Enough is enough!

[Chaos]

Hazel just drew blood by latching onto my finger. She was standing by the cage door so I was gonna let her out, instead she decided to attack. She's been getting worse with the taming thing, not better. Before she used to never bite, then very infrequently if I startled her, then only in the cage and now if she even sees my hand in the cage even if I'm only changing the food or taking Nutmeg (her cagemate, who's sweet and never bites) out. Seriously what do I do? I've had nippy hamsters before, I know they take time and patience and I'm fine with that but for her to run up to my hand and clamp down and draw blood, thats something I've never had to deal with. What can I do so she trusts me? I'd never give her up, but its not fair for her or Nutmeg to sit in the cage all the time.I wouldn't even mind if she was always this way but it seems she's getting worse not better!

[o0sapphirerat0o]

deal with the fact that you have a hamster that bites, and leave her alone, take the other one out to play when you can/want.

There is not much you can do.

[Zouave]

I assume she is a dwarf. Be glad she and her cagemate don't fight. I feel kind of sorry for dwarfs that nip a lot - they must have been very scared at one time. So I give them a safe home.

[SnowPrincess]

i woulden't leave her alone. maybe you can wear gardening gloves or something...but don't give up on the little sweetie. :)

and yeah, is she a dwarf? she sound's like one. try re-taming her. they can be a little harder to tame.

try talking to her and offering her treats...and always let her smell you before you go to pick her up. and if she bites it's ok...she's just afraid. which is ok, it isn't your fault.

try this at least 10-15 minutes a day. :cool:

i'm sure im time she will turn around. she just needs lots of love and patience.

[HammysRme]

I dont even think that they've been scared at one time in their lives or w.e... i think that sometimes they aren't too bright and don't know what they are doing so they do what their instinct tells them to do, protect yourself from the invader.

[Chaos]

Yep sorry she's a dwarf, I got her and Nutmeg at the same time, they've lived together the whole time and I've spent the same amount of time with both of them but she's still like that. I offer treat after treat, sunflowers, apple slices, cheerios, and she ignores the treat and chomps me. It just dosn't seem like she's afraid, because even if I'm no where near her and just filling the food bowl she runs up and bites. If she was always like that I would probably understand more, but it seems shes getting more aggressive instead of less.

I guess I'm just use to my syrians, sometimes I swear dwarves a whole different species. :p

[SnowPrincess]

lol, i know what you mean....i for the first time ever got dwarf hamsters about a year ago and i coulden't understand why i coulden't tame them.

then i found out how diffrent they are from syrains.... :rolleyes: i still love them and then i had to go into some serious taming.

then i was told they have to be re-tamed almost every day for like 10 minutes. because for some reason they go wild? i dunno.they really are diffrent from syrains.

i had to seperate them (they don't seem to like each other. even though they are sisters) but i had no more animal space in my room. but my sister had wanted a dwarf hamster anyway so the problem was solved. :p i still visit her...she's only a room away.

it's funny, the one i kept, Spice, is all lovey dovey one second and the next she tries to nip. i just learned to accept it.

Sugar, the one i gave my sister, is alot more laid back but tends to nip every now and then.

oops, there i go rambling....lol :p

good luck with your hamster...i hope she eventually stops the nipping.

[Chaos]

I was thinking about moving her to her own cage. I have a couple empty cages lying around. Perhaps the stress of living with another hamster is causing her to be aggressive? And if not I can still take the other one often without the fear of getting bitten. She could have been scared in the past, the only information I got was that they were 4-6 months old. Does anyone know if certain medical problems cause aggressiveness? Like diabetes for example. She has been drinking more then Nutmeg. Should I take her to the vet for a blood test? If theres nothing wrong with her I'll just have to deal with it, but it seems a bit soon to just give up and accept it. I've only had them about a month.

[Ahmed]

well i have 3 in one cage , 1 female and 2 males , one of the males is an Argente dwarf he is around 4 weeks old , everytime the other two try to play with him or pass by him he keeps on doing a strange squeaking and rolls on his back while closing his eyes i think he is trying to scare the other two hamsters , he also fights a lot with the female , but they never got hurt ,i also check them every hour if they have blood on them or marks so i can put each one in a cage alone , they r together for around a week now but i dont know why they cant play together or stop the fighting .


