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Old 07-22-2017, 05:46 AM   #1
kumys
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Default Biting hamster..?

I have two male dwarf hamsters; one named Rumex and another named Oxalis.

Rumex is fairly tame and fairly social. He's still a bit timid, but I think that's just his personality. If I hold out my hands, he'll crawl onto them, nibble them, lick them and so on. Occasionally he'll even greet me at the cage bars and if I make a clicking sound with my tongue, if he's hiding or doing something else, he'll usually investigate and come see me. He never bites unless you very obviously smell of food.

Then, there's Oxalis. Oxalis seems to actually be way more sociable despite his.. problem. He's a lot more adventurous and confident compared to Rumex and whenever I'm anywhere near their cages, he practically demands to come out by climbing the bars, chewing the cage door and so on. Whenever I open the cage door, he climbs right out even if I didn't intend on letting him out because I was giving them food or spot cleaning .etc. He's not afraid of my hands. I can touch him, make rapid movements with them and move them around the cage. He'll even take food from them, but yet, HE BITES. REALLY HARD.

I don't think it's cage aggression because he'll even do it when he's not in his cage. I'll wash my hands really well with unscented soap, try and let him crawl over top of them while going home and while free ranging, but every time I do, he'll bite and sometimes he'll even bite and refuse to let go while doing a bit of a "pulling" motion, if that makes sense, as though he's trying to eat my hand. This has made me very afraid to touch Oxalis outside of petting him (he doesn't go out of his way to bite my hands, it's only if they come in contact with his mouth/nose area), so he usually gets put back into his cage by letting him crawl into a cup or by using gloves.

Is there any way to curb this?
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Old 07-22-2017, 10:51 AM   #2
GhostsInSnow
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Default Re: Biting hamster..?

It may be that Oxalis now associates biting with going back into his cage so that just might be his way of letting you know he wants to go back now. When he does bite, try not to put him back straight away, just in case it is an association thing, put him back when he's calm and friendly/non-bitey.
Gloves might be the way forward for now until he stops, or, you could try handling him in very very short bursts, putting him down after say 20-30 seconds of handling and giving him a treat, so he's being rewarded for not biting you.
I don't know what else to suggest other than that really, if it's just become habit for him, it might be difficult to curb it
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