ive had him for about 4months now and he is to fast to hold and sometimes bites me so hard i bleed for ages i need help as i want to have a hamster to hold and play with and my nephew would like to do the same with him but i just dont trust the hamster please help.
2006-09-18 02:18:49 · 7 answers · asked by Loz 2 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
Hamsters can be very gentle pets but they need to be socialized starting at an early age.
Don't chase him around the cage, wait until he is in a corner and gentle but firmly cup your hands around him. Hold him gently but firmly inside your hands. Talk softly and hold him for about 5 to 10 minutes, then place your hands back in his cage, place him on the bottom and remove your hands. This will help with the "chasing" part. Don't chase him, that will just make him more afraid.
Don't pick him up by any other part of his body (back of neck, legs, etc.)
The "cupping" method seems to make them feel safer, and usually will result in less bites. Make sure he can breath, of course.
Try this several times a day, always ending with gently putting him back and see if it helps with him calming down. After a few days, he should allow you to gently pet his head and back and will be on his way to be tamed. Also, make sure you are over a safe area, in case he jumps out of your hands. Falling even a short distance onto a hard surface can injure or kill a hamster.
I have owned many hamsters over the years and MOST were very good pets, BUT I have run into a few that simply could not be tamed. If you get them very young, you usually have a better chance of working with them to make them gentle.
The very few that I could not tame, I just finally let them live in peace and did not try to hold them.
I, personally, have found the "teddy bear" types to be the most gentle and easier to tame. But, that may have just been my experience. We had one teddy bear hamster that lived for over 8 years (a long time for a hamster.) He was VERY sweet and loving, but we did work gently with him from when he was a baby.
GOOD LUCK!
2006-09-18 02:44:30 · answer #1 · answered by LittleBitOfSugar 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hamsters are the nippies of all the pockett pets. Its a very difficult habbit to prevent primarily because its part of their natural instinct and one of their best defenses. They are so small and fragile, and it doesn't take much human strength to hurt or kill a hamster unknowingly.
Its possible your hamster sees you as a threat, maybe try turning the tables a bit, and lure him with treats over several weeks. So he will start to see you as a good thing.
After a while put some treats in the palm of your hand and let him get the treat from you. Allow him to do this over the course of a few weeks, he might even sit in your hand and eat his treat.
Once he's comfortable being with your hand, you can slowly start moving it up to you or around, just continue the treats so he associates it with a good experince and nothing to be defensive about.
2006-09-18 10:47:04 · answer #2 · answered by Krazee about my pets! 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should have hand trained him as soon as you got him. He's going to be much more difficult to train now, but you can try it at least. Here's what I do:
First, place your hand on the cage for several minutes at a time several times a day. Don't open the cage, or put your hand in it. Since your hamster isn't really all that tame right now, and is older, try doing this for at least 3 days. Put food in without opening the cage if at all possible.
Second, stick your hand in the cage, in a tight fist, fingers on the bottom. Leave it there for several minutes, several times a day, so that your hamster gets used to your hand. Do this for at least 2 days, or until the hamster is sniffing your hand and approaching it without aggression. If he bites you, remove the hand, and try again a bit later. Keep doing this, though, WITHOUT picking the hamster up, or touching it. Let it touch YOU first.
Third, once the hamster is comfortable approaching you, turn your hand over, and open it up, into a loose cup shape, palm facing upwards. Do this several times a day until the hamster willingly gets into your hands.
Like humans, hamsters can get moody. At times, he may climb willingly into your hand. At other times, he'll shy away, or hiss, nip, or bite you. This is his way of staying, "Sorry- stay back! Don't touch me!". Listen to what he's "saying". If you want to pick him up, once you've gotten him trained, just open the door, and stick your hand at the door in a cup shape. Do not put your hand in the cage to chase him down. If he wants to get out, he'll come to you.
Lastly- if you don't trust the hamster, he's going to know it. This hand training helps you learn to trust him, as much as it lets him learn to trust you.
While training him, don't offer him treats in your hand. He'll expect it every time, and will be more likely to nip at your hand while doing this. You can offer him a treat once you've gotten him trained, though, but again, don't do this in your hand. Hand feeding leads to accidental bites.
2006-09-18 10:16:52 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have a dwarf hamster don't you? Evil little buggers...
Once you get him out of his cage he shouldn't bite you. The only reasion he feels the need to bite is the territorial issue of you putting your hands into his property.
2006-09-18 09:26:14 · answer #4 · answered by Wonko 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
he will warm up to you after a while..... he will probably always want to ru around, but all hamsters hate being grabbed and held at first. eventually you will be able to take him out of the cage and have him run around your lap
2006-09-18 09:27:29 · answer #5 · answered by cyrus_xi 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Buy a hampster mussle from your local pet shop. This will close the little devil's mouth up so he doesn't bite you.
2006-09-18 09:21:51 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Put some food in your hands...................................
Stroke him, pet him sleep in its cage,,,wait not the last 1.lol
Good Luck
2006-09-18 09:24:46 · answer #7 · answered by Si_Man 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