Problem is my mom and brother want to hold her and i held her a few times knowing i should let her get used to her cage but she was on the wheel and everything. When i took the top of her aquarium to pet her, she went into a corner, behind her wheel. I am afraid that she doesn't like me already because we held her. Everyone together probably held her 4 times today. Do you think it's something else. She was napping most of today (as they do ) so i had to wake her up. Now she is awake but isn't eating out of her food bowl or drinking. I'm not sure she knows where it is because i gave her 3 (cheerio shaped) pieces of food out of my hand and she was nibbling on them so i think shes hungry. I showed her the food bowl but all she did was sniff it and walk away. What do you suggest i do? Its the same food the rescue gave but the water bottle is different. I'm actually afraid its a bit too low but still, shouldn't she be trying to drink from it? She was fine at the rescue and she was drinking from a water bottle there. The rescue had hanging stand while im using suction cups. (i don't like them so much because the sipper hit lays against the wall of the tank.) What should i do?
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Last night she was running on her Comfort Wheel (which i will probably replace because it is a bit loud). Then this morning i heard and saw her chewing on the nozzle of her water bottle. Like i said before i was happy because she finally started eating and drinking. It was worrying me though because it seems that she was chewing on it because she couldn't get water. There is an igloo, a nest toy, a salt lick, 2 chew sticks, and a wheel in her 20 gal long aquarium so i don't think she did because she was bored. I went up to the cage and squeezed the bottle a little to give her water but the chew stick i put behind the water bottle to stop it from laying on the glass wall, fell and scared her. I notice when she gets scared she hides in her igloo or in the corner behind her wheel. I feel bad because every time i try to help her i end up hitting her in the head with something or scaring her . SInce i was afraid she didn't drink any water (it was still very full, almost to the top, i put a little ceramic bowl in there and squeezed some water into it. What do you think i should do next? This is my first hamster and i don't want her to hate me. My family isn't to much help because they are acting like 2 year olds always wanting to hold it. any help appreciated=D
If she won't eat , you can drizzle a tiny amount of extra virgin olive oil on top of the food. (If that doesn't help, call a pet store; They will know what to do)
It's good that you don't change her original food, she could just be a bit nervous. Probably if she isn't eating in the next couple of days bring her to the vet.
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Try not holding her for awhile, but continue to pet her, have her get used to human contact before you hold her.
Holding a hamster to long could cause her to get stressed, especially since you just got her. Maybe, just give the vet a call see what they think.
It depends of your breed of hamster if its a chinese hamster they hate being picked up. i have two chinese hamsters and everytime i try and pick them up they run away but i just catch them and pick them up anyway and feed them a treat so they will like you more. mine never bite
Its ok she is probably just scared and disoriented. She will be able to smell the food and water and will instinctively know where it is. She probably drank last night, mine doesnt drink in the day. She might not be able to get to the water sipper but bowls are not an option because they get contaminated too quickly. Get her a hanging stand or a cage with bars so you can use a normal one. Even my dwarf hamster cant get out of a mice cage lol the bars are too close together.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com I know its hard but you need to leave her completely alone for at least a day or two. You are frightening her and if you dont stop picking her up she will bite. Hamsters should be asleep for most of the day and you cant keep waking her up to hold her, its bad for her. A couple of time a day is fine but only for a few minutes. Then just reach in and offer her a treat. A piece of cheese would be good. Let her take it and leave her alone to eat it. That way she wont be afraid of being picked up every time she sees you. When she is comfortable taking the food, reach in, pick her up and then offer the food. If she wont take it just hold her for a few minutes then put her back and give her the food. You need to stop your family from disturbing her too. Hamsters like tunnels and things to crawl through so maybe get her one?
If you keep trying to handle her while she is scared of you though you will make things worse. Remember that daytime is the middle of the night to them and you are all giants. Wouldnt you be scared if some giant speaking a foreign language woke you up to hold you. they dont understand that you wont hurt them.