:rolleyes:

[cheekoandkeiko]

I've got 2 dwarves...both males. And one of them does the same thing... squeaking, rolling, and closing his eyes.... But I think mine does it because the other one is a little more dominant. Again, it's confusing though because sometimes he seems to be the instigator. The dominant one (keiko) will just wander around the cage and the smaller one (cheeko) will actually go up to keiko and start bugging him...nudging him and then rolling on his back and squeaking.... go figure.... I have no idea what's really happening but no one's getting hurt so I guess its okay!

[Ahmed]

I've got 2 dwarves...both males. And one of them does the same thing... squeaking, rolling, and closing his eyes.... But I think mine does it because the other one is a little more dominant. Again, it's confusing though because sometimes he seems to be the instigator. The dominant one (keiko) will just wander around the cage and the smaller one (cheeko) will actually go up to keiko and start bugging him...nudging him and then rolling on his back and squeaking.... go figure.... I have no idea what's really happening but no one's getting hurt so I guess its okay!

yeah am not sure also whats happening its kind of strange also , well no one is getting hurt that is the important part :hypnotize i think i am getting another female in the cage so they would be two couples(two males and two females) .

[hamsterhaven]

Does anyone know if certain medical problems cause aggressiveness? Like diabetes for example. She has been drinking more then Nutmeg. Should I take her to the vet for a blood test?

That could be a possibility. It may sound strange, but my husband is a diabetic and when his sugar gets elevated I leave him alone. He has a tendency to "flip" like a light switch and you usually don't see it coming. It could have the same effect on hammies.

I have 2 hamsters. One is very aggressive and one is not. I know you have probably been told all the tricks to getting them to not bite, but here is just a few reminders.
1. Make sure your hands are clean with no smell of food. If you are offering them treats then unfortunately it may still cause them to bite. I would hold them for 10 minutes before offering them anything.
2. Everybody says use a toilet paper roll to get them out. It doesn't work on mine. I have to use a paper towel roll. It's longer, so she doesn't feel like she's getting in it and coming straight out onto your hand.
3. When I stick my hand in the cage to change food or something, she usually attacks. It's a territorial thing, I think. The male has watched her do it for so long, I think he thinks its a game, because he does it now too. I have a couple of cages that are connected by tubes, so I try to wait until she is in another part before I stick my hand in.
4. Never try to mess with them when they are waking. They are at their grumpiest. I try to "baby talk" to mine to get them up. Then they come to the cage door as if to say "okay, I'm ready". My husband, on the other hand, decided to open up the lookout when she was asleep. She woke up and latched onto his finger. It startled them both, and when my husband jerked back she went flying out of the cage. Believe me, he heard it from me. I was not happy.

[panda22]

My hamster used to bite all the time then I moved his cage into another room and he stopped biting. Prehaps you need to change your hammies environment?

[Chaos]

That could be a possibility. It may sound strange, but my husband is a diabetic and when his sugar gets elevated I leave him alone. He has a tendency to "flip" like a light switch and you usually don't see it coming. It could have the same effect on hammies.

I have 2 hamsters. One is very aggressive and one is not. I know you have probably been told all the tricks to getting them to not bite, but here is just a few reminders.
1. Make sure your hands are clean with no smell of food. If you are offering them treats then unfortunately it may still cause them to bite. I would hold them for 10 minutes before offering them anything.
2. Everybody says use a toilet paper roll to get them out. It doesn't work on mine. I have to use a paper towel roll. It's longer, so she doesn't feel like she's getting in it and coming straight out onto your hand.
3. When I stick my hand in the cage to change food or something, she usually attacks. It's a territorial thing, I think. The male has watched her do it for so long, I think he thinks its a game, because he does it now too. I have a couple of cages that are connected by tubes, so I try to wait until she is in another part before I stick my hand in.
4. Never try to mess with them when they are waking. They are at their grumpiest. I try to "baby talk" to mine to get them up. Then they come to the cage door as if to say "okay, I'm ready". My husband, on the other hand, decided to open up the lookout when she was asleep. She woke up and latched onto his finger. It startled them both, and when my husband jerked back she went flying out of the cage. Believe me, he heard it from me. I was not happy.


Yeah one of the reasons I asked was because my dad's a diabetic and when he flips I just try to stay out of his way. I thought perhaps hamsters could be like that too. She has been getting much better since I posted it, never bites out of the cage now and only nips my fingers instead of drawing blood. I haven't been doing anything different, just gently handling her for 15 minutes each day.