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Old 02-14-2016, 09:02 PM   #1
zak
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Default Defiant hamster with anger issues

Does anybody else's hamster huff and puff at you and go in a full on rage when you try to get them to stop what they are doing? I have never had a hamster who has done such things nor have I heard of stories of hamster tantrums until I got Charley who has protested since day one.

If I don't back off when I am warned to not spoil her fun i.e bar chewing then she will literally fling herself at the bars suddenly to try and bite whatever part of my hand she can grab if I leave it there long enough. She doesn't mind me putting my hand in the cage as long as I don't stop her doing something she shouldn't.

She is fit and healthy, has a big enough cage, a giant wheel and plenty of toys etc.

Perhaps Charley is one of those wild hamsters who doesn't like being told what not to do and thinks she runs the place. Her way or the highway sums it up perfectly. Such a diva!

Last edited by zak; 02-14-2016 at 09:11 PM.
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Old 02-14-2016, 09:49 PM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Defiant hamster with anger issues

It sounds like she's either stressed by something or afraid if she's acting like that.
Can you post a photo of her cage layout to see if there's anything we could suggest that might help there?
How tame is she when not chewing the bars or doing something you don't like?
You may need to go back to the beginning with taming.
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Old 02-15-2016, 12:28 AM   #3
Bertiebobbins
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Default Re: Defiant hamster with anger issues

its important to remember that hamsters don't feel or reason like humans do. She doesn't know she shouldn't be bar chewing etc. She's just reacting to what she perceives as a threat I.e. Your hand swooping in to stop her! What you're seeing are natural signs of of agression.

Glowy used to be a little bit like this before he was fully tame, he once turned on my hand and bit me when I tried to stop him climbing out of the cage door because it wasn't time to come out - my hand got in the way of what he was doing is all. He wasn't being naughty or defiant, he bit me because my hand was 'attacking' him! He's definitely a more spirited and adventurous hamster who took a bit more time to be fully tame.
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Old 02-15-2016, 03:15 AM   #4
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Defiant hamster with anger issues

Agree with the others - it sounds like fear and defending territory (cage aggression) to me. Stress also can cause bar chewing. The bar chewing might be because something isn't right for them in the cage (they can't always tell us what it is!) or as a result of changes in the cage, or too much cleaning or the scent of cleaning products, possibly, or something is causing stress. If they feel someone has been in their cage and it no longer smells familiar or things have changed, they want to escape and chewing bars is a way of trying to get out in some ways.

I also agree that taming might be the way forwards. As you say if she has a big enough cage and wheel and so on, then to me it suggests a combination of cleaning routine (apologies if this isn't the case) and a need for gentle taming to get her confident with 'the hand'. Yours in particular. They can also sense our annoyance or frustration in tone of voice and vibes given off and react against that (again apologies if that isn't the case with you).

If it helps our hamster was just like this when we got him - ferral, aggressive and it was impossible to pick him up or hold him. He chewed at the only small bars in his rotostak set up (which I later found was far too small and lacked ventilation, plus he was getting stuck in tubes). Taming was the key. Followed by a change in cage cleaning methods.

It took us almost two months to tame him (we did it in the bathtub a couple of times a week) so he was placid when being handled. And he is now meek and handleable and will even go to sleep on you. But out of the cage is very different to in the cage, which is their territory, and even now our hamster doesn't like a hand in his cage, but now he is tame he won't run at you he'll just follow the hand around anxiously wondering what it is going to mess with! It is usually much quicker than that, ours took longer because he had a cage change in the middle of it which set things back I reckon.

Change of environment can cause stress and bar chewing, and our hamster, who had not chewed bars since moved to a suitable sized cage, started chewing them after we went on holiday and left him somewhere. When he came home he was displaying signs of stress by extra activity, running round in circuits and bar chewing as if his life depended on getting out. After a couple of weeks this settled down, and took a bit of re-taming, plus setting up a playpen so he could get in and out and turning the lights off and leaving the room when he started doing it. But each situation is different really.

How long have you had your hammy? If it's not long he maybe needs to get used to you and your scent and go through some taming (which takes a bit of time and patience but can suddenly just happen as well). I found that once we were able to touch him without him leaping away or jerking his head as if threatening to bite, it was fairly instant and we could pick him up and he was fine.

Anyway - as Cypher says, if you can post a pic of your cage that might help (sometimes it is something really simple. Sometimes they are trying to tell you something (eg water bottle not working or wheel rubbing or something, or they can't access somewhere). Or give us a bit more info on how long you have had her, where her cage is and whether it has been moved to a new location recently. They are sensitive to changes in environment and rely on the scent of things as they don't see well.

Cage cleaning can be a cause of stress as well, if it is a major clean too often. I changed cage cleaning routines after watching Erin's Hamsters tips on cage cleaning and it works really well for us now. I now only do a full cage clean about once every 2 or 3 months, and even then it's only a partial clean (which means a lot of their familiar scent is left behind), and do spot cleaning in between and clean toys and wheel a different week to substrate. Having a potty litter tray really helps as well as you just clean and refill the potty every 4 or 5 days and the rest of the cage stays a lot cleaner and drier.

This is the video from Erin's Hamsters - it explains things well and has some good advice re cage cleaning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww
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Old 02-17-2016, 04:30 PM   #5
herbi7
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Default Re: Defiant hamster with anger issues

Willow did that if I tried to stop her doing something but I think it was because I was stressing her out. She particularly hated being stopped from chewing the carpet and would squeak and go at it a hundred times harder. She never went for me though except once when I tried to stop her bar chewing with my hand which was a mistake before I knew better and she leapt in the air and flew at my hand as she thought something was attacking her. I don't think she even realised it was me
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Old 02-17-2016, 04:33 PM   #6
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Default Re: Defiant hamster with anger issues

Btw I think a strong willed hamster can be defiant, mine was bright and knew if I wanted to end playtime even before I had moved towards her and would make it very difficult for me to catch her. I think rampant bar chewing can sometimes be a protest too as well as a stress reaction
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