My brother and I just bought a new hampster. It is a baby they said, but is still pretty big. Whenever we go to touch it or hold it, it makes this awful screaming sound and hides, what is wrong with it, and is there anything we can do?
he's probably very afraid..... my advice would be to get another hampster for him to be with.....obviously make sure its of the same sex or you'll have a buch of little hampsters soon. but hampsters do love to have company. it will be comforting for him.
You may want to take her to the vet eventually if he's screaming a lot. (Maybe she is injured and being picked up makes it hurt more.) 'Till then, give her plenty of good hiding spots to feel secure. Give her cardboard toilet rolls and hamster woodchips to burrow in. I'm sure you are gentle with her, but be verry slow and careful picking her up. When they see a hand reaching down at them, it's instinctual to assume it's a predator snatching them up. With my hamster, I have to pick him up by holding the cardboard tube and wait for him to walk into it, then I can pick him up in it and he'll go in my hand- if I take him out of his house with my hand, he bites because he's nervous/thinks I'm a predator. I've never heard him scream though- or make any kind of noise for that matter. P.S. If you don't have a hamster wheel, you should get one because it makes them very happy. Hammy goes on his every night.
Actually most hamsters will in all seriousness hate each other and probably fight to the death. They don't like living together. There are exceptions, usually only with dwaf hamsters. Can't profess to be that knowledgeable about hamsters, but there are plenty of resources and forums on the net that can help. Go gentle and always offer food. Then they will associate you with treats and be happier.
i actually read the opposite about hampsters. that babies, when taken from their litter and placed with an "owner" all alone in a cage, will be very afraid and that getting them some company will help them. i forget where i saw that though..... i mean, every pet store ive ever walked into had all the hampsters together living peacefully.
Wow, is that true about dwarf hamsters? Mine is a dwarf hamster, and when I adopted him, I asked if he would be ok alone or not, and the guy said that hamsters are not social animals. I should look up on this about dwarf hamsters. Do they *enjoy* the company of other hamsters or just *tolerate* it? Maybe I'll adopt a brother for Hammy. By the way, there's a picture of Hammy in my sig, if the sig is showing up for you.
OK DONT FEAR HAMSTER EXPERT IS HERE!!! I bred syrian hamsters for about 3 years, I also worked at a Petstore for a year and spend ALOT of time with the lil animals. I dedicated 3 years of my life to research of these animals.. and guess what THERE IS ALOT OF MISUNDERSTANDINGS... OK first of all Ignore everything you have read in this post so far.. (with exeption of Sage-Phoenix's post..) What kind of hamster do you have? did the petstore tell you it was a baby Teddy bear hamster? if so. its really called a syrian hamster.. They are strictly solitary animals, and they will fight to the delath once sexualy mature if housed together.. It doesnt matter what sex they are, or if they are related.. they will fight to the DEATH!! so dont buy another hamster ok. There is no need for a vet..Your hamster is screaming because it has never been handled by humans before, and it is totally freaked out.. I would be too if I was stuck into a small cage, and a huge hand kept poking at me.. You need to leave the new hammie alone for at least 2 days before you start handling it. it needs to get used to its new home, sounds, and smells. Talk to the hammie through the cage bars, and offer it treats like peices of whole wheat bread, or whole grain dog biscuit. After a couple days, you can take your hammie out. I assume he is in a wire cage? well if he is, then take off the top of the cage and plop your hammie onto your bed(make sure he cant jump off the edge) or in a critter play pen.. Let your hammie investigate the area, or playpen. and offer treats to him. after a couple min of letting your hammie explore, take both your hands and "scoop" the hamster up. DONT GRAB the hamster with one hand, and dont grab it by the head, tail, or scruff of the neck.. that will provoke biting. take your hands and cup them around your hammie slowly. if he jumps away dont be affraid.. thats normal.. just try again till he gets used to the idea that you arnt going to hurt him. after about half an hour of getting him used to the "scooping" motion.. you can put him back in his cage.. do the same thing the next day till he is tame. good luck and congrats on the new addition
i was going to basically say everything you said........except that im not an expert & i didn't work in a pet shop or anything i just raised them & read a hamster book or two
Dwarf hamster, and Chinese hamsters are very social creatures. they love to socialise, and should be housed in pairs or groups... Syrian hamsters are the solitary ones. Dwarf hamster(come in various colors) These hammies come in two types, Campbells russians dwarfs: and Roborovsky: Chinese hamster(come in various colors) They have longer tails but are fairly small: This syrian hamster(come in various colors and hair types) they are the largest hamster available.. commenly called "Teddy bear hamster, Black bear hamster, Honey bear hamster, Panda bear hamster, or Regular hamster": Hope that helped.. And in case anyone was wondering.. NO you should'nt mix Chinese and Dwarf hamsters together, and NO you shouldent mix Syrian hamster with any other rodents they are VERY aggressive.
Out of the 30 or so hamster books I've read, only a couple were actually knowledgeable. Alot of them said that syrians could be housed together, and showed pics. Also alot of books were not properly informed about breeding, housing, and diet.. which was a huge pissoff..
both the books i read said that you couldn't have two teddy bear hamsters together... one time when i was younger i had a hamster named...hill or 2-dot or something & i fed her ALL treats & tehn she died & i read the back of the bag of food & it said "should not exceed fourty percent of diet" i cried for days
LOL Do you know what kind of hamster you have ? I have two syrian golden hamsters. What do you have syrian, dwarf?? Anyway this happen to me aswell. What you need to do is if you just got him let him be for a few days b/c he needs to get addapted to his new enviroment . Next in a few days wear some gloves if you think he'll bite and take him out of his cage for a hour or so and talk to him and handle him gently. If you repeat this process within the coarse of three or four weeks your new hamster should become adapt to your handling him and let you pick him up anytime. Get back to me on this alright. Hope it works it did for me. Also I suggest hand giving him some small treats . You can get these at any local pet store. I suggest these my hamster's love them.
I got my dwarf hamster when he was a baby, and have had him for a year. Should I get him a playmate- or do you think he's too accustomed to having his place to himself by now...? Would he simply *not fight* with it--- or would he actively enjoy having another hamster around?
I do know that dwarf hampsters prefer the company of another dwarf hamster. they are highly social and like to live in pairs.... maybe not true for all hampsters but dwarf hammies do like to have friend. ophelia id say to get him a buddy.... even though he might be used to being alone he would still probably be happier since he is a social hammie. they do like to play alot and sometimes it can look like they are fighting but *most* times they are actually playing.
Hmm yeah, can't see why it wouldn't work out. As you say dwafs are sociable. Everything about bonding that I know relates to rabbits. Similiar principle though I guess... Put their cages side by side so they can get used to the sight of each other. Then gradually give them more time together in a neutral area. Just a few minutes to start with trhen build up until they can be trusted together. Bit of a scuffle is to be expeted (gotta work out who's boss) but don't let them hurt each other. Definetly no just dump them in a cage together and hope for the best. There's bound to be other info on the net. Good luck
