5 replies to this topic

[tauruii]

I've had my dwarf hamster, Luna, for about 2 weeks now. She no longer runs once she hears my voice, so I figured I could place my hand in there for her to probe when she's awake.
The only issue is.... she likes to nip. And often, her nipping turns into biting. 

I'm not sure if it's because she's still trying to get to know my scent or if she's still afraid. I've been putting tissues with my scent in the cage too.

When she does bite me, I slowly move my finger away, but then.... she bites my other finger ; n ;

Any advice on what I could do? Or should I just give her more time to adjust?

[Imogen]

Have you had anything to eat without washing your hands beforehand?

Hamsters have very good sense of smell, and my hamsters who are non-biters will occasionally go in for a harder 'nibble' which can be quite painful because they can smell food. It may also be out of curiosity.

I think you would be able to tell between a curious and aggressive hamster, I actually have a very very aggressive hamster who lunges at my hand and it's gotten to a point I have to pull things out with a long stick (such as shuffling his water bowl over to the front). He's in a vivarium, but he's being rehoused into a detolf tomorrow as it's open top and much much safer for both I and people (who petsit when I'm away) to attend to him. We're hoping though he will calm down and learn to socialize once he's been moved as we reckon the vivarium is the thing stressing him out.

On the other hand, I have a robo who joined my family about 3 weeks ago now who is a nibbler but it's between the boundaries of nibbling and biting. But it's obvious it's more out of curiosity like 'ooo, a thing I can bite'. It just takes time. It can appear things are moving on, which they are gradually but sometimes maybe we are a little too hasty and sometimes push our luck so just be patient.

[tauruii]

Have you had anything to eat without washing your hands beforehand?

Hamsters have very good sense of smell, and my hamsters who are non-biters will occasionally go in for a harder 'nibble' which can be quite painful because they can smell food. It may also be out of curiosity.

I think you would be able to tell between a curious and aggressive hamster, I actually have a very very aggressive hamster who lunges at my hand and it's gotten to a point I have to pull things out with a long stick (such as shuffling his water bowl over to the front). He's in a vivarium, but he's being rehoused into a detolf tomorrow as it's open top and much much safer for both I and people (who petsit when I'm away) to attend to him. We're hoping though he will calm down and learn to socialize once he's been moved as we reckon the vivarium is the thing stressing him out.

On the other hand, I have a robo who joined my family about 3 weeks ago now who is a nibbler but it's between the boundaries of nibbling and biting. But it's obvious it's more out of curiosity like 'ooo, a thing I can bite'. It just takes time. It can appear things are moving on, which they are gradually but sometimes maybe we are a little too hasty and sometimes push our luck so just be patient.

I hope your hamster being rehoused enjoys the detolf! That's very exciting!

Typically, I always wash my hands before placing my hand in there, but sometimes, I have a mealworm or her seed mix in my hand to entice her. That's most likely why there are times where she only nips vs nips turning into bites.

Thank you for the advice! I think she is more like how you describe your robo. She still listens for my voice and comes up to the front of the cage at times despite the nipping though, so it's progress! I'll be more patient.
 

[daisy~]

It's possible if she's used to getting food from your hand that she expects it to always have food, and if nipping a finger doesn't work to produce food, she'll bite a bit harder, or nip a different finger. You could try placing the food in front of her rather than feeding it from your hand for a few weeks, and see if that makes a difference.

Edited by daisy~, 14 March 2022 - 08:47 AM.

[tauruii]

It's possible if she's used to getting food from your hand that she expects it to always have food, and if nipping a finger doesn't work to produce food, she'll bite a bit harder, or nip a different finger. You could try placing the food in front of her rather than feeding it from her hand for a few weeks, and see if that makes a difference.

Ok, I'll try that! Thank you

[HedgehogsX2]

My hamsters do something similar. I have three in the same box now, and even when I had four previously, they would all come toward my hands and start licking and nibbling my fingers. They'll also all clamper on and over my hands and just get in my way whenever I want to clean their hide or wheel.
As if telling me, gently, to back off.

Unfortunately, they have drawn blood by biting my fingers 5 times in the last 4 days now, but they were never aggressive, atleast in my opinion. They must think I taste yummy. My hands are always washed, but I do think their previous owner mightve constantly hand fed them, which caused them to grow up with the idea that hands are food.