Hamster aggression? :(

Prinze Burnzo · 08-10-2013, 03:31 AM

Hi there, i seem to be having a little problem with my hamster right now. I moved him into a zoozone2 last Tuesday, and ever since he has seemed happy and loved his cage. He loved it so much it was hard to get him out! He especially loves his flying saucer which he seems to run at 100mph lol! He has plenty to do in there.. A seesaw, chew sticks, things to climb on and go through. He would wear himself out on the wheel and curl in the corner and sleep. Which was nice for me because it meant I could sleep. I also take his wheel out when I sleep... But he never seemed to mind as I sleep about 4-5am anyway.

But last night was different. He had his wheel in there at the time... But i heard a funny noise. When I looked he had started chewing the plastic on the cage. I saw this as he was bored so i bought him out. I put him in his ball... Which he ran in for a couple of minutes before he started to bite the ball... So I took him out and put him in his playpen. He then started trying to climb out of that and then started to chew the metal bars of the playpen. So I picked him up and put him back in his cage as I felt he was in a destructive mood. All night after that he was trying to get out of the cage.. Trying to climb the sides and standing on his house to try and get to the wire. I found this odd as he never seemed too bothered before.

Then this morning..I opened his cage and moved some stuff about... Including putting back his wheel... Which is a normal thing I do. But this morning... He ran over and he bit my Finger really hard. It wasn't a nibble... Or a testing bite... It was a full on big bite which made my finger bleed. It obviously hurt... But not more than my feelings honestly

. I give him everything... Spent so much money and try to spend as much h time as I can with him... But he doesn't seem happy. Also he has never bitten me before... Apart from a little nibble when
I first got him.... And it wasn't aggressive then..

I am sorry for the long post... But i was wondering if anyone could help me to know what's going on with him... How i can maybe improve as an owner?

Thank you

POLAR WHITES · 08-10-2013, 03:36 AM

has he got plenty of chew toys ?have a look at his teeth make sure they are ok. my hamster love to chew the plastic on the zoo zones, I fix the holes with washers, Hows his health ? sudden changes in behaviour can be an indication of some thing not being quite right,

Prinze Burnzo · 08-10-2013, 04:08 AM

I honestly haven't looked at his teeth... I don't think he is confident enough for me to look at then still bit i can try to have a look tonight. His health seems fine... I see no change in that sense.. But i can't see what else can be wrong really. I noticed he sometimes gets worked up and starts to run everything like scent marking. But i didnt see that last night.

Do you have any suggestions why his behaviour could change? I'm a bit scared to put my hand in the cage again

Also he has plenty of chew toys... I even got an edible house... And wooden objects instead of plastic, apart from flying saucer, so 80% of things in there is chewable really.

POLAR WHITES · 08-10-2013, 04:20 AM

If you are scared of him until you get your confidence back wear leather or gardening gloves as he wont be able to bite though these to hurt you.
Unsure why he might of changed in his behaviour, has his food been changed, all I can think of is that he might be in pain, maybe just phone the vet to get a bit of advice

Prinze Burnzo · 08-10-2013, 04:32 AM

No i havent changed his food. Just regular hamster mix with a seed bar is all he has really. I hope he isnt in any pain

. He does seem frustrated or something. I will call vets later. Thank you so much for your help

racinghamster · 08-10-2013, 10:39 AM

Hi. I noticed that you mentioned `putting his wheel back in`....do you remove his wheel during the night? I wonder if he`s missing that need to run and run and might be frustrated? When I took on my nephew`s Syrian (his son became allergic to him....well, that was the story anyway..!) I bought him a Savic Mickey 2XL cage and a senior wodent wheel. He was never taken out to run about. He wasn`t a Syrian who loved being handled anyway although he did tolerate it. He was never bitey or nasty at all.

Some Syrians can become very active and crave attention and if they don`t get it, they can become destructive. This isn`t your fault, so don`t feel that you are to blame for his change in behaviour, although switching their cage can induce stress in some hamsters.

I would advise taking a wee step back here as you don`t want another bad bite like that. I know what a Syrian bite feels like, believe me! I was bitten by a Syrian as a child and it took me a while to get over it.

Looking at it from your hamster`s point of view, he`s obviously not happy with too many changes, so....here is what I suggest:

1. Give him a layout in his cage and keep it simple. Don`t put anything in where he can easily reach the Zoozone grill.
2. Only interact with him while he is inside the cage and while feeding, changing his water. Let him settle again and don`t pay him too much attention.
3. Syrians usually like a routine, so they like their sleep during the day, so try and get him used to this. Only interact with him once he`s fully awake and alert.
4. Tell him he`s a good lad and offer a few treats but if he reacts as if he`s going to bite or charge at you, just leave him alone.

Baby steps and allowing him no rope to be destructive, but do allow him his wheel 24/7 and places like an up-ended tissue or tea box where he can sit inside and have a wash or a treat. Syrians appreciate small pieces of raw vegetables like carrot, broccoli or cucumber. They also like a little bit of sweet corn from the cob.

Hope this helps.

Prinze Burnzo · 08-10-2013, 03:42 PM

I understand about the wheel...but he was doing all this that I mentioned then the wheel was still in his cage. I took him out to run in the ball or something but he didnt care

.

Thing about his wheel, I hate to take it out but I honestly cant sleep at night with him running on it

. It is a flying saucer but they are not silent at all. I cant move his cage coz it is quite big and I have nowhere to put it. I was almost tempted to sleep downstairs last night because of the noise

.

I do give him vegetables every now and then, but I have noticed he hardly eats any of the food in the bowl. And he runs so much on the wheel, but he doesn't look skinny to me. I feel he suddenly dislikes my company now, he doesn't walk on my hand or come over to me as much anymore which makes me kinda sad

.

I don't want to regret getting him, but it is becoming harder to deal with things. I know he needs his wheel as night but then I cant get any sleep

. I just dont know what to do...

gutterglitterxx · 08-10-2013, 05:31 PM

Could there be something wrong with the axle of the saucer? I only ask because I have 3 hamsters with 3 wodent wheels and 3 saucers in my bedroom but noise hasn't been a problem. I hardly even hear them running, like, ever. And I'm a terrible sleeper!

Just a thought...

Prinze Burnzo · 08-10-2013, 06:12 PM

Well...Im not sure but I have tried the Vaseline and tissue trick...which helped slightly...but its mainly his feet on it. I dunno what he does but he must stamp on it and make a racket as he is running on it....and also runs really really fast.

Im wondering if it is because he has the big 12 inch one? I can also see it kinda...not straight as it spins around...so I'm not sure really. he runs so fast also that it rattles the cage and I have to put something heavy on it to absorb the sound of rattling bars.. ^^

racinghamster · 08-11-2013, 12:57 AM

Thing is with Syrians, is that they are large hamsters and any wheel they run on is likely to make some noise. I do sympathise with being able to sleep through that! My Syrian (RIP) was kept downstairs in the living room when I had him, so he played on his senior wodent wheel but he wasn`t overly mad on wheel running as he got older.

The flying saucers are not the quietest. I have the 6.5" inch ones and I find that if the base isn`t sitting flat and secure, that has a rattling effect on the saucer itself. But it`s trial and error with them all the same.

If your Syrian`s cage is in your bedroom, there is only the option of keeping his cage in another room, but I know that can`t always be done because of the cage size. I only keep dwarf hamsters now so they don`t tend to be a noisy anyway. Although I suppose that depends on the dwarf!

Sorry I can`t be of more help than that. Hamsters like to play on wheels.