Taming a nippy hamster

[Hamstermommy123]

Hey hamster central!

I just joined this forum and I am a beginner at keeping hamsters. When I started taming my hamster, he was fine. He did not nip at all he will let me pick him up for a few minutes. I was feeding him seeds on my palm one day and he staring nipping at me. Let me tell you, it hurts. I made sure that my hands smelled like nothing, and I washed my hands before I will tame but he still kept on biting and started to bite me until I bleed. Any suggestions for taming nippy hamsters?

[Drago]

Hello and welcome! How long have you had this ham for? I suggest leaving a tissue or something inside of his cage for him to learn your scent and become comfortable with you. I know being bitten hurts and it's tough, but try not to pull your hands out after being bitten. This reinforces bad bahavior and hams learn these tricks quickly. If you really don't feel comfortable, use a glove with your scent on it. It's hard for me to accurately answer this question without first knowing how long you've had your hamster for. If he's new, nipping and biting can be a normal behavior, and new hams should be left alone for around a week in order to settle in. Assuming he's new, keep trying and be persistent! With time and patience most hams will come out of their shells

[Ahateumezalea]

This is helpful for us too - our new girl Éowyn is very cute but also rather nippy. We'll take it slowly and give her time to get to know us and our scent.

[cypher]

Sometimes when they're young it can take a while for them to figure out where food ends & hands begin! Especially if they've got used to hands meaning food, usually they grow out of it & you can try to discourage it by gently lifting your ham off your hand & putting him down for a moment or stop hand feeding for a while & just offer treats after a short handling period.
It would help to know which species you have, whether this happens all the time or just in the cage, how long you've had your ham & what other taming steps you've taken.

[chesca_27]

When they are young it is common for them to nip. Jasper went through a period when he would regularly nip each taming session, but he's only bitten once. I think you should back peddle taming to the stage he was at before he started nipping.

Here is my full version of how I would tame a hamster.

The important thing is to remember to keep rewarding your hamsters when they make progress with taming.

Something I recommend you do is the tissue trick. Take some unscented, white toilet paper and keep it up your sleeve for a few hours, then place it in the cage. The hamsters should use it for nesting. It will help them get used to your natural scent. Don't give up with taming, it can take some hamsters a long time to be tamed, but the result is worth it. It can range from a week to several months. Always wash your hands with unscented soap before handling a hamster and between hamsters.

Firstly, make sure your hamster is in an adequately sized cage and species appropriate wheel (10-12 inch for Syrians and 6.5-8 inch for Chinese, Winter Whites, Campbells and Hybrids/Russians and 6 inch for Roborovskis as a standard). Secondly, if the cages have tubes, remove them. Hamsters are very difficult to get out of tubes and a nervous will often retreat to them. Tubes can also pose a risk to health if the hamsters pee in them (ammonia build up). Hamster poop is perfectly fine as they do reingest some poop.

Barred cages are easier for taming but the option is up to you. Make sure to find a well loved treat, that won't go mouldy but isn't ridiculously unhealthy. I use a combination of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and freeze-dried chicken (Thrive Chicken available from Pets At Home). If the hamster isn't too nervous, you can offer the treat in front of the nest/house. If the hamster doesn't come out to accept the treat within a couple of minutes, place it in front of the nest and leave it. This can be done with barred cages too, if the hamster is comfortable with you around. You poke the treat through the bars and wait for the hamster to take it from you.

Once the hamster is comfortable enough with this, you can move onto the next stage. Put the treats onto the palm of your hand so the hamster has to put its paws on your palm. When the hamster is consistently comfortable with putting its paws on your palm to take the treat and sitting there to eat it, you can move onto the next stage.

The next step would be to get the hamster used to stroking. You can start with something other than your hand if you aren't confident enough. Whimzee or Greenies dog dental toothbrush chews work well. These can be found in the dog treat aisle. While the hamster is on your palm, stroke it with the toothbrush and as they get more comfortable, you can switch to stroking with your finger. Keep doing this and rewarding the hamster when they tolerate stroking.

