aggressive hamster/nervous owner

Question
QUESTION: I bought Harry, a cinnamon Syrian, two weeks ago for my 7 year old son (who in reality will be too nervous to handle Harry, but he hand feeds him through the bars, and I hoped might eventualy might be brave enough to stroke him while in my hands). Harry is my first hamster, and I must confess I have surpried myself in being nervous about handling him. However, he seems to me to have always been a bit highly strung. I let him settle in for 2 days, and picked him up when I cleaned out the cage -Harry hated that, nipped, wriggled and we'd on me in indignation.Since then I haven't handled him, but have been putting my hand in his cage, which he smelled and was kind of accepting of (although  don't think he has ever liked t) We hand feed him,talk to him, and Harry comes to be fed. I cleaned his cage on Sunday morning, but I must confess I am now too nervous to hande him. I cleaned one part of the cage whilse he was in the other part. Since then he has been quite aggressive. Today he really bit me, quite aggressively, and drew blood. I feel a complete failure. Is Harry now untameable? And how am I ever to do it when Harry is very ready to bite as son as he sees my hand (you can see him opening his mouth, watching, ready to get in there with a bite!!)Should I find Harry a more experienced home and try again with a new hamster (and please don't think I am irresponsible by suggesting this. If the worst comes to the worst, we can just accept we can never handle Harry, but 2 years of this doesn't seem like much fun for any of us.) Please advise.

Regards

Tracy

ANSWER: Hi Tracy

I'm really sorry to hear that you are having problems with Harry.  In my experience all Syrian hamsters will tame down - some better than others, so don't give up just yet!

Your nervousness is probably affecting him, so you both need to find confidence.

Talking to him a lot is very important.  Every time you see him out and about in his cage.  It is also good to give him treats, as he should start to associate you with nice things.

Hamsters tend to bite for a few reasons - firstly, they are very short sighted and rely heavily on their sense of smell.  therefore, sometimes they do nip, often as a mistake because they smell someone's finger.  We seem to have an instinct to let an animal sniff us, but this is something I never do with a hamster as it is likely to lead to being bitten.  I always keep my hands away from a hamster's mouth unless I am hand feeding, and even then I am careful as mistakes do happen.

Hamsters also bite if they are frightened, rather than just being aggressive and this can be aggravated by bad handling, squeezing them too tightly, restricting their movement, approaching them from above etc.  In the wild hamsters are preyed upon by loads of animals and birds and therefore it is important that Harry doesn't think he is being attacked when you are closeby.

One way I have found to tame a hamster is to do the following, and it might be worth you trying this for a week to see if there is any improvement:  Can you dismantle his cage and remove the top?  If so, this is the best way to get a nervous hamster out.  Rub some of his bedding/wood chippings onto your hands so that his scent is on you.  Place a hand each side of him and quickly 'scoop' him up.  Immediately put him on your clothing.  Only do this if he is out and about - never try to pick him up from his nest.  Some hamsters hate walking on skin, and they feel much more confident on clothing.

Sit down with him and let him walk over you.  Keep talking to him.  If he starts to wander off, gently slide a hand under him and bring him back.  Don't squeeze him or place your hand all around him.  After a few minutes, return him to his cage.  Hamsters are generally very nosey creatures and chances are he will want to come out again.  If so, get him out.  The more you do this and the longer you keep him out the quicker he will get used to you and calm down a bit.  Once you feel a bit more confident with him, you could suggest that your son sits in the bath(no water and put the plug in!) and let Harry walk over him.  This way there is no way Harry can escape and he is free to explore in a safe environment.  Be careful in the early stages as he might be jumpy, so when you are putting him back in his cage, rest him on your chest and cup a hand over him.

Have you got an exercise ball for him?  If not it might be worth buying one of these. Tape over any joins in the ball as they do have a habit of opening if they bang into furniture.  The first time in the ball is a bit stressful but after a minute or two they quickly get used to it.  If he won't walk into the ball, pick him up and transfer him to it.  I suggest letting him run around (supervised) in this for about 10 minutes initially, this can be increased to 20 minutes.  When you come to get him out, don't put your hand in the ball as he is bound to be scared and this is a time when he may well bite.  Either open up the ball and let him walk into his cage or let him walk out onto your clothing.

The key thing is to persevere - now is the time to win each other's confidence.  It will take time, but it will be worth it in the end.  As you say, it won't be a great couple of years for any of you if he can't be handled.  I'm assuming you got him from a pet shop - many pet shops get their hamsters from the big breeding centres - there hamsters are unlikely to have been handled.  Therefore this is all new to him and it will take a little while for him to calm down.  

Whereabouts in the UK are you?  If you are anywhere in the Kent/London area and can get him to me I am happy to try and tame him for you.  If not you might have a local small animal rescue who could take him from you for a week or two (for a small donation) in order to try and tame him.  

Please let me know if I can be any help.

Regards



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

QUESTION: Thank you so much for that - it has reassured me that I haven't got a savage rogue hamster biding its time to rip off my hand!! We already talk to him quite a lot, and will continue; he is interested in us, and tonight we spent a lot of time ust talking to him with the top of the cage off. We bought him a round wooden teething ring today and had great fun watching him try to get it down the tubes in his cage.

We live in North London, and have no car, so although I would love to take you up on your offer, I don't think it will be practical. However, this is a brlliant idea and I am going to look for a local experienced handler or rescue centre to try to help.

Thank you once again.

Tracy

Answer
Hi Tracy

See how you get on over the next couple of weeks - if you don't make much progress, then do get back in touch - I work in central London so if you can get him to me (Monday - Friday), then I am more than happy to take care of him for a week or two and try and turn the situation around.  It isn't that unusual for people to drop hamsters off at my office!  The more confidence you can gain with him, the faster he will feel confident with you.  I do hope you get on OK.  Definitely don't give up as your relationship with each other will be so much better once he is tame and no longer afraid.

Regards