My hamster won't come to me!?

Question

I got a hamster literally 10 minutes ago, and he's/she's in it's cage happily, chewing on its toys, and "burrowing." My hamster won't come to me! It won't bite, and it hasn't let me pick it up. Maybe it's just getting used to it's new home? How do you "tame" it?

And also my hamster won't stop chewing on the metal bar of the cage! It has chew toys....

Best answer will get 10 points.

Thank you!!

Answer 1

Training your hamster should help; here are the steps to training your hamster:

Step 1

Hold, cuddle, talk to and pet your hamster. If she seems frightened or shy, let her get used to the sound of your voice.

Step 2

Lay food next to your hand. Your hamster will walk up to the food and eat beside your hand.

Step 3

Put food in the palm of your hand. Your hamster will sit in your hand to eat the food.

Step 4

Stroke her back while she is eating.

Step 5

Cup your other hand over the hamster while she is eating.

Step 6

Carry her around in your cupped hands for a few minutes.

Step 8

Remove your other hand and set your hamster-filled palm back down. Let the hamster look around to see that it is safe.

Step 9

Hide peanuts in your shirt collar. Encourage your hamster to run up and down your arms and across your shoulders, searching for peanuts.

Step 10

Lie on the floor with your hamster. Hide bits of apple underneath your back.

Step 11

Enjoy your hamster running across, under and over you, sniffing for the apple.

Hope that helps

Answer 2

I had two hamsters exactly the same!!! to start with let it get used to it's new surroundings...moving is a big thing for such a little animal!! when it's settled...put your hands in the sawdust so your hands smell familiar to the hamster and then it should get used to you and be less frightened...

all hamsters chew the bars!! they want to be free!! but they won't get out!! let them run around in a ball for 15-20 mins a day and they should be happy :)

hope this helps

Answer 3

Buy him a chewing stick at the pet store! Hurry!!! He chew on the metal cage to get his teeth even and short. Because his teeth just grow and grow and grow until they are under his neck so he can not open to eat. Then he dies! So please get a chewing bar for him!!

Answer 4

Well you have to let it adjust first. As well as handle it everyday to tame in. And usually they chew to keep their teeth down, for rodents teeth constantly grow. I would recomend a chewing stick and some treats. Treats would always make it like you more. Good luck, and to tell the difference between the s*x of your hamster. Example, male female, then here is a site for you, I hope it helps, and good luck. :D

http://www.hamsterific.com/HamsterUniver...

Answer 5

let your hamster adjust to its new surrounding!

also don't let your pet to its home all the day,

let it walk to your house!

this is not the best advice i know,

but i hope this helps

Answer 6

You shouldn't pick up or interact with your hamster for about 5 days, and after that you should gradually interact with him. Hamsters can never be "tamed", and they don't come to you. Generally when a hamster bites the bars of his cage it means he is bored. Give him time, and he will let you pick him up.  

Answer 7

just let it get adjusted to its new home. u can start handling it tomarrow. also my friends hamster used to chew on her bars and she lived about 4 years. (average life span 3-4 years) its probably just bored or exporing its new home. also hamsters don't see very well because they're nocturnal so i don't thik it ever will come to u. but it will perk its head up and maybe come out if it hears ur voice or food hitting its bowel. thats what mine does.

Answer 8

I THINK YOU SHOULD HAVE A GOOD BOND WITH IT BY playing with him or her give it lots of care! thats what i would do and if that doesent work ask some other people in your town if they have a hampster

Answer 9

Don't try to handle him. It's good that your hamster is happy in its cage, but you should leave it alone for at least 24 hours to give it time to adjust to its new surroundings.

After 24-48 hours, you can start petting your hamster and begin taming it. Just give it yummy treats when it comes to you. Talk to it. Try handling the hamster on your hand held flat. If it wants to jump off, let it. Put some treats in the palm of your hand and lay it flat on the bottom of the cage to encourage your hamster to eat out of it. With time, your hamster will get used to you and see you as a good thing.

Answer 10

Your hamster needs time tro ajust, he is nervous and frightened, leave him alone until tommorow

Answer 11

He is only 10 minutes into your house. Hamsters are creatures of habit and always take some time to get used anything new in their lifestyle.Just give him some time and he should relax and get used to his new life style. Since he is new too, maybe he is gnawing on the cage bars (which is common problem to many hamsters) until he discovers the use of the toys. You can put in a dog biscuit in his cage, this has been a successful distractor to gnawing on cage bars.

As for taming him, I have attached my hamster taming guide for your reference.

Guide to taming hamsters -

Taming your hamster 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 12

Well, if u want to let it settle in his cage a little bit thats fine.But if you want to hold it now get a tube u usually use to connect cages with, and  then stick it in the cage. Wait for it to climb up, then hold it to your hands. make sure your hands are cupped so they feel safe. Oh, and don't stick fingers in their cage , because they may bite because trying to protect their own home.And  i don't know any way to actually "tame"  the hamster.You could get a rolling ball and put it in there daily.that way it can play happilly, because hamsters have an awfle lot of energy.And  clean their cage once every 2 weeks , to just make sure that they  have a clean home  to stay in.And you could buy it new toys every once in a while to make sure it doesn't get bored. And for birthdays or Christmas, you can ask for new cages, and you could also get a tube to connect two cages so they dont get bored. And make sure to play with it after school or work.They are great pets, and its good that you are trying to make him or her happy.If you have any petcos or petsmart stores or any other pet store in the area, you could go there to see sales , and toys, and accecories. You should also make shure there are no ways to get out of the cage because hamsters are great at escaping.And hamsters are nocturnal so they play at night.You can get a silent wheel if it bothers u that much.And get some chews so your pet will not have overgrown front teeth.If you have any other questions or concerns , go to your local vetrinarian . Don't get another male with it if it was already in a cage by itself. they will fight , and possibly kill eachother.And don't put a female in their because they may possibly mate, and that won't be good if you dont want hamster babys.But if you do want hamster babys, you will have to get another cage, and 2 more cages to seperate the males and females.You can tell if its a girl or boy because the hamster girl babys will have to dots by her bum.And the male with have a bump. And to tell if a hamster is pregnant, her nippels will swell, she will build a nest hoard food into it but she won't start showing shes pregnant  until 3 days before birth. Good luck with your new furry friend!     Hope u have a wonderful time with it!      :)    :]  :D ~Natalie