I got a hamster today and I am somewhat new to this.So could someone give some tips? She is also skittish,why?

Question

Is there anyway i could get her to be more comfortable with me handling her?

Answer 1

Your hamster is very new in your house. She is still new to her surroundings and scared. This skittish behavior is very normal in hamsters who are new to their surroundings and hence get very jittery.

Read my guide on taming and handling hamsters. This would help you with your new hamster. Email me if you have any more queries. All the best!

GUIDE TO TAMING HAMSTERS -

Taming can be a long process, don't expect your hamster to suddenly like be handled over night. It can take weeks or even months depending on the hamster. Here the the steps to handling a hamster -

STEP 1 - When you first get your hamster leave it alone for the first 2 - 3 days to let it get used to it's new cage and surroundings. If you pick him up on the first day itself, he will definitely bite you since you are a stranger to him.

STEP 2 - Once the hammy seems comfortable in his new cage, start talking to him softly and hang around his cage enough for him to get used to your voice and smell. After this time feed your hamster some treats from your hand so he get used to seeing your hand. This might take a few days to happen but be patient. If you feel that the hamster still bites you, you can use gloves initially.

PRECAUTION - always interact with the hamster only when he is active. If you touch him or disturb him when he is sleeping, he can get angry and bite viciously.

STEP 3 - Once your hamster seems confident with taking treats out of your hand you can try to start handling your hamster. Before you handle your hamster make sure you have washed your hands well. Hamsters have a strong sense of smell. If they smell something on your hand they may mistake it for food and decide to bite!

Get a cup or something similar and place it into the hamster's cage. He should come to investigate and crawl inside. Take the hamster and cup out of the cage and let him walk out onto your hand. While you do this make sure you're sat down or sat close to the floor incase your hamster decides to jump. Let him walk from hand to hand. Be careful you don't grab or wrap your hands around your hamster until he is fully tame as this may scare him and he will jump out of your hand.

STEP 4 - Once your hamster is more confident with you, you can start to pick up your hamster straight from it's cage. Just make sure your hamster is aware that you are there, if not you may suddenly scare the hamster and it may turn around and bite you.

Best way to hold hamsters is to make them climb into one hand and cupping the other hand softly over the body so that his head pokes out from the gap between your two hands. Remember, do not apply any pressure on his body, he will get scared and snap at you.

Answer 2

it will take her a while to settle into her new surroundings. just keep stroking her for a while,then when you think shes comfortable try to handle her. she will get used to you it just takes time thats all

Answer 3

Congratulations on your new fuzzy. Here are some great places to look at:

http://www.petinfopackets.com/hamsters/h...

http://www.hamsterific.com/

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/hamsters/...

Answer 4

I'm not very experienced with hamsters, but she may be skittish becuase she hasn't gotten accustomed to the new environment she's in.  Give her some time and see if she warms up to you after a few days.

Answer 5

She will probally be scared to begin with so just leave her for a day or 2, make sure she's got plenty of food and bedding. When you do start picking her up wear gloves to be safe as they have harmful bites on them. You should pick her up every day and she will soon get used to her!

Answer 6

Leave her alone for a day to get used to her new home.  Then just talk to her through the bars softly for a day.  Then feed her nice fresh veggies from you rhand.  She will gain confidence with you over time and then you will be able to hold her easily.

Answer 7

You're hampster will calm down after it's adjusted to its new environment.

Try getting it a ball to run around in outside of its cage.

You can get them at any pet store. (:

Buy some tunnels or something else interesting for it to do.

Or if it's one of those social hampsters like chinese dwarf hampsters (you can look it up online if they're social or not) then try buying it a friend.

But she will stop being so skittish after she's been around her new home for a while.

Hampsters will always try to find a way to escape their cage though.

From all of the hamspters i've had they've always ran around the edges at first trying to find a way out of the cage you put them in./

They're very smart creatures so be make sure everything is secure and closed tight when she's in her cage or wherever she is so they don't get loose inside of the house.

They are indoor animals so don't leave it outside fdr too long if you do take it outside.

Hope I've helped! (:

Answer 8

You'd be skittish too if you had a giant standing over you trying to pick you up and stuff. lol.

Try feeding him treats out of your hand for a while first. Then everytime you pick him up always give him a treat from your hand this should help him relax.

Answer 9

Most small rodent pets you get are very timid when you first get them, don't make so many sudden movements as to scare her, and slowly she'll get used to you :)

Answer 10

I used to have 4 hampsters back in the day. They were awesome pets. Here are my tips...

*make sure to clean their cage at least every other day

*make sure to provide them with clean water at least twice a day

*mine loved their running wheel but your's might be skitish of it at first- this is nothing to worry about- she'll get used to it

*they love to chew and hide in empty toilet paper/paper towel rolls

*you should also have some sort of permanent structure for her to sleep/rest/hide in- you can get these at your local pet store

As far as her being skittish of you... it will take time. I recommend placing her in a low (meaning the sides) box like a shoe box, etc and just having her with you like when you watch TV. Place your hand in the box but don't touch her. Eventually she will get used to your presance and allow you to hold her. When this happens, hold her as much as possible. I used to let mind sleep in my sweatshirt pockets or hood while I was watching TV.