# Is this normal?!? Please help!x



## SummerRose17 (Sep 4, 2019)

Hi everyone!!

I have a Syrian, who I bought from the pet shop around 4 ish months ago. Freddie is a lovely strain, although the doesn’t like humans. He doesn’t bite, and his isn’t nasty at all! He just loves his own company I think...
I talk to him all the time and feed him treats through the bars to interact with him. He doesn’t like me touching him or picking him up, i don’t think. When I stoke him, he bends his body closer to the ground to avoid being you touched, and when I hold him, he’s not calm, he runs around. I think he got stressed when I used to pick him up, so I don’t pick him up or touch him anymore. He gets comfortable in my presence sometimes when it is only me, as I talk to him and he will always freeze, but after a while he does his own thing again and doesn’t mind me... but this happen rarely. Most times, he will wait until I’ve gone away from the cage, or to bed before he comes out of his nest where he hides. I feel bad for him being in his cage all the time, but he has a huge cage with lots of enrichment, and I always give him things to do eg new toys, cardboard puzzles etc. I always offer him to come out his cage but he either goes back into his nest or comes to the open door, sniffs whatever i have, and walks off bless him! Does this sound normal? Should I keep being this way with him and keeping limited interaction or try to push him out of him comfort zone to become tame? 

Sorry this is so long! Any advice would mean the world to me!


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## Rafa (Jun 18, 2012)

It does sound normal. Syrians are solitary creatures.

They do have different personalities and some are more outgoing than others.

You may find he becomes more relaxed as time goes on.

Just carry on the way you are.


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## Smolmaus (Oct 3, 2019)

It's not unusual for pet shop syrians to be shy and nervous. 4 months is a little long to still be warming up to you but not a crazy long time. 

I agree keep doing what you're doing and see if he comes around. I wouldn't push him out of his comfort zone more than a very little, you want him to trust you and pushing him might have the opposite effect. If he takes treats from your hand then keep doing that. If he doesn't then find a treat delicious enough that he can't just walk away! I find tiny bits of cheese, dried apple or plain cooked chicken are good. Even the commercial yoghurt/ choc drops won't do any harm to get him started. I find feeding them out of my hand is helpful too, once they get bored after a minute or two I scatter what they haven't eaten. When they're distracted by food you can stroke them softly. 

None of my syrians have ever liked being held tbh. Wanting to run around and explore and get into mischief is perfectly normal. You get the odd snuggly boy who will be happy to sit on your lap but that's not very common. So long as they're not terrified of you and can be scooped up for a very quick health check then that's enough really.


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

The way to most animals hearts is through their stomach! Find something that he really likes and place it on your hand and see if he will come over to take it. The food will act as a reward for him, he'll eventually realise that the big scary human isn't that bad and isn't going to hurt him. Be prepared for some nips though as your hand will smell of food. Try not to flinch, stay calm as the act of pulling your hand from underneath him while shouting ouch will scare him. 

Another tip, although you may already know hamsters are prey animals so if you pick him up never do so from above, scoop from below instead. Also never trap him in a corner to pick him up. Hammy's would rather run away from a threat, however if trapped, they will bite because they are scared. Let him come to you.

I would say keep putting your hand in the cage for a couple of minutes each day, put some food there, eventually he will get curious. There are loads of videos on YouTube but they are essentially the same, the only way to tame them is to put your hand in there. He's just scared this is probably the most human interaction he has ever had. Patience is key.

I got my roborovski hamster little under 3 weeks ago and he was around 3 months old and never handled. Robos are a bit harder to tame as they are so small, fast and skittish, while Syrians are a lot easier so in theory that will work in your favour. 

Niko will now let me pick him up and pet him, it does appear that he enjoys my company, even rushes over to the door to come out when I open it. This is probably because I learnt early on that he LOVED pumpkin seeds. Within a week he'd take food from my hand. 

Please know that each hamster is different whether it'd be a Russian, Syrian or roborovski. Taming wise they are all the same, at what speed they go at is all them. Once you get through the initial barrier it normally gets a lot easier from then on so don't give up on him. Can we have updates of his triumphs?


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## SummerRose17 (Sep 4, 2019)

Hi everyone!

Thank you all so so much for you advice, I have been taking on board all your advice and trying to get a little further with Freddie! As it has been Halloween, I roasted the pumpkin seeds to give him as a treat and he is absolutely loving those, along with mealworms! Freddie has started to come up to the cage now when I am around as he knows he will get a treat. He also has came to see what I have for him for the past 2 days when I have woken up in the morning, therefore I have tempted him onto my hand and I have been handling him more, which makes me a lot happier! I have figured out, that is very happy being in his cage, but he also loves to explore! 

Once again, thank you all for your advice and taking your time to help me! Anymore advice would be great too! x


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