhere to point it towards the cage. Mine is currently on the back of an armchair on a book! Although it does come with a bracket if you want to screw it to a wall or similar.

It then records constantly on the sd card, but you can also watch live on your phone wherever you are! Obviously watching on a phone late at night in bed might not be a good idea for a 9 year old, but instead you can look at the footage recorded on the phone next day. On mine you can easily see when the hamster was out and about as it only records movement and that shows up in a different colour - so you just move between the coloured blocks to watch and don't have to randomly watch 8 hours of footage! I assume others are similar. When watching clips you can also save/record them to phone to watch later or share.

What kind of cage or enclosure is hammy in? If it has bars you could feed her the odd treat through the bars (pumpkin seeds are good) during this initial week or so, so she gets used to you both more.

I've had some like this initially, and it's not that unusual, but you'll get there - it just takes a bit of time and patience. I wouldn't try and get her out just yet, but maybe in a week to 10 days you could offer her a tube/"taxi" and transport her to a safe area for some gradual socialising and hand taming Unless she shows signs of wanting to come out before then - like sitting at the door.

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

 

[Yorkie]

Congratulations on becoming little Luna's proud owners. Females pick up confidence quite quickly once they settle in and can be far more active than males. I'm sure she will catch up soon. You are doing the right thing by letting her settle I think food is the secret to hamster training. @Yorkie has a young girl hammy who is getting used to her new family, so you are not alone. A pet camera can be useful too. I have a Tapo. I think once Luna has settled in you can try some to time in a playpen or bath tub. If you need to transport her, the safest thing is to lure her into a mug or jug and use that as a hamster taxi

Oh yes ,food is the key,my little one just begged for her treats ,despite not letting me touch her too much ,she knows exactly where her treats come from. She is now sleeping on her wheel lol I have gotten around all of my other females by offering treats at the same time every evening . My previous girls would appear at 8 sharp lol I am however ,still working on this with Misty.