unusual behaviour?

[z-e-l]

my hamster has recently started behaving quite out of character. 2 times in the last few weeks she has kicked all of her bedding out of her cage and on to the floor (by building it up the sides until it gets to the wires), recently when i handle her she has been unusually uncomfortable with me, being really jumpy and skitish and when i put my finger to her cage she bit me quite hard, which she never ever has done before.
there are no changes in her toilet habits but i have noticed she has been going to her water bottle more often, but it could just be chewing on the funnel not drinking because she does that occasionally. shes eats as much as usual but has shown a lot less interest in fresh fruit and veg.
i have not changed anything cage or food wise recently and she has been handled a lot.
shes never expressed any of these traits before since i've had her, should i be concerned?

[Gazmo]

mas there been any changes around her? new people, smells? my hamsters bite me if i have nail varnish, and their so tame its unreal. see if she settles down over the next week ok, bu if she gets worse just keep an eye out.

is she getting enough exersize? put her in her ball maybe, and make sure her wheels big enough

[z-e-l]

no no changes like those. i was wearing nail varnish but i always do and she's never reacted before. yeah she goes in her ball loads, i sleep and work in the same room she lives so i'm with her 90% of the time so in the evenings she comes out as much as she wants. she doesn't use her wheel despite me buying her a large one (not the one her cage came with) but she's so active i don't think she's getting too little exercise
i'll definitely keep an eye out for anymore odd behaviour!

[Gazmo]

how old is she? try not to worry, sometimes hamsters do weird things becuase they want to. puffle sleeps upside down hanging out of his tube

[z-e-l]

hm, she must be 6-7months. i got her at a pet store and they didn't tell me her exact age, she was larger than the other hamsters they had then but i'd say is average to small for a syrian. haha! i once found her sleeping with her head in the little house she uses only as a toilet and her back end slumped outside of it. panicked me so much but she was just being strange haha

[Gazmo]

oh bless, i think they just do silly things :L

[DrKMcK]

Check her water bottle to make sure it's working right. Tap the nozzle until bubbles go up. If you have any kind of smell on your hands that might interest a hammy, they can bite fingers near the bars. I can't really think of anything else.

[z-e-l]

if you hamster kicked all of their substrate out except in their bed would you just keep replacing it every time they do so? i also woke up at 5am this morning feeling the urgent need to check on her, and there she was sitting next to her cage on the shelf.. apparently she has taught herself to open her door!

[z-e-l]

i worry about her water bottle quite a bit so i do check regularly aand she has a small shallow water bowl in her cage too just in case.. it was quite an aggressive bite, if i've just handled food she will often nibble my fingers but not like that! i'm just going to keep a close eye on her for now i think! thanks for your thoughts

[linford27]

If she keeps kicking bedding out, I wouldn't replace it unless is gets colder. Female hams could also be on heat, which can make them behave differently sometimes. But, as long as she is eating and drinking as normal, and doesn't seem sick, you needn't worry.