Well all of a sudden..

Nyani8110 · 02-19-2015, 07:16 PM

Well I haven't posted since Laylen was sick so..

He is doing very well, he got all better and has been very tame and active. He let me hold him for periods of time, stroke him, et cetera. I gave him a new cage with a bunch of things to do in it, but he is still not content and needs to be let out when he wakes up. Now I try my best not to miss a beat when he gets up and play with him and let him run in his ball once he starts going to the bars of the cage. BUT. Something odd has been happening for the past few days.

He has just been biting me. Out of nowhere! Every time he gets the chance, whenever he sees my fingers. I wash my hands and make sure there's no scent so he's not tempted by lingering food and there he goes nibbling at me again! He's not biting hard, he has gotten to grab on tightly and pull. I have no clue why he started this all of a sudden. Any one have any idea. At all??

Thin Lizzy · 02-19-2015, 08:28 PM

When my youngest did this, I felt as though I'd taken a step backward with her, the reason for her strange behaviour was because of the water bottle, the spout ball thinghy was stuck and she had been without water for a day. She started attacking the water bottle after she tried to bite me and that's when I realised what had happened. The funny thing is after I replaced it with a spare and apologised she kissed my hand.
What I'm saying is check everythings working properly in his cage, check him over for any injury.
Could something have spooked him!

Nyani8110 · 02-19-2015, 08:37 PM

His food supply is good, his water is good. He doesn't seem to be having anything wrong with his body, but he has been drinking A LOT of water. Should we see a vet? I can't fully check him over without being bit. I'll try some gloves! Thank you for your concern and help!

Thin Lizzy · 02-19-2015, 08:45 PM

What type of hamster is he?

Nyani8110 · 02-19-2015, 08:55 PM

He is a Syrian hamster

Thin Lizzy · 02-19-2015, 09:05 PM

I think you probably need to step back and go slow with getting to know him. Have you tried putting a tissue up your sleeve for a couple of hours and then putting it in his cage, he'll sniff at it, hopefully using it for his bed, so when you go to his cage he'll recognise your scent, coax him with treats and praise him.

Nyani8110 · 02-19-2015, 09:10 PM

See we were fine for a whole month; even when he's in his ball he'll roll up to me and scratch and bite the wall of it where I'm at. He used to crawl around in my robe sleeve and run around in my lap. I'm just super confused!

Thin Lizzy · 02-19-2015, 09:14 PM

I think something has spooked him .
Have you changed anything about your scent, the scent in the room, any other pets?

Nyani8110 · 02-19-2015, 09:19 PM

Not that I know of. He does sneeze a lot and pees in his nest (which i try to get him to stop) and I clean that regularly. He did get out of his ball about a week ago and I have six cats (who are fortunately dumb enough to just watch him), but he was completely fine after that. This started three days ago.

Thin Lizzy · 02-19-2015, 09:25 PM

He could be allergic to the substrate, what are you using?
You cleaning his nest everytime he pees, will wash away his scent, hamsters like to mark their territory.
The next time he pees in his nest, place some of the soiled substrate in one of the corners of his cage, hopefully he'll use that as his toilet instead of his nest.