i have a Syrian hamster called Cub. ive had her for about 2 months but shes still biting me.
In total ive owned 5 Syrians, none have had a problem with me... Cub bites when you get her food bowl or try and adjust any of her cage. She'll bite you through the bars too and will bite you if shes awake when you try open her cage. However, once you get her out, shes as nice as pie. Happily lets you stroke her and play with her. Im kinda at a loss, i dont know what im doing wrong or how i can try tame her.
The other thing with Cub is the chewing of bars. Shes actually doing it that much her cheeks are cutting. She has chew toys and chew wood in her cage but she shows no interest. I of course have this problem with all my hamsters but they dont ever have cut up cheeks and its never as often as Cub.
How big is the cage, a syrian should have a cage with a floor space no smaller than the RSPCA suggested 75cm x 40 cm x 40 cm (29 ½ inches x 15 ¾ inches x 15 ¾ inches). Of course, bigger is always better.
Another thing is to put Cub into a cage without bars to chew. That means either a large tank (30 gallons minimum) or a cage made from a large, clear storage bin, known as a bin cage. Bin cages are the cheaper alternative of course.
My Syrian girl Moo, mega bar chewer, and she had chew toys , big wheel, and a big cage
But as soon as she went back in her cage... " chew chew chew"
You might try peanut butter on her chew toys.
It might work, it might not.
I agree with getting her into a none barred tank or bin cage as soon as you can. Some hamsters just want to chew bars and there is nothing that can be done.
My willow is the same so lives in a glass tank.
It might be that the cage is the issue, and that when you put your hand in, she perceives that as an invasion of territory, even when you go near it. I had a similar issue with our previous hamster -Ok for a few days then when he settled in, and I put my hand in to pick him up, he gave me such a bite -up on hind legs, head drawn back and then -BAM!
Your hamster is great out of the cage -maybe you could accept that you don't put your hand inside? She is female too, so maybe that makes them even more territorial.
Sorry this may not help much. I'm a pragmatist. You have control over one factor here -what you do and how you respond to the issue.