Biting campbell russian hamster

chase · 11-28-2007, 12:25 PM

Have always kept syrians and tamed them ok. But recently brought 2 campbells russian hamster. 1 is really sweet and never bites but the other keeps biting. has not drawn blood yet. Does anyone have any good tips to tame her. Starting to become frightened of being bitten by her.
Thanks

souffle · 11-28-2007, 01:08 PM

It sounds as if your hamster has cage aggression or 'cage rage' as we call it. She is guarding her territory. This is quite common in Campbells especially Argentes! You need to get her out using something like a ball/ice cream tub/ box or toilet roll tube. Take her and her cagemate well away from the cage to a soft low area to handle. An empty bath or large bed is ideal. You must always handle both together as must anyone else handling them or else you risk fighting problems with mixed scent.
Have a look here
http://www.hamstercentral.com/user.php? ... ticle&a=44

chase · 11-29-2007, 02:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by souffle

It sounds as if your hamster has cage aggression or 'cage rage' as we call it. She is guarding her territory. This is quite common in Campbells especially Argentes! You need to get her out using something like a ball/ice cream tub/ box or toilet roll tube. Take her and her cagemate well away from the cage to a soft low area to handle. An empty bath or large bed is ideal. You must always handle both together as must anyone else handling them or else you risk fighting problems with mixed scent.
Have a look here
http://www.hamstercentral.com/user.php? ... ticle&a=44

Thanks I will give that a go

Christine Yule · 12-01-2007, 07:37 AM

I have an Argente female who thinks she is a Rottweiler.

I can't even put my hand inside her cage without her literally attacking my hand! She makes hamburger out of my finger if she gets a good hold on me.

She will also bite me if I have touched any species of hamster, even if I handle her outside her cage.

I love her to peices, anyway.

I understand that she is just protecting her territory, like Souffle says.

To get her out of her cage I put a long plastic tube in her cage and let her walk up it and onto my freshly washed hands. Works everytime!

chase · 12-01-2007, 09:31 AM

She does bite and box me when she is in her cage so am picking her up from the cage in a tube. That bit is fine it is when she is out of her cage she will just bite and bite constantly.I got the 2 girls from a not very nice pet shop and wonder if the bity one is the mum of really friendly one, who to date has never ever bitten and loves to come out and play. love them both anyway.

Christine Yule · 12-01-2007, 11:08 AM

I have found that sometimes a Campbell pup, either male or female, will become very bitey, usually when they are about 3 or 4 weeks old. I don't think it means that they have been abused. I think they are just born that way. A responsible breeder won't use a hamster like that to breed because I believe that most breeders agree that a temperment like that is genetic.

I have bred 2 or 3 pups that developed that terrible bitey temperment and they stayed that way for their entire life. I handled them with gloves that they couldn't bite through. They were very unsociable and never changed no matter how much I handled them. I didn't treat them any different that my other Campbell's because I knew that they seemed to just to be born like that.

But I don't want you to assume that your hamster is going to be like that. I just wanted to let you know that with Campbell's their temperment is uncertain. I don't know if this applies to Winter Whites because I have never had any.

To compare Syrians with Campbell's, Syrians are only biters because they have been abused or otherwise treated poorly. If one is a biter, they can always be tamed by being treated gently. On the other hand, some Campbell's can't be.

That is my experience anyway but I don't know if everyone would agree with me.

My advice is to put on some gloves and keep trying to handle the bitey one to see if it might calm down and get used to it. If not, just love her anyway for being unique in her own way.

chase · 12-02-2007, 12:30 PM

Thankyou Christine. I have started using gloves to handle bitey as there is no improvement with her biting. The small one never ever bites and loves being handled. My husband isnt frightened of bitey so he handles her with bare hand and she bites him but not as much as me. There are not many breeders around here in Surrey so that is why I went to a pet shop, actually a not very nice pet shop. Thankyou for all your help.

souffle · 12-02-2007, 12:40 PM

I am glad to hear you are persevereing with bitey and I hope in time she will settle and become more friendly. What colour are the little ones and what are they called? We would love to meet them!

chase · 12-03-2007, 06:46 AM

They are called Ping and (Pong,bitey). Have no idea how to post photos. We also have a beautiful chinese hamster that we havent named yet (girl). Any ideas of a chinese name. She is really sweet and never ever bites.

Christine Yule · 12-03-2007, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chase

Thankyou Christine. I have started using gloves to handle bitey as there is no improvement with her biting. The small one never ever bites and loves being handled. My husband isnt frightened of bitey so he handles her with bare hand and she bites him but not as much as me. There are not many breeders around here in Surrey so that is why I went to a pet shop, actually a not very nice pet shop. Thankyou for all your help.

Your welcome and don't blame yourself for buying from a petshop. I know that for most people it is the only choice. But I am glad that she has found a good home with a kind and understanding 'mom' to take care of her.