Help me tame my Russian dwarf!

It's lovely that you can enjoy watching him at the moment. I know the frustration at first, but it's worth it in the end!
 
Thanks everyone for your help! I really appreciate the constructive help. I definitely didn’t know to leave the toilet paper on my skin for a few hours. I’ll be sure to do that! As I mentioned, I’m going to give him some space and hopefully that will help him adjust to his new home. I’ll start offering him treats again after this week. If I run into any more problems I will for sure reach out! This forum has been so helpful and you’ve all been so nice with this newbie!
 
Do keep us updated with his progress :-) It will be lovely to hear how you're getting on.
 
3 WEEK UPDATE: Not sure if anyone is still following this thread but here's an update...I gave Edmond his space for a week and didn't try to offer him treats by hand or pet him. After that week I started resuming taming sessions in a pen since he's very territorial in his cage. He will take food from me but he continues to bite. And when he's in his cage he's more territorial than ever. If I just try to move something or put some food in his dish he runs over to my hand and tries to bite. I sit next to the enclosure and talk to him gently every night and he will actually climb up on something and try to launch himself at me 😭. I don't want him to form a negative association with us. I am doing the toilet-paper scent thing. Shall I keep on persisting or give it a rest?
 
How does he do when he’s in the playpen? Is he less inclined to bite & interacting with you better there?
I would continue with what you’re doing for now.
 
He is definitely not territorial in the pen. He will still bite or nibble but not as much.
 
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Aw im sorry to hear this. I have heard bigger cages help when a hamster has cage aggression.
 
Is Edmond's playpen big enough for you to sit in?
I have started taming off by sitting in a safe area like a bath tub with a blanket and hides down and then place the hamster on my lap. Transported from cage to bath in a vessel like a ball or jug. I don't use my hands at all at this point and wear shoes, tuck jeans into thick socks if needed etc to protect myself from bites.
This is to get the hamster used to my smell, body and voice. I introduce touch gradually over a few sessions using a pastry brush to brush lightly over the hamster's back at first before progressing to using a finger then hand and eventually pick the hamster up. I keep sessions short and increase the time spent with the hamster slowly.
If the hamster acts very stressed i put them back and try another day. I'd only do that twice or so a week but depends on the hamster.
It can take weeks or months for a hamster to become tame enough to handle and some may always bite because they want to be left alone. Don't take it personal should Edmond turn out to be a 'watch but don't touch' hamster.

My first dwarf Percy would bite any chance he got but we still loved him as much as the others and found ways to interact with him handsfree.

My dwarf Clarissa was extremely territorial. I had to remove her from her cage before i could do anything in her cage. She'd attack my hands because she didn't want them inside her territory.

She was fine as long as things were going her way but would nip when i tried to scoop her up when she wasn't ready to go home yet, for example. Things had to happen on her terms and our current dwarf Lilly is very much like that.

I get nipped quite regularly but don't worry about it. Dwarfs can be very assertive and we have to go along with the way they are.
 
Beryl said:
Is Edmond's playpen big enough for you to sit in?
I have started taming off by sitting in a safe area like a bath tub with a blanket and hides down and then place the hamster on my lap. Transported from cage to bath in a vessel like a ball or jug. I don't use my hands at all at this point and wear shoes, tuck jeans into thick socks if needed etc to protect myself from bites.
This is to get the hamster used to my smell, body and voice. I introduce touch gradually over a few sessions using a pastry brush to brush lightly over the hamster's back at first before progressing to using a finger then hand and eventually pick the hamster up. I keep sessions short and increase the time spent with the hamster slowly.
If the hamster acts very stressed i put them back and try another day. I'd only do that twice or so a week but depends on the hamster.
It can take weeks or months for a hamster to become tame enough to handle and some may always bite because they want to be left alone. Don't take it personal should Edmond turn out to be a 'watch but don't touch' hamster.

My first dwarf Percy would bite any chance he got but we still loved him as much as the others and found ways to interact with him handsfree.

My dwarf Clarissa was extremely territorial. I had to remove her from her cage before i could do anything in her cage. She'd attack my hands because she didn't want them inside her territory.

She was fine as long as things were going her way but would nip when i tried to scoop her up when she wasn't ready to go home yet, for example. Things had to happen on her terms and our current dwarf Lilly is very much like that.

I get nipped quite regularly but don't worry about it. Dwarfs can be very assertive and we have to go along with the way they are.
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Yes it is big enough to sit in. I sit in there with him and he does crawl on me. My husband sat in the pen and was able to gently scoop him up with no biting. It seems like my husband is doing better with him than I am and he barely interacts with Edmond! I will keep trying this method though. I am trying to come to terms with the fact that Edmond may not be a cuddly hamster. I still love him no matter what, but I hope we can have a breakthrough!
 
Some favour certain humans. We've come across that with our dwarfs. One dwarf especially loved my OH and would happily climb on his hand but usually ignored mine.

Tbh, i've never met a cuddly hamster and i've met many. I do believe that they exist and have heard of people with hamsters who will sit with them to watch TV and get petted. I think that the majority is more like our six hamsters though who prefer to do their own thing.

I had one dwarf who would sit on my hand for ages to get a better view as she was very nosey.
I find that there is often a good reason for a hamster wanting to get picked up, like out of cage time. I have one who tolerates me stroking him while he's sitting on my lap for a very short time but his nose usually points towards the floor where he really wants to be.
Just as a matter of interest. What were your expectations of a dwarf hamster?
I appreciate that you love him for who he is but you say that you are trying to come to terms with the fact that Edmond may not be a cuddly hamster.
Did someone tell you that hamsters are cuddly little pets who like getting petted?
 
