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Old 07-23-2018, 09:14 AM   #1
Maddy32904
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Default Finicky Hamster that bites, hisses, and refuses to be tamed.

My Dwarf Hamster, Muffin, refuses to let me tame her. She is very quick to hiss and/or bite, and I don't know what to do. I have had her for around a year now, and she still won't cooperate. She has bitten me before, but not hard enough to draw blood. She hisses constantly. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Is she just a hamster that doesn't like being handled? Or is it something I'm doing?
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Old 07-25-2018, 05:52 PM   #2
Mawuu
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Default Re: Finicky Hamster that bites, hisses, and refuses to be tamed.

I think naturally you'd need to check if there's anything wrong with her living space, if she has enough space, temperature is to hot or cold, location of said cage is to bright or near loud objects.
If those seem fine it could be she's cage territorial? Is she still fussy outside her cage?
Id say lastly it could be mental issues or health issues sometimes we cant see or tell if an animals in pain so she could be lashing out. If so I'd say seek a vet to get answers.

Sorry I cant be of great help but I hope the best for you and Muffin ; - ;!!
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Old 07-25-2018, 10:31 PM   #3
cypher
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Default Re: Finicky Hamster that bites, hisses, and refuses to be tamed.

Sorry to hear you've had so much difficulty bonding with Muffin.
It would help to know more about her set up, which cage she has & what she has in there, getting the cage just right can help a lot with their confidence & how they will interact with us.
Are there any other animals around in the room where her cage is?
Are you just trying to interact with her in the cage or have you tried giving her out of cage time & interacting in a secure play area?
As Mawuu said she may be territorial in her cage, some hams really don't like hands in the cage & do better with taming out of the cage.
I think the first step is to be sure she is really happy & feels safe in her cage, plenty of deep substrate (at least 15cm) to dig & burrow in, a good size house to make a nest in, the house should have no base so she can burrow underneath, other small hideouts in the cage & not too much open space.
How much cage cleaning are you doing? Over cleaning can be very stressful for them & apart from spot cleaning pee you only need to partial cleans every few weeks, never do a full clean or take all the nest material or food hoard away all at once.
It might be worth going right back to the beginning, do the tissue trick for a while, just put some plain white toilet tissue up your sleeve for a few hours then shred it up & put it in the cage to help her get more comfortable with your scent.
If you haven't tried out of cage taming then you could begin that, see if you can get her to climb into something you can safely transport her in like a large mug, a small box or tube, then carry her to a play area with lots of toys to explore & begin to gradually introduce your hands while she's in there.
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Old 08-06-2018, 02:36 PM   #4
Maddy32904
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Default Re: Finicky Hamster that bites, hisses, and refuses to be tamed.

This is the cage she has
https://www.amazon.com/Ferplast-CAGE...s=hamster+cage
She used to be next to my betta. I moved my betta somewhere else, though. She has around 3-4 inches of bedding. I have tried both, taking her out and interacting with her in her cage. I cage clean about every 2 weeks, give or take. I don't really have a set calendar for cleaning her cage. I only really clean her cage when it looks dirty. She is on my dresser, so I don't think its too bright.
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Old 08-06-2018, 08:37 PM   #5
Swirls
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Default Re: Finicky Hamster that bites, hisses, and refuses to be tamed.

Depending on the hamster's personality, you can try to invest in a bigger cage such as a bin cage. Although that cage seems to be the right size, perhaps it doesn't meet your hamster's personal standards. Where did you get the hamster from? Are there enough toys and chews in the cage? She could just be naturally aggressive, although if you do think something is wrong with her mentally or she's in pain, perhaps take a trip to the vet.
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Old 08-06-2018, 10:41 PM   #6
cypher
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Default Re: Finicky Hamster that bites, hisses, and refuses to be tamed.

How do you have that cage set up? If it's the way it's shown with the wheel in that position it doesn't leave room for enough substrate or really for much else like a good size house, sand bath etc.
Do you have a photo of your set up your could show us? That would help us make any suggestions for changes that might help.
It could just be that she's not happy in her cage & if not then making progress with taming & bonding will be difficult.
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hamster, hisses, refuses, hard, draw, bitten, wrong, cooperate, constantly, handled, blood, tame, quick, muffin, dwarf, bites, tamed, hiss, and/or, year, bite, finicky

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