Hamster taming not going well

[bageleggandcheese]

Hi everyone, Bagel here again
It’s been over a month since I got him and he so far has been pretty comfortable with his home, however over this week I noticed that he has recently changed preferences and have been hiding in this burrows for almost the entire day. I found this quite weird as the past few weeks he has usually woken up at around 11pm to go to his surface hides to groom and sleep in, but all of a sudden he only comes out after midnight when no ones around.
What I found the weirdest was that he seemed to have gotten more distant from me and almost appears to not recognise my voice or smell, even after a month where in the previous weeks he could tolerate my touch and go out of his cage for a bit of playtime with me and all of a sudden he just doesn’t want to interact anymore. He even bit me and drew blood when I tried to give him his favourite treat before scuttling back into his burrows and not come out for the rest of the day. He’s still very much active and well as he uses the wheel and burrows frequently so I don’t think that sickness could have caused such a change in his behaviour…
Has anyone had similar experiences of hamsters suddenly being disinterested in you after a while of settling in/know anything about how to improve on this? It’s quite disheartening to see my hamster so distant even after a month and I’m worried that all my efforts of taming him might go down the drain

 

[Socks' Mum]

That is sad as he is a cute little fellow, he looks lovely in the photo all curled up and snug. Possibly the change of season could be lowering his hormone levels and making him less sociable and confident. Does he come out for his food a bit earlier. Sometimes they will come out at about 7pm for a bit of fresh food and might be persuaded to get into a jug to go to the playpen. I hope Bagel can be motivated to be more outgoing

 

[Maz]

I'm sorry - it can be difficult. It does sound like he has regressed a bit and I can only suggest doing out of cage sessions 2 or 3 times a week say in the bathtub or a playpen - they behave completely differently out of the cage. The difficulty there of course is getting him out - especially if you don't see him and he's getting later and later. As Socks Mum says, feeding time can help with habits. While they do hide away a bit more in the evening as it gets cooler and darker in the evenings, they can still get into a routine of getting up for food or fresh veg - I'd suggest 8pm to 9pm as feeding time. Make a slight bit of noise/clatter as you open the cage door - change the water, tap the odd item! As sometimes they can be in quite a deep sleep! But they soon get in the habit of waking at that time every night - they know the noise means food and tasty cool cucumber etc. Plus they can smell the veg.

I usually suggest putting the tiny piece of veg on a separate dish or tile on a platform, at the opposite end of the enclosure to where the hamster is sleeping - so they actually have to cross the space to get it. On his way there or back, you could offer him a tube to walk into as a taxi (another tiny bit of cucumber at your end of the tube is likely to tempt him in) then you can transport him to the safe area for some gradual hand taming. It can take time and patience - maybe a few sessions over 2 to 3 months - wear gloves at first so you don't yell if he nips! He should stop that when he's a bit tamer.

Some hamsters really do get scared by a hand in the cage or want to see it off however! Or it could be you tasted of food perhaps. So washing hands first helps and don't use flowery soap or that might smell tasty as well!

Assume you've seen the taming guide on the home page? That's for once he is out. Further down on that page is a video showing my last Syrian hamster's taming sessions so you can get an idea.

@Yorkie also has some good tips for taming

Aside from all that, do you have a photo of his enclosure and set up? Sometimes the odd tweak can help them want to come out more.

 

[Yorkie]

Hi,yes ,I start by offering treats until they take it from my hand ,and then little by little move it further away,so that they come closer . Once they realise I am not going to hurt them and eat near me,I pick them up and put them back down within the enclosure. I then gradually increase the time I hold them . I used to bring Robin to my chest and then straight into her playpen ( which she loves) and then she would ask me to pick her up when she was ready to come back out. Now Robin will go everywhere with me as long as she is under my hand against my chest . This has worked with every hamster I have ever owned,just that some take longer than others,my previous hamster took only two weeks to be confident,Robin a couple of months.

 

[elephanthamster]

Lots of great advice here - just wanted to also say it's only been a month, and sometimes taming isn't linear. Don't be discouraged - you've got this!

 

[Vanessa1]

It's very early days, just keep a nice routine so he can build on his confidence. Ness

 

[bageleggandcheese]

That is sad as he is a cute little fellow, he looks lovely in the photo all curled up and snug. Possibly the change of season could be lowering his hormone levels and making him less sociable and confident. Does he come out for his food a bit earlier. Sometimes they will come out at about 7pm for a bit of fresh food and might be persuaded to get into a jug to go to the playpen. I hope Bagel can be motivated to be more outgoing

Yeah recently it’s been getting quite rainy and thats when I noticed his behaviour changing… i cant know for sure if he does come out since i regularly only come home by around 8pm, sometimes even later, so the only time I can have with him is 10pm+ which is when hes still stubbornly in his burrow

 

[bageleggandcheese]

I'm sorry - it can be difficult. It does sound like he has regressed a bit and I can only suggest doing out of cage sessions 2 or 3 times a week say in the bathtub or a playpen - they behave completely differently out of the cage. The difficulty there of course is getting him out - especially if you don't see him and he's getting later and later. As Socks Mum says, feeding time can help with habits. While they do hide away a bit more in the evening as it gets cooler and darker in the evenings, they can still get into a routine of getting up for food or fresh veg - I'd suggest 8pm to 9pm as feeding time. Make a slight bit of noise/clatter as you open the cage door - change the water, tap the odd item! As sometimes they can be in quite a deep sleep! But they soon get in the habit of waking at that time every night - they know the noise means food and tasty cool cucumber etc. Plus they can smell the veg.

I usually suggest putting the tiny piece of veg on a separate dish or tile on a platform, at the opposite end of the enclosure to where the hamster is sleeping - so they actually have to cross the space to get it. On his way there or back, you could offer him a tube to walk into as a taxi (another tiny bit of cucumber at your end of the tube is likely to tempt him in) then you can transport him to the safe area for some gradual hand taming. It can take time and patience - maybe a few sessions over 2 to 3 months - wear gloves at first so you don't yell if he nips! He should stop that when he's a bit tamer.

Some hamsters really do get scared by a hand in the cage or want to see it off however! Or it could be you tasted of food perhaps. So washing hands first helps and don't use flowery soap or that might smell tasty as well!

Assume you've seen the taming guide on the home page? That's for once he is out. Further down on that page is a video showing my last Syrian hamster's taming sessions so you can get an idea.

@Yorkie also has some good tips for taming

Aside from all that, do you have a photo of his enclosure and set up? Sometimes the odd tweak can help them want to come out more.

The circled area is where he usually keeps himself to, he only came out cause I disturbed him a little haha right after eating a bit he went straight back in

Turns out he’s not a very greedy hamster either, he’s heard me multiple times tapping the things around him and coaxing him with food outside the burrow but goes straight back to sleeping like hes ignoring it almost

I’ve seen the taming tips and they do look very helpful!! Only issue is bringing him out of the cage which is kinda impossible considering his personality haha

 

[Maz]

He has such a lovely home It's quite common they just wake up to get the food and then go back to bed and then have their "day" later at night, but it's when he's waking up to get food you can offer him the tube. They almost always walk into a tube if it's offered, especially if it has a smelly treat at the far end to tempt them like cucumber, strawberry or cheese