i dont think ferret likes me :( advice please!

[pinkpink33]

my hamster-lover friend from uni came round today to admire my hams and have a play with them. well, needless to say, ferret spent most of the time climbing around on her! i went to give her a sunflower seed and she chittered at me and walked away!
it seems im having more problems bonding with this hamster, i know i might be being paranoid, but she just doesnt seem to like me! my dwarfs bonded with me pretty quick, and i thought syrians would be even faster, but she just doesnt like me! if i put my hand in her cage for her to climb out, she'll ignore it or chitter, and then spend ages trying to climb out on her own.
my friend's hamster passed away of old age a few months ago, and she's in love with ferret, im considering letting her have her if she doesnt bond with me in the next month or so. i love little ferret, like i love all small animals, but she doesnt have fun with me :( i know my friend would give her a great home, but i would be sad to lose her.
i've tried sitting in the bath with her, giving her treats, letting her play on the floor with me sat on it, i let her out for hours a day, but nothing seems to be working! she's not aggressive towards me, but she doesnt seem to have warmed up to me, and she warmed up to my friend immedaitely, was even licking her hands like my dwarfs lick mine!

i wanted peoples' advice, opinions on this please. is it cruel for me to keep her when she likes someone else better? or is it cruel for me to give her to my friend, suggesting i dont love her enough?
does anyone have any other ideas on how to get her to warm up to me? i keep treats in my pockets for her, and i always wash my hands before trying to play with her after my dwarfs.
i know she'll have a good home with me, but would she be happier with my friend? she'd have the same amount of time out to play, and the same cage and toys etc.
i feel so bad for considering giving her up, but i want what will make her happiest.
i've had her for a month now, and she's 3 months old.

all advice welcome!

[llzlljoellzll]

i dont think you should give her up just be very ''hands on'' with her, keep picking her up, try offering her veg..
zuke didnt like being handled at first but now he'l stay in my hands while i stroke his back for 10 mins and now ive got him eating in my hand and taking food from me aswell, but hes still not 100% tame, hopefully soon.

[pinkpink33]

lol i am always hands on! but im going to give her a while longer, every ham is different :) so at least another month. just worried maybe she doesnt like me, the way i smell or something, after seeing her around other people :( this would make me sad.

[CookieDough24]

How long have you had Ferret? Did she come from a pet store where she might have been handled improperly?

I don't think you should give up yet either, keep trying, you'll get through to her eventually. Some hammies take longer to adjust than others, just be patient!

Good luck :)

[pinkpink33]

i've had her just over a month. she did come from a pet store, but she, an older ham (at 10 weeks) was chosen as she came out and climbed right up me. my pet store's pretty good, they often run out of animals as they dont keep them "in stock" or order in loads. they're the only pet store i've ever seen where the pets have toys and hidy-houses in their cages, and even sand-baths!
i guess it's just her personality, it just dis-heartens me that she likes other people a lot better than me, she even plays with my boyfriend, but not me :(

[CookieDough24]

A month is a relatively short time period for a hamster to gain complete trust of a human. Think about what they went through: a new home with new scents and sights, a new person(s), and other different animals. It would be all very frightening, even with the excellent care you seem to be giving her. It took my dwarf, Faline, almost 2 1/2 months to gain complete trust in me and walk on my hand to be let out. But on the other hand, my male, Raja, took only 2 weeks. It totally depends on the hammie. Like I said before, don't give up, it sounds like your trying all you can, hang in there a little more, and you should have a new best friend! :)

[pinkpink33]

i hope so :) i love having trust with my hammys! mitsy is so trusting, she went through an evil stage but i stuck by her and now she's the most loving hamster ever! when i get up in the morning she comes running out of her igloo making little excited squeaky sounds, it's so cute! though it's probably because i feed her every morning :/ lol!
i hope ferret learns trust in me, she's very sweet :)

[KOKKINIKLOSTI]

She will definately learn to trust you, just give her some more time! I understand what you are thinking because Clarabel is just like Ferret! With the difference that Clarabel doesn't like any human! She is over a year old and the pet store where i got her from was awfull! I have been having her for about 2 months, she was knocked-up when i got her, she was living with 4 males and 2 females and the cage didn't even have a wheel! Although she had a really hard time there she is starting little by little everyday to trust me! So, don't get discouraged by Ferret's behaviour and keep on the good work!

[pinkpink33]

thanks for the support :) i will hang in there!

[Sandy Da Cutie]

Aww definetly dont give ferret up! Your doing everything you could, and hams are all different. It took Sandy about a week, and Chino 2 weeks. Good Luck!

[pinkpink33]

ok, she's definitely staying with me! i guess i didnt bond with her like my dwarfs straight away, probably because dwarfs are just so small and helpless-seeming.
she's not really much friendlier, but we were playing and i've fallen in love! i cant believe now i considered giving her to my friend! even if she never likes me much, i want to keep her and make her happy with treats and play-times! it's not like she doesnt get enough attention!
so thanks for the advice, ferret's a keeper!

[CookieDough24]

That's great news, she'll give in to you soon, I can just feel it! ;)

[pinkpink33]

lol thanks :) she's having fun rolling around in her ball right now! well she's stuck with me so she better get used to it!

[Sandy Da Cutie]

Yay! Im happy for you :) She sure has a great owner, and should live a long happy life.

[pinkpink33]

aww thanks, that's sweet :)