Hamster not active enough? Whats best way to get ur hamster used to being picked up?

Question

My hamster is 2 and a half months old. I bought him about a week ago. When i put him in his cage for the first 4 or 5 days he was really active, he ran alot on his wheel, climbed all over the place, moved alot.

Now its been a week and he doesnt move as actively. He sleeps alot, then when he wakes up he just walks about slowly or just sits in a corner or on a toy or on something he barely uses his wheel before 12pm, after which i am sleeping. He eats and drinks as he ussually does but hes not as active. Could he be falling ill or has he calmed down from the change or what?? Im really worried he might be becoming ill because it is a very sudden change in his behaviour.

In case you need to know he still doesnt let me pick him up as he is still getting used to me. Whats the best way to train him to let me pick him up etc. hes let me stroke him 3 times and takes food from my hand. Treats dont work :S any suggestions??

Please answer if ur sure and dont just write something random for the points.

Answer 1

i have a hamsters i have had a few in my life. some hamsters are lazy some are asleep in the day and active in the night and some just don't sleep loll. my hamster i got now is always awake and llively but my sisters is lazy..it does;nt mean they are ill or anything. one day he might be sleeping all day and the next he could belivelyy

Answer 2

hamsters are not known to be really active, especially during the day. Normally they just sleep and eat...with the occasional activity.

Try just placing your hand in the cage and leaving it there. Hamsters are curious animals and he should go and investigate your hand. Don't move your hand or make any attempts to pick him up. If he's still afraid that could scare him more

Answer 3

He COULD be getting used to his home, but if he was acting normal before...I doubt he is.

Any unusual sudden change in the behavior can mean an animal is ill. I'd take him to a specialty vet if I were you.

With my old hamster I always turned his hutch upside down with a hamster treat in it. He'd crawl into it, I'd block the entrance, and raise the thing up so he'd crawl into my hand. THIS is how you should get him out to go to the vet if he's not used to you.

After he's better (hopefully he won't die on you) you should give him hamster treats directly from your hand. After a while try to get him to crawl into your hand with the treat, but let him crawl out of it. After a while he might feel comfortable enough to eat the treat in your hand. If not, you should just stick to the treat in the hideout method. It's effective and it always worked for my "devil" hamster who bit me all the time if my hand was in her cage at all.

Answer 4

You got your hamster young! Just to be sure that your hamster is not getting wet-tail, go to your local petstore and get dri-tail.

Training your hamster:

When you first bring your hamster home, you should leave him alone for a couple days. Place his home in an area that has less traffic. He will have many sounds to get used to! Give him plenty of food and make sure water is available. It may be tempting to take your hamster out to play, but that will over-stress your hamster. Your hamster should be kept in a calm environment.

For a hamster to be a tame and good pet, it must be socialized. This means frequent, gentle and respectful handling that helps the hamster become comfortable with people. The younger the hamster, the easier he is to tame. Also, syrian hamsters tend to tame a little faster. With all hamsters, patience is the key. If your hamster looks scared or if he bites during the taming process, you need to slow down. Go back to the previous step or even two steps back. Your hammie should approach you in a relaxed manner several times (usually a period of over 2 to 3 days) before moving on to the next step.

1. Start by feeding him treats through the bars of the cage. Let him smell your hand.

2. Feed him treats through the opening of his cage. Place treats between your index and thumb.

3. Feed him treats through the opening of his cage. This time, place the treat in the palm of your hand.

4. After he runs in his zoom-zoom ball, place your hand inside the ball, palm up. Encourage him to walk onto your hand. This step may take some time. Limit your first play sessions to 5 minutes. It may take a few sessions before he comes out of his ball and onto your hand.

Alternate steps 3 and 4, and he will eventually come out onto your hand.

5. Make sure you are sitting on the floor when you first handle your hamster. Always have his cage or ball nearby. Let him sniff and explore your hand and lap. Hamsters like to go from one hand the other hand that's placed slightly lower. They like to go onto your shoulders, but wait on this until you've handled him for a couple weeks.

The average taming takes between 2 weeks to a month or more. Remember that biting is a reflex. Your hamster will bite when scared. Let your hamster climb on your hand instead of trying to catch him. Wash your hands before and after handling your hamster. He may try to nibble if you smell like food. In my opinion, wearing gloves can make taming more difficult and slows the process. Though, you being nervous is not going to calm your hamster. If you are only comfortable handling him that way, do so, but as long as you're not rushing and you follow these steps, you should be fine. When you're hamster does bite, calmly put him back into his cage. Never scold your hamster. He will not learn that way, he'll just get more scared and bite more!

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

i have a hamsters i have had a few in my life. some hamsters are lazy some are asleep in the day and active in the night and some just don't sleep loll. my hamster i got now is always awake and llively but my sisters is lazy..it does;nt mean they are ill or anything. one day he might be sleeping all day and the next he could belivelyy

He COULD be getting used to his home, but if he was acting normal before...I doubt he is.

Any unusual sudden change in the behavior can mean an animal is ill. I'd take him to a specialty vet if I were you.

With my old hamster I always turned his hutch upside down with a hamster treat in it. He'd crawl into it, I'd block the entrance, and raise the thing up so he'd crawl into my hand. THIS is how you should get him out to go to the vet if he's not used to you.

After he's better (hopefully he won't die on you) you should give him hamster treats directly from your hand. After a while try to get him to crawl into your hand with the treat, but let him crawl out of it. After a while he might feel comfortable enough to eat the treat in your hand. If not, you should just stick to the treat in the hideout method. It's effective and it always worked for my "devil" hamster who bit me all the time if my hand was in her cage at all.

There are 5 types of domestic hamster, 1 Drephobian They sleep alot 2 Pheoben There really active 3 Devila They eat alot 4 Phobian Drink alot 5 Normalian Average at everythin urs is Drephobian dont panic its regular!