My Hamsta

Rabbit Talk  Forum

Help Support Rabbit Talk Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

funnies50

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 17, 2015
Messages
1,129
Reaction score
0
Location
Southern California
He's a robo dwarf. Very temperamental and grouchy. Doesn't like to be touched, held, or even looked at. Tips? :x
Posted a pic of him under the MY OTHER PETS gallery, check it out.
Does anybody know how to train old and grumpy Robo hamsters?
 
Does he have a wheel to run on? A tired hamster is a happy hamster :)

I don't know what your feed him but hamster seed mixes usually have too much fat so I would feed him a rodent pellet instead of the mixes
 
Dood":2anl7kao said:
Does he have a wheel to run on? A tired hamster is a happy hamster :)

I don't know what your feed him but hamster seed mixes usually have too much fat so I would feed him a rodent pellet instead of the mixes

Yeah, he has a wheel and pellets. :cry: But he's still grumpy. And he's fat anyways.
 
Little pets like hamsters often bite because they feel threatened.

It can be a response to having been grabbed and picked up, because to a small rodent...that can be a terrifying experience.

If you interact with him gently for a while without trying to pick him up, giving him favorite food and stroking him very softly with a finger tip, he may settle down and start to trust you, and once he trusts you he may even climb into your hands willingly.

I had some pretty friendly hamsters when I was a kid. :)
 
Robos are especially hyper and prone to aggression. It's really hard to retrain a biting hamster in their short lifespan. I don't even bother. If I want tame hamsters I breed my own because pretty much the only place to get hamsters are the mills selling to petstores and not handling them as babies. Some day I will make it to the national rodent show to buy from breeders when it comes near me again. You can try giving 1 seed or nut chip at a time and make him keep coming back for more but robos are so small it's hard to feed them little pieces that won't take them long to eat without getting your fingers nipped. Putting stuff on a spoon can work with some small animals instead of feeding from your hand. Biting the spoon also isn't very comfortable or satisfying so sometimes it can deter them. Hamsters and gerbils also can enjoy many insects sold for reptiles.

Personally I will only feed a high quality mix. Hamsters and gerbils evolved to forage a mix of food items and pellet often are not formulated with the ingredients they would normally have in a loose diet. Harry or hazel hamster food has always been listed as one of the best and you can add some hay (this is controversial with some) and small amounts of fresh food. Chunks of stem and leaf of common herbs like cilantro, parsley, or mint, cut up cranberries, and carrot peelings work well. The only downside of a good mix is that you have to be careful they eat all of it. It takes practice to know exactly how much your hamster is eating and not make them go hungry or find large stashes when you clean the cage.
 
akane":12emoiay said:
Robos are especially hyper and prone to aggression. It's really hard to retrain a biting hamster in their short lifespan. I don't even bother. If I want tame hamsters I breed my own because pretty much the only place to get hamsters are the mills selling to petstores and not handling them as babies. Some day I will make it to the national rodent show to buy from breeders when it comes near me again. You can try giving 1 seed or nut chip at a time and make him keep coming back for more but robos are so small it's hard to feed them little pieces that won't take them long to eat without getting your fingers nipped. Putting stuff on a spoon can work with some small animals instead of feeding from your hand. Biting the spoon also isn't very comfortable or satisfying so sometimes it can deter them. Hamsters and gerbils also can enjoy many insects sold for reptiles.

Personally I will only feed a high quality mix. Hamsters and gerbils evolved to forage a mix of food items and pellet often are not formulated with the ingredients they would normally have in a loose diet. Harry or hazel hamster food has always been listed as one of the best and you can add some hay (this is controversial with some) and small amounts of fresh food. Chunks of stem and leaf of common herbs like cilantro, parsley, or mint, cut up cranberries, and carrot peelings work well. The only downside of a good mix is that you have to be careful they eat all of it. It takes practice to know exactly how much your hamster is eating and not make them go hungry or find large stashes when you clean the cage.

Okay. Thanks so much guys :) <br /><br /> __________ Fri Apr 24, 2015 12:51 pm __________ <br /><br /> Is there a way to pet him, or a way to pick him up?
Egg won't let me touch him at all, even when he's eating. He used to be a lot better, but now :?
So ya, just curious. Cause he's small and he's fast despite his fatness.
 
In my opinion... hamsters really aren't very trainable. If you're interested in getting another hamster at any point, I'd make sure you get a friendly hamster to start out with. Dwarf hamsters in general aren't exactly known for their geniality. I'd suggest a Syrian/teddy bear hamster. They tend to be more laid back than dwarf hamsters (it does depend on the individual hamster).
When we got our last hamster, we went to three different pet stores - and then back again to one of them, to make sure we got the friendliest hamster we could. There's no shame in buying hamsters from pet stores, as far as I'm concerned. We took quite a bit of time handling the hamsters. The one we ended up with has never bitten us on purpose. Again, it really depends on the hamster; a few of the Syrian/teddy bear hamsters we looked at grunted at us and literally leaped out of our hands.
 
Thanks! Yeah, cuz he's not too young ... and by this time I feel like I'm just getting bitten for nothing. I got him last August, I think, and he used to be quite a bit more friendly, so I thought that was kind of odd. :furious: :chair: :rant:
 

Latest posts

Back
Top