Please Help, hamster is biting me

[Addison Hearn]

Hello everyone, i have only ever had 2 hamsters before my current one( Sahara ) and my old one who passed 2 weeks ago ( Scruffy ) The thing i need help with is that my new hamster has been fine with me until yesterday, i started to tame her by hand feeding her well 2 days ago she was fine and would even eat from my palm and let me take her out for cuddles, but yesterday i found that she had pulled a blanket into her cage so i went about removing it when she came running to my hand, i thought she was just interested but then she bit me on my little finger, this caused me to fling her a bit(not on purpose i was just startled) so i gave her a treat, later that day i went to hand feed her again and it was fine when i was doing it by holding it but then when i switched to palm she ran up to me and ignored the treats and went straight for my finger and bit me, this has caused me to get weary of her so i started hand feeding her through the bars in her cage, she would happily take the treats but now if i hold my finger out to say hello through the bars she goes to bite my finger, i dont think she is doing it to harm as she goes slow about it so i think she might be confusing my finger with a treat or do you think she is doing it to actualy hurt me? i dont really know as she is the complete opposite to my old syrian, what can i do to stop this and why do think she is doing this?

[Thin Lizzy]

What kind of blanket is it? I wouldn't recommend using them.
Because you removed the blanket, you've taken away her smell, she will have marked it and for you to take it away she's feeling a bit nervous/scared.
You should maybe go back to the start and try the tissue trick, by leaving it up your sleeve for a couple of hours or more, then placing it in her cage, she'll sniff it through curiousity and probably shred it up and use it, this let's her get use to your smell and when you do put your hand in her cage rub your hands on her substrate. Speak to her and encourage her and praise her.
Then start introducing treats to accept from your fingers and if she does praise her and tell her what a good girl she is. She just needs to get use to you and trust you.

[cypher]

Something about that blanket seems to have really upset her, seems she seriously wanted to keep it in her cage! You do need to be very careful about having anything within reach that they can drag in through the bars.
Sh'e probably been unsettled by the whole episode especially being very new, I'd go back to the beginning with taming & start over tbh, don't try to rush her,I agree with Lizzy that the tissue trick could really help. Maybe start offering her the odd treat in a small bowl so she can't bite your fingers until she settles a bit then try hand feeding again.

[Piebald]

Do all the above and then slowly begin re-introducing your hand -- just for a look and a sniff at first, and if that goes well a little longer each day-- but the back of your hand at first not the fingers which she has now associated with the blanket theft/fling episode. She needs to forget that incident over time and replace it with new pleasant experiences. Don't worry, take your time and she will be good again. She is just protecting herself as anyone would.