Black bear hamster scared

Question
QUESTION: Bought a 4 month old black bear hamster a month and a half ago was told i was buying a male but a week later, she had babies.
She was very friendly while the babies were around a great mother. Very Talkative, she would go in her ball, crawl on me. Now that the babies are gone she acts like she is afraid of me Still very talkative, will take treats out of hand, but will not come out of her house unless i am not around or sleeping. When she sees me, she freezes for a long while then run to hide in her tube the books for her house or just runs for her house. Not sure, what i can do to get her friendly again?


ANSWER: Hi Kelly

Sorry to hear that your hamster isn't being very friendly right now.

I'm in a very similar situation at the moment as you.  I took in two foster females - they arrived in the same cage and one had had a litter.  As no one was sure which one had given birth it was decided that the safest thing was to keep them together for a week or two providing they didn't fight.  After a week it was clear who the mum was, but the sister seemed to want to look after the babies.  As there were a few scuffles in the cage I took her out.  When she was with her sister's babies she was quite tame, now that she is out of the cage she is almost a totally different hamster and I have to start all over with taming her.

With your hamster it could hormonal in that whilst she had her babies she was enjoying nurturing them, but now her hormones have kicked back to how they should be.  Or perhaps something has spooked her with has made her nervous.  With my one I think that some sort of maternal instinct kicked in, and by removing her from her babies this has changed her.

The only thing is to start again with her.  The key thing is not to give up but try to persevere.  Call her out of her nest.  Every time you see her out and about talk to her so that she recognizes your voice. Also keep giving her treats this way she'll associate you with nice things. I tap the sides of my hamster cages early evening to let them know I'm there and to try and get them to rally.  If there is still no sign of them I tap again until they show their faces.

When you come to get her out - if she won't walk out a side door to the cage, take the cage apart so that you can easily 'scoop' her up.  Don't risk putting your hand in her nest otherwise she may well bite, but tempt her out.  When you have 'scooped' her up, immediately transfer her onto your clothing.  Skin seems to be a bit scary sometimes for hamsters for some reason.  Let her walk over you - I usually sit down for this.  If she starts to wander off, gently slide a hand under her to bring her back. If you do this for a few minutes, then return her to her cage.  Hamsters are so nosey that she will probably want to come straight out again - if so, get her out.  The more times she does this the quicker she will learn that it is safe and fun outside her cage.  If you get her out into her exercise ball, don't risk putting your hand into get her out.  Instead let her walk out onto your clothing.  Also put some treats/fresh vegetables into her cage for when she returns.

Also, what is her cage like?  Does she have plenty to do?  If it is a standard wire cage, how about fixing some climbing frames that you can buy for hamsters or suspending various other tubes etc. from the top of the cage.  Sometimes hamsters can just be bored.  Also make sure that her wheel is large enough for her - the standard wheel that comes in most cages are too small for an adult Syrian, therefore if this is case you would need to upgrade it.  It is important that she is able to get plenty of exercise as in the wild they can walk for up to 5 miles a night in search of food.  Without exercise they can become very lazy, obese or in severe cases develop cage paralysis.

I'm sure that if you persevere with her nightly for the next week or two you will notice a big difference with her.  Now is the time to try and tame her before she gets too set in her ways.

Good luck with this.  I hope this helps you.

Regards
Sheila

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: she is in  55 gallon tank, i put a 2nd level in it and a ramp so she can get up, her house in on the 2nd level. she has a wheel toilet paper roll with paper on it and a tube  

Answer
Hi

This sounds like a large tank (not exactly sure how big a 55 gallon tank is.)  What type of roof does it have?  Is it a mesh top that you can clip things to?  Would it carry the weight?  Hamsters do like climbing and therefore if you can attach a climbing frame/rope ladder then she might like that.  Whilst I find that tanks are fine for dwarf hamsters who don't climb and like to run around on one level, I tend to find that Syrians enjoy being able to climb up bars etc.  Therefore if there is anything you can add to your hamster's cage that would provide interest for her, this might help.

As this is a tank, it is worth making sure that she doesn't over-heat in the summer months, or that the bedding gets damp.  In wire cages where air circulates freely there is less chance of this happening.

Is the wheel large enough for her?  Standard wheels can be too small for adult Syrians in which case they don't run in them because they have to arch their back so much to do so.  

I also think that it really is a case of talking to her and getting her interested in things - especially handling her and letting her run in her ball.

I hope she starts to be more like her old self soon.

Regards
Sheila