Hello! Newbie hamster owner to be! - Page 3

cypher · 05-07-2017, 08:23 AM

That kind of biting is mostly exploring & just wanting more treats so you do need to take your hand away after they've had a few seeds or they will continue to bite like that, they can smell the seeds on your skin & don't understand there's no more there, they do grow out of it but sometimes it helps to stop hand feeding for a while, either just offer things like sunflower seeds from your finger tips or put the seeds down in front of him, after a while if you try hand feeding again the biting will usually have stopped.
I think they bite nails just because they're there!

Hamsterita · 05-07-2017, 09:01 AM

MR Nibbles is a funny name, I like it. I've never had that problem but apparently as cypher said is a common one, and they usually grow out of it. Even if he is small, he could draw blood if he wanted to, so it's a good sign that he's only nibbling, it's his way to explore.

ArBell · 05-13-2017, 03:12 AM

It's been nearly 2 weeks since I've gotten Mr Nibbles!
Some update:

Hissing
To my immense pleasure, he stopped hissing!!
I guess that all he needed was time to adjust. I still haven't cleaned out his cage yet. It definitely helped that he was already potty trained and all I had to do was replace the tissue on which he peed everyday! (And add in 1cm of peed-on tissue onto the new tissue

- learned this trick while watching tons of videos/doing my research on hamsters! I'm planning to clean up his cage later today.

Nibbling/biting
As I had previously said, I have been adding scented tissues into my hamham's bin cage, and I believe that this has helped him get used to my scent a bit.
He still nibbles at my fingers but I guess that it's only because they're there XD If I put my hand into a fist and put it next to him, he just sniffs it and goes about carrying on what he had been doing

He did bite me once (5 days ago maybe) but I guess it's because I let him attack my finger continuously so he bit harder and harder until he bit-pulled my thumb ^^''

Handling
I started to handle him using gloves, and he wasn't biting the gloves at all, or nibbling at them. However, when I tried to switch to bare hands, he kept trying to have a taste of me. Lol. (No matter what I wash my hands with, whether they've been recently washed or not)
At first I used 2 gloves for a couple of days, and then I switched to a single glove, and gently petted him with my bare fingers (he tried to nibble on them at the beginning, but has gotten used to it now)
Now I'm starting to go with my bare hands.
I usually just put my hand into his bin cage and wait for him to climb onto it. At first he was very apprehensive, only putting his two front paws onto my hand, gobbling up the flax seeds/sunflower seed and sat back onto his bumbum to eat them LOL. But after a few days, he just sat in my palm and ate it there. Sometimes he would just pouch the treats and keep sniffing around.
After a while, he would just come up onto my palm and wait for me to lift him up. I think that he's being used to being handled. He never resists me lifting him up, on the contrary, it seems that he simply cannot resist the curiosity of my hand and is always climbing up on it. <3

Sand bath
So I recently received the sand bath I had bought online, and I couldn't wait to see his reaction to it. I put a sand bath into his bin cage yesterday!
However, to my utter dismay, it seemed that he was sniffing and eating the sand instead of rolling around in it

I could hear him crunching on something hard (much like the sound of sand) when he was in it. I had to take it out of the cage and he seemed very upset about it yesterday, and threw a fit. He ate through the toilet paper roll that was holding his water bottle upright, and as a result of that, all the water in it leaked onto his bedding on one corner of the cage ._. He also seemed very frantic yesterday night (3-4 am really) and kept furiously scratching upwards the bin cage, as if wanting to get out

I'm scared he ate too much sand and that will cause a problem.
I've searched online about it and it seemed that the general consensus was that hamsters are smart animals and wouldn't eat sand, but I am not convinced.
Either way, Mr Nibbles was very upset I removed his sand bath. (He had been enjoying peeing into it and eating the sand)

Overall
Mr Nibbles wakes up at regular intervals during the day, and as such, I am able to catch him awake at various times in a day. I am extremely thrilled about that. I have gotten him used to my voice and he doesn't flinch anymore when he hears me. I am able to handle him multiple times during the day as well

He had a go in the DIY cardbox maze I made for him, where I placed several treats in different location and watched him hunt for them - that was fun! And I'm sure he must have been extremely happy, as that must have been the day where he got the most treats he's ever gotten in his life XD
I think that he is quite a fickle hamham though, and he likes things just so. He hates when I move around stuff in his cage (he chases my hands and tries to grab them, as in, "go away hooman, what do you think you're doing here!". I wish I could take better pictures of him, but he moves around way too much

However, I managed to get an exceptionally good picture that shows the cute little ball of fluff he is!
Thank you for reading <3

cypher · 05-13-2017, 03:22 AM

Lovely photo, maybe try to resize your photos as it makes it a bit hard to read your thread.

Sounds as though things are going really well

What kind of sand did you get? I've had hams try to eat some odd things but not sand & he really does need a sand bath, as long as you have the right sand (chinchilla sand) then maybe try him with it during out of cage time for a while if you are concerned before putting it back in the cage.

ArBell · 05-13-2017, 04:13 AM

I think it might be easier to just attach the images XD
BTW, is he really a he?

Drago · 05-13-2017, 08:11 AM

I agree with cypher, dwarf hamsters really should have sandbaths to help maintain the oils in their coats. Duncan enjoys eating sand, but it's not really an issue unless you notice them taking huge mouthfuls of it. Most of the time, it'll just pass through their system without issue, plus hamsters will ingest some sand anyways when they groom themselves as there's always a bit that clings on. I'd put it back in and keep an eye on him. Young hamsters tend to be very rambunctious and high energy so the chewing through the toilet tube and scratching at the sides of the cage are all normal behaviors. Give him time with the biting, he'll settle down once he's matured more and had regular handling.

Can you get a picture of his/her full belly? Being able to see both the genitals and scent gland helps with sexing. She looks more female to me, but I'm not experienced with Russians so it may be worth double checking with a more experienced owner

Thin Lizzy · 05-13-2017, 08:23 PM

So lovely reading about Mr Nibbles. So love his name. Great to hear about the progress you've made. Gorgeous pics!

cypher · 05-13-2017, 11:42 PM

I can't tell if he's really a he from those photos, can you try to get a clearer photo, sometimes it's easier if you can put them in a large glass jar & get a shot from underneath.

Hamsterita · 05-18-2017, 10:09 AM

I'm glad to read that things are going pretty well with mr nibbles. He is very cute. I can't tell either from the picture if he is a he or a she, dwarfs are harder to sex than syrians, and without being able to see him it's even worse.

I can understand why are you so thrilled with him waking up during the day, If I were you I would be really happy too.!