Brand new here...and another biting question..

[Coolbreeze]

Hello everyone. In June we bought our 6 year old daughter a dwarf hamster, (Fluffy). At the time the hamster was only 4 weeks old. Our daughter has done incredibly well taking care of her. She has handled her almost daily since we got her. Fluffy has never been a biter. Maybe a small nibble now and then. But last weekend, Morgan (daughter) had her out as usual...and Fluffy bit her hard twice. One drew a little blood. We always take the precautions. Wash hands before handling, no food smells, etc. We thought it was just something unusual. A couple days later she handled her and everything was fine. But a few days ago she bit her again hard. And also bit me. Now our daughter is afraid to handle her. I'm worried about her becoming untame. Any thoughts on why she might start biting suddenly?

Thank you in advance..

[LaGypsyEyes]

I dont think your dwarf hamster bit you and your daughter because she's becoming untame. Instead maybe its cause you startled her? Or maybe its cause you picked her directly up while she was in her cage. They become defensive only when those things occur.

[TiaMaria]

Thats really weird the only thing i would think of is she is in heat, because when females get into heat they get bitey, and the only reason this is, simply is that she is afraid of someone (a male) invading her territory, it could simply be the fact she was startled, or she didnt wash her hands as well as before..have u changed soaps lately? Handled any strong vegetables..like onions? Any other pets on her hands before touching the hammie? I need some more information to give out other answers.

[LuckyBunny888]

Try wearing gloves. By putting her back in her cage after she bit is like telling her that if she wants to go back into her cage she can get away with a bite and win. Just make sure to keep handling her.

[Coolbreeze]

First off I'd like to thank all of you who offered advice and suggestions. All of the advice was good and logical. And under normal circumstances would have worked well.

Unfortunately we discovered why Fluffy was biting. I'm sad to report that Fluffy died tonight.

I tried to handle her this morning because she was awake and running around her cage. But when I did she bit me very hard, and would not let go. She drew blood and I tried flipping her on the nose as suggested. Finally she let go. It was time to get our daughter off to school so I put her back in her cage. She was running around in the cage like a wild thing. Biting the cage bars, running the wheel. She acted like she was on speed. We also noticed that her back seemed slightly hunched, and her fur was a little ruffled looking.

At any rate at bedtime tonight we discovered that she was dead in her cage. Naturally Morgan is heart-broken.

This leads to another question. What could've caused her to die so suddenly? Someone may ask; Did we drop or sling her? No. Has she had a wet tail? Not sure. It didn't act like encephelitis. I had a hamster die of that. She didn't act the same way as he did. Is it possible that this could be something that is transferable to humans?

Thanks again for all your suggestions.