I have a teddy bare hamster born Feb 28 so almost 16 weeks. He will take treats but won't get on my hand. If I put the ball up to the cage door his has no problem getting right into it . Now his sleeping habit has change to up at 12am to 6:30am. He doesn't want to be touched he is so jumpy. I don't get it, my son and I had one hamster before we got this one and coco liked to spend a lot of time with us and he use to follow us. Coco was so good we could let go on the floor till my son wasn't watching and stepped on him which broke both of hearts we had him only for 2 1/2 months. Then we got rusty he was a little older because he was fighting with the smaller ones when we went to buy one. We brought him home and gave him space but just can't seem to bond with him I'm almost ready to give up? Can anyone help me?

Here is a great source of information - Hamsters : The Humane Society of the United States

What does you are "about to give up" mean? I do animal rescue. Right now my local SPCA has several that the owners "gave up on," as well as one with a broken leg -- from being unattended and stepped on. I am presuming it will die.

Many hamsters are skittish. It's normal. If he wasn't "conditioned" from the time he was a baby then he will probably always be scared. However, at 4 months, maybe if you still work with him, he will be OK. No loud noises, no screaming or yelling, no forcing your hand into his face... calm, soothing. Give him treats and slowly pet him while doing it.

Beyond that, if it doesn't work after a few weeks doing this a few times a day, he's probably just going to be scared all the time.

With that said... so what? So you can't hold him... big deal. I have had hamsters before that weren't much for the holding thing. They're fragile animals and not toys anyway so what do you really need to do with them? You take care of them, watch them play (or sleep since that seems to be what most of them truly love) and that's about it. They are not dogs or cats... they are rodents.

I mean give up in trying to bond with him since he doesn't seem to like us much but we take good care of him. He has two cages so he has enough room for his toys, litter box, and a little area that has sand to dig in and we give him fresh food and water every day. I picked him because the pet store was going to separate him since he was the older one and if someone didn't buy him soon he would become a feeder and I could let that happen. I just don't know why he doesn't want us to hold and pet him? We have been patience and like I said he will come to the cage door for his treats and once in awhile will take it out of my hand. Also when I put the ball up to cage he totally get in with no problem. When we put him in the play pin he seem nervus and tries to get out. I don't know what to try now since his sleeping habit has changed that he wakes up at 12am to 6:30am.

You have to keep this in mind... he is just a hamster... it is not that he doesn't like you... he is tiny, he is by nature a skittish animal. It's nothing personal. Some hamsters are calm... many are not and have a hard time dealing with people.

I have had hamsters, rats, mice, guinea pigs, gerbils... Most of these animals are like this. I have had some that were perfectly fine with being handled and then I have had others that were so scared that they would bite. Unfortunately, you can't really know what you got until you've had them for a while.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

Here is a great source of information - Hamsters : The Humane Society of the United States

What does you are "about to give up" mean? I do animal rescue. Right now my local SPCA has several that the owners "gave up on," as well as one with a broken leg -- from being unattended and stepped on. I am presuming it will die.

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Hi
I answered your question but it in the answers below this is my first time and didn't reply correctly. All help is welcome

Hamsters are nocturnal, meaning they are awake all night, so your hamster is doing what hamsters do. I've had friendly ones and skittish ones -- it all depends on how much they were handled as babies and also on their personalities.

Let him be who he is. Let him enjoy his toys and living space and food and fresh water.

I'll PM Alty, one of our members who knows all about hamsters, to give her input.

I really have nothing to add, Odinn and WG said it all.

Think of it this way. Hamsters are prey animals. In other words, they're the animals bigger animals eat. That fear is ingrained. There are no hamsters that actually enjoy being held by a huge scary human. Many will learn to tolerate it, but they much rather be alone in their space.

A few things to keep in mind. When you go to pick him up, always lay your hand flat and allow him to come to you. Scooping a hamster up is very frightening for the hamster, it's like an owl's claw coming for him.

Most of all, remember that some hamsters take more time to learn to trust humans than others. The fact that he does occasionally take food from your hand, and gets into his ball without trouble, is a good sign. Keep spending time with him, offer treats he can't resist, and when he's consistent with taking them, move them further up your hand, forcing him to climb on to get the treat. The first few times he does that, don't move your hand, just allow him to have his treat and get used to the feel of being on the hand of a scary predator (sadly that's what we humans are to them).

He may never be completely tame, but there are still many ways to enjoy having him as a pet.

I'd love a picture. :)