Hamster wants my attention but bites hard

Rarity · 06-21-2017, 08:28 AM

So my hamster comes up to the side of his home and tries to reach out to me to give him some fun and love. But every time i put my hand on the bottom of the cage for him to come up to me, he bites. I tried using gloves and I blow when he bites but he seems to be pretty spiteful and bites harder, but when I take out my hand, he will reach out and try to grab my hand and want me to bring it back down, just to bite again.

Like it seems like he knows me, ive had him for a few month, ive given him treats and talked and tried taming him, but idk what to do. He wants me to interact with him but all he does is bite and ignores my "reprimands"

Roborovski Riddler · 06-21-2017, 09:40 AM

Hey Rarity,

I used to have this problem a lot, and I can suggest a couple of possible solutions:
-It really seems as though your hamster thinks your finger is food. Does it have a history of excessive hand-feeding or bar-feeding? As per usual, make sure your hands are completely scent free before handling.
-Provide lots of chew toys for the cage, do you ever see it biting the bars/food bowl/ect.?
-While in your hand, give the hamster something to do. My black bear syrian hamster used to have this problem, so I sometimes gave it an almond while it sat in my hand. This kept him busy for a couple minutes before he went exploring again.
-For the reprimand system, blowing is always the go-to idea, but since your hammie doesnt seem to respond to it, maybe blowing through a straw so the reprimand is a bit more forceful?
-Simply get him used to your hand by handling him more frequently and for longer periods. I'm sure this will only be a temporary problem!

cypher · 06-21-2017, 10:24 PM

Is he just biting when you put your hand in the cage? Some hams really don't like hands in the cage while others are happy with it so you might want to just use something he'll climb into like a tube, mug, ball or anything he's comfortable with & can't jump out of to transport him to a safe out of cage play area then gradually get him used to your hands there.