Learning bad habits?

[aquaxkitty]

I have a quick question that may seem quite silly, but basically my sisters friend loves my hamsters, but whenever she tries to interact with them she ends up getting bitten ^u^; this happened with my previous hamster and just now with my current one. The new one (Nugget) is very skittish so I'm being very patient with him, he hasn't bitten me and he's slowly getting used to me and let me stroke him properly the other day!

My friend is very persistent and this is why she gets bitten every time haha.

My question is will this effect how Nugget behaves with me? I'm worried that because he had to resort to biting her to stop her touching him, he's going to do the same with me!

The first bite was just an inquisitive nibble, but I'm pretty sure the second one was a "back-off!" bite (but you never know!)

I've been so patient with my new hammy and I really wanna develop a great bond with him! I told my friend that he's shy and she shouldn't pester him...but I guess she's learnt her lesson now! :')

[CMB]

Hopefully he will differentiate between you and your friend by smell and sound and react to you without biting.

He is your hamster and you can tell your friend what she can and can't do. He needs to trust one person first before he is held by other people.

[cypher]

I would tell your friend that Nugget really needs to settle in & get to know you so no one else can handle him at least for now, it is important that he learns that you, your scent & your hands are safe & friendly without getting confused by being handled by someone else who is clearly upsetting him albeit unintentionally.

[bunerella]

Orion does a similar thing to my girlfriend. He hides or nips at her when she attempts to handle him, but luckily he knows my scent already.

As long as you are patient and handle him as you usually do you should be fine.