MY hamster is viscous! he snaps at me and bites me when I get near him! What can I do to make him trust me?

Question

I can't even get him out of his cage. He bites and chases my hand around his cage when I go to grab him. The only way I can get him out is to scoop him out with his food bowl. Once he is out of his cage he does not bite as much. I need help. My other hamser is so nice and has never bit me. The one that bites is a blueberry and the other one is a dwarf. The lady in the pet shop told me he might bite and she was right!

Answer 1

I used to have that problem. He is only protecting his area. To him you are invading it so that's why he's mad with you. He's just scare so you should take him out of his cage more often and play with him. Feed him treats and stuff. Most of all do NOT try to put the hamsters together. The one that bites will try to bite your other one.

Answer 2

my advice would be to get another hamster owner and both of you tackle the problem together. Hamsters were only domesticated in 1931 so they bite out of instinct. Give her treates in your hand, talk to her and try to pick her up. The sad thing is, dwarf hamsters have a big tendancy to bite. Try researching the topic and ask a vet about it to.

Answer 3

I have that problem with mine too. I have read that you have to spend more time with them out of the cage. I also read that you should make sure that you don't smell like food when handling them. You don't have to reach in the cage to pick them up. What you can do is save a toilet paper roll and have one go in there to carry him out. I also read that if you place them directly onto your hand from the paper roll that they shouldn't bite. I hope this helps you.

Answer 4

Crazychic, why do you want a viscous pet? He bites and snaps at you. The sales lady said that he would which indicates that this is probably his nature. Just as some people are touchy so are some animals. I would suggest returning him for a "friendlier" hamster or get your money back.

Answer 5

What people do not understand about hamsters is that they are nocturnal. THEY SLEEP DURING THE DAY!!!! How would you like it if someone kept waking you up in the middle of the night because they wanted to pet you or ????. I am NOT referring to those of us who are married or in committed relationships, HA HA HA!!!!
Anyway, I would get grumpy also....That is why they are NOT the best pets for kids. That & the fact that they don't live very long.

Answer 6

let him spend lots of time around you outside of his cage, he probably feels territorial of it, give him treats outside of his cage to help him build trust with you slowly start to handle him more outside of his cage then proceed again in his cage, giving him treats in his cage and then begin to handle him. It will take patience and time but remember don't reward him when he nips you and don't hurt him either. I have pet rats and when one of them does something naughty I put them somewhere they don't want to be like alone in their cage while the others have play time and they learn from it quickly

Answer 7

Rodents usually nip, theres nothing you can really do about it, they dont live long enough to even bother to train. Wear heavy work gloves maybe, or keep doing what youre doing. Also, try buying him a salt wheel. This will keep his teeth from getting too long so if he does bite you it wont hurt as much.

Answer 8

Um have you woken him up while he was asleep, they HATE that they get very startled and attack who ever it was that did that. Try feeding it, it's favorite food from you're hand and gently pet it's back before trying to scoop it up.

Answer 9

Read Kafka to him - I guarantee that it will work.

Answer 10

yoga