Help understanding hamster's behavior

Penguin · 05-19-2015, 03:33 AM

Hey
So I got my robo hamster, Kiki, the 10th this month and I need a bit of help reading/understanding her behavior. Kiki was used to being handled when I picked her up and she is coming along well, seeming quite confident and like she has settled well. She is around 5 weeks by now.

Thing is, she bites. When I put my hand into the cage she does not seem scared, she does not run away and she does not seem aggressive. She happily stands on my hand if I have a treat that she cant reach otherwise. She nibbles and bites as if she cant tell the difference between my hand and the treat - or if the treat is already gone.

My boyfriend and I wash our hands before interacting with her.

Yesterday while giving her a treat she bit my boyfriend and hung onto his finger as he lifted it. He says that it didn't hurt but this really worries me.
However, again she didnt seem angry or anything, she approached him, never makes the angry 'hissing' sound and just looks like everything is chill.

So are there some signs that I dont pick up? Is there any signs I need to watch out for? Is there a way to prevent this biting? When googling how to make your hamster stop biting it seems like you just wait it out and hope for the best, but I would really like if there is a way to correct this. Nibbling I can live with; but the hanging-from-my-finger -part is scary.
She really is lovely and I want the best for her. That's why I really want to understand what could have gone wrong

vallsfantova · 05-19-2015, 04:08 AM

Well, lets wait if the behaviour persists, is only against him, and if it is something related with food.

See and observe, is still young, the good sign is that is not scared.

Try using gloves.

cypher · 05-19-2015, 05:43 AM

It's still very early days for your little robo to be settling in, getting used to her new home & all the scents & sounds around her, she could be feeling a little territorial when you put your hand in her cage & her space if being invaded! Have you tried the tissue trick (putting a tissue up your sleeve for a few hours then putting it in the cage & repeating that for a while) that would help her get used to your scent being a natural non threatening part of her environment.
She could also be confusing your hand with food, if that's the case she'll most likely just grow out of it.

Piebald · 05-19-2015, 05:54 AM

Hi Penguin,
What the others said but I would add try not to present your ham with fingers. When showing her your hand, as part of the taming process, show the heel and keep tasty fingers away. If you handle her, keep your fingers towards her bum not her head. If you are at the point of trying gentle strokes, stroke her back away from her head instead of her head. If you are offering treats don't offer from the fingers, put it in your palm or the back of your hand and if possible (awkward I know) fingers away from her. Hopefully after a bit of time she will not think fingers are for tasting. I would leave gloves as measure of last resort as when you take them off you are presenting the same problem, but it might help if you have to when she is getting used to you if she is drawing blood!
Good luck let us know how you are getting on.

Thin Lizzy · 05-19-2015, 08:23 AM

I agree with Cypher, you've not had her long and I'd definitely recommend the tissue trick.
Some take longer to settle and mark their home.

velma · 05-19-2015, 02:42 PM

That sounds a bit like Hector, to be honest. He's never bitten aggressively but he gets a bit over excited when he thinks he's going to get something nice & sometime sort of launches himself at the treat & occasionally gets a finger instead. Sometimes if he thinks what I'm offering him is boring he'll climb the treat to see if beyond that is more interesting. In fact he's done the clinging on thing before now which took me by surprise. Because it didn't hurt but caught me unawares I jumped, pulled my hand out of the cage, hadn't twigged he was still hanging on & then he fell off. But he was fine. I find it easier to get him in a plastic tub with only a couple of things in it (wheel, bit of substrate for the scent, loo roll, maybe his sand bath) as I can get my hand completely flat with a seed in the palm of my hand so he can walk on. If he nibbles, I wiggle my finger or very very gently blow on him - not enough to scare him just enough to distract him.
But all of that aside, as mentioned above she's still young & she still new.. The best thing is not to rush your hamster. Robos are a bit of a law unto themselves with taming & handling so the better you can get to know her personality, the more chance you've got of reading her signals & what she's trying to tell you.

Penguin · 05-20-2015, 02:43 AM

Thank you everyone! For a bit I was worried that her behavior wasnt normal. But you are right. She is very young and I havent had her for long. I guess I was surprised by how comfortable she seemed when I interacted with her after leaving her alone for a couple of days - as I expected an pet that would be very skittish. Instead I got a hamster that would walk across my hand to get a sunflower seed and nib at my fingers if it was gone. I just hope I didnt do anything completely wrong that would stress her.

I will try the tissue trick. I did it yesterday and she has managed to pull the whole thing into her small house.

And Velma thanks! that story really calmed me and it sounds exactly like Kiki. If we offer her a treat from our finger tips and she doesnt find it interesting she will nib and see if there's anything else more interesting.
I will find a taming box but I think I should go back a couple of steps first as I really dont want to rush her. And as she's my first hamster I guess it's better to be careful and learn more about how they act. Then I can proceed with the taming when I feel confident she is ready (:

I have another quick question. I am keeping her in a mini duna for now. I do have an Alaska cage for her but I will wait with putting her in there til I can robo proof it. Is the cage too small for a young hamster? And am I better off getting it fixed asap?

velma · 05-20-2015, 03:03 PM

I think a mini duna is fine for now, for a robo. I think it can help to start with a smaller cage to get them tame. Too many hiding places in a big cage

(Actually, Hector is still in his mini duna because it turns out he's kind of agoraphobic in a big cage. But then again he's a weirdo

)

Thin Lizzy · 05-21-2015, 03:17 AM

That's Fab that kiki has pulled the tissues into her house, she'll be sleeping with your scent. Keep with the tissue trick, give her some more.

Penguin · 05-21-2015, 03:49 PM

I will definitely keep going with the tissue trick.
I am wondering though, my boyfriend and I both put a tissue in her cage and she dragged mine into her house and chewed a couple of holes in his. Is that anything to be concerned about or just by chance that she decided to do so?

I will add that mine was put down just in front of her house, his tissue wasnt.

He is wondering if it could have something to do with him feeding her a lot of treats and me only feeding her very few. So that she made a connection between his scent and food?