Hello,
I am currently raising a dwarf hamster who I have had for a month now. She is a good hamster but she bites from time to time. I thought she got used to her surroundings because I made sure to handle her every day (after a certain period of time once I got her). At first, when handling, she began to bite (not hard, just nipping but scary nonetheless), so I would wear gloves. Eventually I stopped wearing gloves and she seemed to get used to my touch. However, she just constantly seems scared. She doesn't want to go back into her cage when I take her out and when she is out, it's as if she runs for her life. She is always trying to find an escape and never wants to stay in my hands. Even when I put her down to explore different parts of the house she runs so fast and away from me to find an escape. She always lets me pet her and she realizes that my hands help her get out of her cage and keeps her from falling off places, but when she gets annoyed from the repetitive motion she nips me. She's not possessive or territorial over her cage or any of her toys. I bought her an extra cage and connected the two to make sure she didn't get cage rage and extra toys to try and alleviate boredom but she doesn't play with them. She doesn't even go on the hamster wheel. She hates the hamster ball too. I feel so bad because she is so scared and I just want her to realize that this is her home and she is safe. She had a cage mate in the store that she was with since birth, and I was so close to getting the both of them but I felt a bit overwhelmed. Now I am so nervous that this might be the reason she isn't calm and if I had just got them together they would both be better off. Any advice on how to calm her down?