Afterwards, you should be ready to try handling. Take a good sized tube, where your hands can cover both ends if necessary. Cover one end of the tube and place treats at the end that is covered. Wait for the hamster to jump in to eat the treats and cover the other end. You can then lift the tube out and put it in a play pen or play bin, depending on your confidence and the hamster's confidence. Have a hand under each end of the tube so they have to walk over your palm to get out. Practice stroking the hamster again in the new environment. As they get more confident, you can put the tube on your lap, so they get used to climbing on you and you stroking them. You can then try picking them up off your lap, when you feel they are happy enough.

At this stage, I would consider them tamed.

[Ahateumezalea]

That long answer from chesca_27 is really helpful. As well as her understandable biting due to fear / a new experience, Éowyn seems to bite just because this is her favourite way of exploring a new item. We don't want to stop her from exploring (fingers, clothes etc), but are unwilling to let her explore when the outcome could be a bad bite for one of us. Any advice?

[cypher]

I haven't had syrians so can't be 100% sure but with dwarf hams exploratory nibbling or nips are really quite different to bites & done't usually turn into bites, if Éowyn is actually biting she may still be a bit nervous or fearful, I would just try to gently discourage biting, if nibbling seems to be getting to be a bit more than that then try gently moving her away from whatever she's trying to bite, if necessary keep interaction times shorter until she begins to calm down a bit more.

[Hamstermommy123]

Originally Posted by chesca_27

When they are young it is common for them to nip. Jasper went through a period when he would regularly nip each taming session, but he's only bitten once. I think you should back peddle taming to the stage he was at before he started nipping.

Here is my full version of how I would tame a hamster.

The important thing is to remember to keep rewarding your hamsters when they make progress with taming.

Something I recommend you do is the tissue trick. Take some unscented, white toilet paper and keep it up your sleeve for a few hours, then place it in the cage. The hamsters should use it for nesting. It will help them get used to your natural scent. Don't give up with taming, it can take some hamsters a long time to be tamed, but the result is worth it. It can range from a week to several months. Always wash your hands with unscented soap before handling a hamster and between hamsters.

Firstly, make sure your hamster is in an adequately sized cage and species appropriate wheel (10-12 inch for Syrians and 6.5-8 inch for Chinese, Winter Whites, Campbells and Hybrids/Russians and 6 inch for Roborovskis as a standard). Secondly, if the cages have tubes, remove them. Hamsters are very difficult to get out of tubes and a nervous will often retreat to them. Tubes can also pose a risk to health if the hamsters pee in them (ammonia build up). Hamster poop is perfectly fine as they do reingest some poop.

Barred cages are easier for taming but the option is up to you. Make sure to find a well loved treat, that won't go mouldy but isn't ridiculously unhealthy. I use a combination of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and freeze-dried chicken (Thrive Chicken available from Pets At Home). If the hamster isn't too nervous, you can offer the treat in front of the nest/house. If the hamster doesn't come out to accept the treat within a couple of minutes, place it in front of the nest and leave it. This can be done with barred cages too, if the hamster is comfortable with you around. You poke the treat through the bars and wait for the hamster to take it from you.

Once the hamster is comfortable enough with this, you can move onto the next stage. Put the treats onto the palm of your hand so the hamster has to put its paws on your palm. When the hamster is consistently comfortable with putting its paws on your palm to take the treat and sitting there to eat it, you can move onto the next stage.

The next step would be to get the hamster used to stroking. You can start with something other than your hand if you aren't confident enough. Whimzee or Greenies dog dental toothbrush chews work well. These can be found in the dog treat aisle. While the hamster is on your palm, stroke it with the toothbrush and as they get more comfortable, you can switch to stroking with your finger. Keep doing this and rewarding the hamster when they tolerate stroking.

Afterwards, you should be ready to try handling. Take a good sized tube, where your hands can cover both ends if necessary. Cover one end of the tube and place treats at the end that is covered. Wait for the hamster to jump in to eat the treats and cover the other end. You can then lift the tube out and put it in a play pen or play bin, depending on your confidence and the hamster's confidence. Have a hand under each end of the tube so they have to walk over your palm to get out. Practice stroking the hamster again in the new environment. As they get more confident, you can put the tube on your lap, so they get used to climbing on you and you stroking them. You can then try picking them up off your lap, when you feel they are happy enough.

At this stage, I would consider them tamed.

Thanks! I took some of your advice he is getting less nippy and I am able to pick him up longer.