I think it is simply wanting to be able to handle her hanster and not have him bite :)

I think this is usually still fear and it can take weeks or even months. It could be your hamster has had a bad experience with hands before. My Syrian was like this. Keep persevering but wear gloves then you will feel more confident. If you feel more confident then the hamster will feel more relaxed.

I wouldn’t try and pick him up or handle him for the next two or three weeks. Just sit in there with him and let him get used to the familiarity.

It’s true hamsters all have different personalities - most don’t like to sit still for too long but once tame will happily accept being picked up. It is almost always fear that makes them bite. So it’s about building trust. Keep persevering - it will be worth it. I use a toothbrush if attempting to stroke a hamster who may bite. Once he stops biting the toothbrush he will probably accept being stroked by a finger. It’s just time and patience. He may have had a traumatic time before you got him and needs to learn that you are safe and won’t hurt him. Once you have that trust it’s a special thing.
 
Maybe do taming in the playpen two or three times a week and let him have some space to do his own thing in between. Keep talking to him.
 
Beryl said:
Some favour certain humans. We've come across that with our dwarfs. One dwarf especially loved my OH and would happily climb on his hand but usually ignored mine.

Tbh, i've never met a cuddly hamster and i've met many. I do believe that they exist and have heard of people with hamsters who will sit with them to watch TV and get petted. I think that the majority is more like our six hamsters though who prefer to do their own thing.

I had one dwarf who would sit on my hand for ages to get a better view as she was very nosey.
I find that there is often a good reason for a hamster wanting to get picked up, like out of cage time. I have one who tolerates me stroking him while he's sitting on my lap for a very short time but his nose usually points towards the floor where he really wants to be.
Just as a matter of interest. What were your expectations of a dwarf hamster?
I appreciate that you love him for who he is but you say that you are trying to come to terms with the fact that Edmond may not be a cuddly hamster.
Did someone tell you that hamsters are cuddly little pets who like getting petted?
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Perhaps cuddly was not the right word. Maybe I should have said friendly. I know hamsters don’t necessarily like to be cuddled but I was hoping to be able to hold him/pet him without biting. I heard Syrians were friendlier/easier to tame than dwarfs, but due to the size of my bin I thought a Syrian would be too big so I got a dwarf instead, which ultimately I’m very happy about it.
 
Maz said:
I think it is simply wanting to be able to handle her hanster and not have him bite :)

I think this is usually still fear and it can take weeks or even months. It could be your hamster has had a bad experience with hands before. My Syrian was like this. Keep persevering but wear gloves then you will feel more confident. If you feel more confident then the hamster will feel more relaxed.

I wouldn’t try and pick him up or handle him for the next two or three weeks. Just sit in there with him and let him get used to the familiarity.

It’s true hamsters all have different personalities - most don’t like to sit still for too long but once tame will happily accept being picked up. It is almost always fear that makes them bite. So it’s about building trust. Keep persevering - it will be worth it. I use a toothbrush if attempting to stroke a hamster who may bite. Once he stops biting the toothbrush he will probably accept being stroked by a finger. It’s just time and patience. He may have had a traumatic time before you got him and needs to learn that you are safe and won’t hurt him. Once you have that trust it’s a special thing.
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Thanks Maz! We gave him a couple of nights off but tonight I’m going to try another session in the pen. I can’t wait! I like your idea about 3 sessions a week.
 
I'm sure you're making progress :) . He is probably still a bit scared. When I got our current Syrian, who would bite, I wore gloves and started hand feeding him when he was out. For 2 or 3 days. This was in desperation. I actually stopped putting his food bowl in his cage for 2 or 3 days and only hand fed him when out of the cage. It did the trick and he started to associate me with being a provider. I wouldn't recommend that just yet - try everything else first. Just time and taking things a step at a time.
 
I don’t have any experience with dwarfs and our Syrian ‘Hams‘ is our first ever hamster, so I just wanted to say Hi and that your enclosure looks lovely. It took nearly 6 months I’d say for both Hams and myself to feel comfortable with each other, and for me to be able to daily put my hand in his enclosure to tidy, feed, give him a stroke. The hamster owners above have lots of experience and I’d just agree that to go slowly is best, keep patient and over time you’ll start to see progress in your bonding together. Keep us posted 👍
 
Zara said:
I don’t have any experience with dwarfs and our Syrian ‘Hams‘ is our first ever hamster, so I just wanted to say Hi and that your enclosure looks lovely. It took nearly 6 months I’d say for both Hams and myself to feel comfortable with each other, and for me to be able to daily put my hand in his enclosure to tidy, feed, give him a stroke. The hamster owners above have lots of experience and I’d just agree that to go slowly is best, keep patient and over time you’ll start to see progress in your bonding together. Keep us posted 👍
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Oh thank you so much! I appreciate the encouragement ❤️
 
2 MONTH UPDATE:

Don't know if anyone is still following. I'll start a new thread if it seems like no one sees this, but I just wanted to give a little update on Edmond. We've made a lot of progress! It basically took taking Edmond out of his enclosure every night using a mug. Then we would sit with him and just let him run around and climb on us. He got used to us using our hands to lift him and now when we reach our hands in the enclosure he happily climbs up.

The only time Edmond bites us now is if we try to interact him when he wakes up mid-day for his little rove before going back to bed. So we're learning to leave him alone. It's so hard because he's so stinking cute I just can't help but try and pet him 😆. He's still not really into being held, so it's hard to hold him in our hands, but I am just so happy that the biting has stopped and he's not being aggressive anymore!
 
That is great news! Yes maybe midday is not his best time :) . It would be lovely to see photos when you get chance.
 
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