Hamster aggressive randomly.

[letstartariotxx]

Hey! I've had my hamster for about a year and have never had any problems with him, he's super sweet and isn't afraid when I pick him up and he has never bit me. Today he was running around on my bed and on me acting totally fine, then I went to pick him up to put him back in his cage and he stood up on his hind legs and opened his mouth aggressively as if he was going to bite me, so I let him hear my voice but he still tried to bite me and acted really scared for no reason.

He is acting alright now, and I got him back in his cage with his ball so he wouldn't bite me, but he's letting me get him out of his cage like his normal self now. Was it just a momentary scared action, or is it something I should be worried about?

Thanks!

[shiny]

It sounds like something really alarmed your hamster & his behaviour was a response to being scared. Unless there was something in particular happening just then that you can think of, it might be really hard to work out what scared him. As hamsters have poor eyesight & are naturally alarmed by fast movement above them, this can sometimes be scary for them.

I would go steady with him & keep an eye out for it happening again. Sometimes behavioural problems can be caused by something else like an animal not being very well so I would keep a close watch on your hamster just in case & look out for anything out of the ordinary.

Maybe try offering him a treat & getting him confident with you again so he has something positive to associate with you rather than the scare he's just had.

Hopefully it's just a one-off :) best wishes, shiny

[letstartariotxx]

I'm hoping he was only bit started too. He accepted treats and is perfectly fine with me picking him up now and everything so I hope he's not sick and it was just a one time thing! Thank you! :)

[de4life]

The smallest things can really frighten a hamster - sometimes things that we can't even sense. I think it's probably just a one off.

I remember a while ago Hjalmar was running around as normal on the settee, and then quite suddenly he stood up, froze, then darted into the corner of the settee and huddled up shaking. I have absolutely no idea what spooked him, but he's never done anything like that since.

[vanilla-yazoo]

it can be just something they can sence, when my hams where in the hallway they all would freeze and look in a direction (no one was there and no noise) and I can swear they could see my old cat tabby (rip <3) who used to sleep on my mums, or brothers bed, and prowl on the hallway, it was more freaky as all 3 did it at once XD

I have seen others of mine freeze, it could have been something like a kettle boiling downstairs, static off a tv, anything with a strange noise.
they can go in a complete trance, you can stroke them ect and it wont rouse them (one of the few times fred stayed still!)

Just let him relax now, he will soon forget it happened and get on with his hamster things!