Russian hamster keeps biting me

ninaa · 03-22-2021, 04:33 PM

I got my russian hamster Nina around three weeks ago. She was two months old when I adopted her.

I never picked her out of the cage, I would always lure her into my hand or she would even just climb to it. First week or so she did bite me a bit, but I thought that was normal. But now, she tries to bite me on purpose. Through the bars, whenever I try to reach her. Even when she's out of the cage she'll bite me, she'll even chase my hand to bite it. Sometimes she just bites softly, but she makes me bleed on a daily basis.

As I said, she does get into my hand, after biting it, and she accepts treats from me. But it seems she likes to bite me. She's quite hyperactive, she can run on her wheel all night, so she has a lot of energy.

I got to a point I'm kinda scared to pick her up, cause she really tries to bite me all the time... I tried getting her used to my scent, giving her treats, letting her roam around my bed... But it only seems she's getting more aggressive.

I thought maybe she needs to file her teeth down, since she never bites her biting wood and mineral stone, but my skin is soft, so I'm not sure that theory makes sense...

I also thought my hands smelled like food, and she bites them more than anything, but she's bitten my feet, my arms, my belly and my neck lol.

I don't know what to do, I don't wanna not take her out of the cage, but this is becoming unsustainable... Any tips?

Dodo · 03-23-2021, 02:32 AM

Hello!

Sorry you're getting bitten, it may sound silly but the idea of getting bitten really scares me so I understand your frustration.

Several things to consider regarding biting.

The most obvious one is, did you leave her enough time to settle down when you first got her 3 weeks ago? Because from what I hear, you may have been going a bit fast. Many people recommend leaving their hamster alone for the first 2 weeks, so they get used to their cage and surroundings, and then to very gradually move to taming etc. Maybe you need to start all over, leave her be for a few days, then go near the cage speaking and singing and not put your hand in for some time.

Practically speaking, using a little vessel (cup/carrier/tube) to transport her in and out of the cage, or investing in a good pair of gardening gloves could allow you to still do spot cleaning and take her out without risking being attacked.

Another thing to consider is your set-up? Could you send a picture? Maybe there are things than can be changed/improved for her to relax and feel safer.

I don't think there is a problem with her teeth or anything. I really think it is a trust issue and although I can see how much you are doing to making her feel good, it seems she has come to associate your hand with threat/intrusion. You need to make her forget that association.

I hope that makes sense. Please send a pic of your set up and let us know how it goes!

ninaa · 03-24-2021, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dodo

Hello!

Sorry you're getting bitten, it may sound silly but the idea of getting bitten really scares me so I understand your frustration.

Several things to consider regarding biting.

The most obvious one is, did you leave her enough time to settle down when you first got her 3 weeks ago? Because from what I hear, you may have been going a bit fast. Many people recommend leaving their hamster alone for the first 2 weeks, so they get used to their cage and surroundings, and then to very gradually move to taming etc. Maybe you need to start all over, leave her be for a few days, then go near the cage speaking and singing and not put your hand in for some time.

Practically speaking, using a little vessel (cup/carrier/tube) to transport her in and out of the cage, or investing in a good pair of gardening gloves could allow you to still do spot cleaning and take her out without risking being attacked.

Another thing to consider is your set-up? Could you send a picture? Maybe there are things than can be changed/improved for her to relax and feel safer.

I don't think there is a problem with her teeth or anything. I really think it is a trust issue and although I can see how much you are doing to making her feel good, it seems she has come to associate your hand with threat/intrusion. You need to make her forget that association.

I hope that makes sense. Please send a pic of your set up and let us know how it goes!

My idea was to leave her alone for at least one or two days, but she came out of the hideout at night and was looking through the bars so I decided to open the door and she walked into my hand. I let her walk on my bed for a bit and put her back into the cage. I've been taking her out almost daily since. I recently let her alone a few nights though.

This is the cage setup:

[IMAGE]https://ibb.co/JRqQqSZ[/IMAGE]

The lower floor has the food bowl, water bottle, a toiler paper roll, a sand bath and her nest. And the upper floor, which is connected by tubes, has her training wheel and a chewable mineral thing. I hope this helps

Dodo · 03-26-2021, 02:25 AM

Hi there ! For some reason I can't see the attachment, it says I do not have permission... No idea why! As I said before, maybe just try to start anew, as if you were taming her for the first time.
And for the set-up, do you have enough bedding depth? Dwarves love to burrow. Good luck with taming, I hope she relaxes and stops biting soon.

ninaa · 03-26-2021, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dodo

Hi there ! For some reason I can't see the attachment, it says I do not have permission... No idea why! As I said before, maybe just try to start anew, as if you were taming her for the first time.
And for the set-up, do you have enough bedding depth? Dwarves love to burrow. Good luck with taming, I hope she relaxes and stops biting soon.

That's weird... You can copy paste the link as text and it works though.

The first time I arranged the bedding it was like 8-10 cm deep. She didn't really burrow that much and it was kinda expensive to use that much, so now it's like 3-4 cm deep. Maybe I should add a little bit more next time.

LunaTheHamster1 · 03-26-2021, 07:48 AM

The bedding you use can make a big difference to their burrowing, also the more bedding the better, most people seem to be saying 6 inches min these days. If you have a big cage and can buy in bulk the bedding should last a long time. I.e. the bigger the cage the longer you can leave it in between cleans and also just in case you don't know, you don't want to be taking all the bedding away when cleaning, only the dirty parts, and then just top up with fresh.