Biting!

[Caboose]

Hello. Well I have had my little one for about two weeks. She is a dwarf hamster. And she constantly bites me to the point she draws blood. I did the trick of putting tissue paper under my sleeve for a few hours then put it in her cage. I do it everyday. She bites me inside her home and outside it. How do I make this stop. I put millet as a treat on my hand and she comes and gets it. Only time she doesn't bite me. So please help me.

[cypher]

I did reply the first time you posted this, it's still early days two weeks not being that long for a ham to settle in so maybe you've been trying to go too fast with her taming?
I would go back to the beginning with taming & start slow, keep up the tissue trick for now as that may help.
Use something she'll climb into to get her out of the cage if you need to or if you have a play area where she can have some time out but don't rush interacting with her.
Keep offering her small treats on your hand but don't force your hand on her let her come to you let her get really comfortable with that before you try lifting her or handling, stroking or anything more.
What is her cage set up like? If the cage is too small it can encourage territorial behaviour & that can lead to biting.
If it doesn't stop you can try using thick gloves, gardening gloves are best, I always see that as a last resort though.
If she does bite try not to react, just talk to her quietly & put her back down for a bit before trying again, if you react it can be seen as a reward, if it gets no reaction they are less likely to continue.

[Caboose]

She is in a 40 gallon tank. I will add a picture of her cage setup. I want to add much more but I am unsure of what she will enjoy. I don't try and move when she bites. But she bites so hard for a little thing and in the most sensitive places. Like under the nail and such.

[cypher]

Her tank looks a good size but you could certainly make her happier in there with lots more substrate, a good few inches to burrow, dig & forage in. You could add more toys too, even things like cardboard egg cartons can provide hours of fun! They are good for hiding food in as well as making a nice little hideout for them. Other small cardboard boxes you might have lying around, things like coconuts which are often in the reptile section of pet stores if not sold for hams are good, you just have to try to be imaginative!
Part of the problem with tanks is that you have to approach your ham from above which scares them but with that amount of space you should have room to gently lower your hand & approach her from the side, always make sure she knows you're there first just by talking to her & making gentle noises so your hand never startles her.
I know it's hard not to react but do try, I had a fair few bites from Mickle when she was a baby so I do know how much it hurts!

[Caboose]

I put my hand flat on the floor. And she walks up to my hand and bites it hard. Okay I will buy her more subtrate. And try using a cardboard egg carton. I'm still so new to Hamsters I don't know what toys and things they enjoy

[cypher]

I think you just have to go very slowly with each step & be patient with her, take your time.
One thing I forgot to say is when you put your hand in the cage on the substrate bury your fingers so just your palm (with a treat on it) is accessible that way she may get more used to you without having the opportunity to grab a tasty finger!

Here's just a few examples of things you might want to try in her cage.

Prevue Hendryx 1092 Nature's Hideaway Grass Tunnel Toy, Small

Seesaw tunnel thingy!

Playground, I just ordered one of these but I'm still waiting for it but it looks fun!

Rainbow bridge

I've had one of these for years now & a few hams have had it & loved it.
NiteangeL® Natural Living Mat House

Have a look through the lets see your cages thread in the housing section or other people's threads in the dwarf ham sections to get ideas of what others have in there cages.

[Caboose]

I don't know how to get her used to me anymore. I give her treats straight from my hand everyday. She grabs them from my palm. She won't bite if I have treats. She lets me let her while she's eating that treat as well. But if I don't have any treats She constantly is biting my hand. I make sure to wash my hands to get any food smell off. Sometimes she bites so hard she latches on and when I move my hand up she falls. I feel so bad. I just don't know how to stop her from biting me anymore. I don't know what else to try

[CMB]

All Hester's are different in the time taken to tame. I had one perfectly tame from the day I bought him home (my first hamster) while others have taken weeks and even months before becoming tame. There was one like yours who would get on my hand and then bite and also one who would go full on attack. I had to wear gardening gloves to protect me when doing anything in her cage or take her out in her ball.

You could try wearing gloves so even if you are bitten it won't hurt. You wouldn't move your hand quickly which may make the biting worse. The hamster could get used to being held and once it realises biting doesn't stop it being held give up on biting.

Toys suggestion. Bendy bridge, sand bath/toilet, boxes/tubes with holes anything safe to climb on, under or through.

[cypher]

Some hams just don't really take to handling very well so it may not be something you are or aren't doing, never give up & keep trying the things you have been doing but if that's the way she is you may have to accept that, you should still be able to interact with her in a play area but just not get cuddles!

[herbi7]

It's still very early days,just do what she is comfortable with till she relaxes and don't push her further till there has been no biting for a fortnight. You're going too fast for her. Cypher's advice is great