The difference between a bite and a nibble?

Piermont · 03-08-2013, 05:03 AM

I got Piermont on Tuesday night and while we were on the way home, he chewed through the cardboard carrying box and chomped on my thumb. It bled for over five minutes and still hurts pretty badly. I understand why he did i though, the car ride home was 20 minutes long and being cooped up inside a cardboard box would be stressful.

I left him alone other than to change his food and water until last night, then I gave him a treat. He let me pet him without freaking out so I counted that as a success. He also nibbled my finger, I knew it was nibbling 'cause it didn't hurt much and he kinda sniffed around my hand before and afterwards.

It's currently 4 AM and instead of studying for my Psychology test or sleeping, I went to play with Piermont. He climbed into my hands without me picking him up, ran around his cage, climbed over his wheel and came back into my hands. After a while of that, I sat down on the beanbag chair and let him crawl all over me. Upon realizing that it was now 4 AM, I carried him back to his cage. Before he crawled out of my hands, he bit my thumb. It bled for like, a tiny second and didn't hurt much.

I can't think of anything I might have done to scare him and I can't tell if it was a bite or a nibble.

-Sarah

hamsftw · 03-08-2013, 07:50 AM

I would say a 'nibble' is when they sniff you first and then bite gently to test if you're food or to smell you better, a 'bite' is a lot more painful and will usually cause bleeding, it's their way of saying "back off". I've been bitten by one of my hams which drew blood however I made the mistake of not washing my hands after eating so I think he just went right for my finger thinking I was food. It scared the both of us!!

LavoChain · 03-08-2013, 09:12 AM

They are totally different and very easy to tell apart. I currently have two Roborvski hamsters who like to nibble, they will follow your hand around the cage and jump on your hand for a sniff, then they'll happily gnaw gently on your knuckles.

I also have a hybrid in the rescue who is extremely nervous and although he will let you stroke him occasionally, if you get too near he'll cling on to your hand for dear life and won't let go.

It sounds to me that the first instance were a bite and the second a nibble to 'test you out'. As long as the hamster seems otherwise happy for you to be around them and touching them I wouldn't worry about biting. You will know when it's a bite, and that's when you run to the nearest garden centre for thick gloves lol

Piermont · 03-08-2013, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LavoChain

They are totally different and very easy to tell apart. I currently have two Roborvski hamsters who like to nibble, they will follow your hand around the cage and jump on your hand for a sniff, then they'll happily gnaw gently on your knuckles.

I also have a hybrid in the rescue who is extremely nervous and although he will let you stroke him occasionally, if you get too near he'll cling on to your hand for dear life and won't let go.

It sounds to me that the first instance were a bite and the second a nibble to 'test you out'. As long as the hamster seems otherwise happy for you to be around them and touching them I wouldn't worry about biting. You will know when it's a bite, and that's when you run to the nearest garden centre for thick gloves lol

Yeah, I got that. I'm pretty sure the first one was a bite because he was really scared. The car was bumping over the snowy road, I can understand why he would've been scared.

But I'm fairly sure that today it was a nibble that accidentally nibbled too hard. He didn't seem afraid afterwards, just sand on my hand for a second before crawling back into his cage.

HammieandMerlin · 03-08-2013, 05:33 PM

sometimes the nibble can turn into a bite as well, sometimes it's the simple issue of your finger was in the wrong place and they didn't like it there, it happened with me and Mowgli once. I was holding her, and things were fine, my OH sneezed and I jerked a bit, and she bit my thumb, and it's never happened since haha, so my thumb obviously got into her face. Most hams only use it as a last resort or if they honestly never knew any better (often the case with some rescues)

Eriklover555 · 03-10-2013, 10:24 PM

Yeah, it's pretty obvious when it's a bite! My little dwarf, Reid, used to bite me hard all the time - I had scabs all over my hands. However, once I learned how to properly tame and handle him, he's stopped biting.

He does nibble though, but it generally doesn't hurt too much. If he's nibbling at my fingers too much I just blow a little air at the top of his head, which distracts him.

SprinkleHamster · 03-13-2013, 08:43 AM

I would agree with on the nibble in the 4am incident and a bite the first.

Susie · 03-19-2013, 08:16 AM

My hammies will give me a 'warning' nibble if i am annoying them, it's our little communication device, if they dont want me to cuddle them, dont want to come out etc they just gently put their teeth around my finger and i get the message and we're all cool.
Though, sometimes i have had one mistake my hand for something edible and they nibble and then nibble harder.. my fault though for not washing my hand after giving a treat.
I've only ever had 2 bites though from my pet hamsters... and that was when i got them.