Hamster died today, got him 12/25. He bit my son on 12/26. What could have happened?

Question

We are new to raising hamsters so I don't have any idea what to look for. I am concerned about his biting my son. It wasn't a hard bite and I cleaned it and used neosporin.

Answer 1

your son will be fine.

hamsters only live about 2 to 3 years so it might of died with old age.

Answer 2

I've said it before and I'll say it again... If you don't have experience don't answer.

Captive bred hamsters do not carry rabies people. And the odds of an import having it are pretty slim. Besides, if your son had contracted rabies on12/26, he would be pretty far gone by now. Hamsters that are bought from pet stores are captive bred and do not have exposure to wild pathogens such as rabies.

As for biting... While there are exceptions, hamsters tend to be nervous and may bite when startled (which doesn't take much). The bite itself is nothing to worry about, aside from a deep bite possibly getting infected. If you used neosporin you'll heal just fine.

An injured or hurting animal will also bite. There may have been some sort of internal problem that finally proved fatal. However, with no other symptoms I don't really know what killed the hamster. Usually old hamsters start to look sickly before they die. If yours looked healthy when you bought it that probably wasn't the case.

I wouldn't let it discourage you about rodent keeping though. It was just a bad experience and I think you should try again. But personally, having kept and bred all sorts of rodents, I recommend rats to hamsters. Yeah, I know rats have a bad rep, but it's merely a stereotype hovering over wild ones. Captive bred rats are a different story altogether. They need a bigger cage, but they are actually intelligent enough to recognize you if you interact with them a lot. No other small rodent has this quality. Also rats will only bite if they are in physical pain. If they are frightened they will just squirt out of your hand (their coat is very smooth and slick and will slip through a grasping hand), whereas frightened hamsters, gerbils, and mice are more apt to use their teeth as a way to startle you into letting go.

Anyway, whatever rodent you go with, I would advise you to try again. When you shop, just look for one that has bright, beady eyes and is curious about you rather than running to the other side of the cage or cowering down.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Hamsters are wonderful pets - affectionate and sweet as long as they are hand trained and taken care of the right way.

Since I wasn't there when the hamster bit I can't say what triggered that behavior. Was the hamster hand trained already? How old is your son? Little ones tend to squeeze and pet too hard. The bite may have been a defensive one.

Was his hamster given "outside" the cage experiences? Hamsters need to be released from prison everyday for sometime. (Would you like to be stuck in a cage all your life?) My hamsters would come out of the cage onto my hand when there was a treat to be found. This is a great way to hand train your hamster.

Next time you get a hamster ask the pet shop if the animal is hand trained. If they say "he's a biter" don't buy him!

My hamsters have lived years so don't give up!

Answer 4

If you live in the UK it is unlikely that your son has caught rabies from a hamster unless the hamster was illegally imported and didn't pass through the quarentine system. You should however take your son to the doctors as with all animal bites (or injuries involving rusty metal) a tetnus jab may be required, particularly if he is not up to date with his vaccines.

You don't say how old your hamster is. If it is older than a year then the chances are that it died of natural causes as most hamsters don't live beyond 3 years anyway.

As previously mentioned, hamsters can bite for numerous reasons. Young hamsters are more likely to bite as they are inexperienced with being handled- how would you feel if a hand 4 times bigger than your own body came swooping down out of the skies and grabbed you and swooped you hundreds of body lengths into the air at a great rate of knotts? Scary huh?

My rat died shortly after it bit me and drew blood, I never thought anything of it at the time, but a few months later my friends lovebird bit me and drew blood, it died shortly after. I couldn't help but wonder what disgusting disease these poor animals had contracted from me through biting? :P

The point is don't panic. If you have any concerns about your child's health, get him to the doctors.

Answer 5

I used to work in a pet store and we would have people bringing hamsters that died just days after they bought them back. After research and talking to the vet, there is one BIG thing that comes to mind. When hamsters are brought to a new home, they are very frightened and need to be socialized gradually. If they get very stressed they can develope a condition known as "wet tail" Whenever I sold a hamster i always strongle recommended that the person buying it to get anti wet tail medicine. I think it's called wet tail plus. It's tablets that you put into the water bottle to prevent wet tail. You can find it at petsmart. I have used it for every hamster I've had as a preventative

Answer 6

I have never found hamsters to be very sociable. Cute....yes. Friendly...no. Every hamster I had or knew growing up bit people....and they never lived very long either. I think they are just too nervous/high-strung to make good childrens pets. I always had a great deal of success with mice and rats. They are way smarter.....and way nicer! They also only live 2-3 years but are much more likely to make it that long !

Answer 7

we have had hamsters for yrs and have even bred them. they have a short lifespan, most of them do not live longer than 2 yrs. if they bite it is usually one of a few reasons. either they get scared, like when he grabbed it to pick it up, or maybe he had a smell of food on his hands and they tried to get food. they have poor eyesight and rely on their nose a lot.

you son is probably safe and ok, keeop an eye on the bitesite to see if it turns red or becomes infected but my guess is you just had an old hamster

Answer 8

if there are children around an animal they should know how to hold it correctly, the chances are that your son could've been holding him too tight, but make sure that you get your hamsters from a place where you're confident they won't have rabies.
get it checked out, rabies is dangerous.

Answer 9

ur son bite him back??....uhh that could have happened?¿ sorry im not a hamster professional. Oh yeah take ur son to the doctor so he/she can look at the bite.

Answer 10

hamsters always bite the first few times you handle them i would be concerned why it only lived a short period of time with you?