How can you teach a hamster not to bite?

Question

my hamster is siberian dwarf and is a spoiled brat. my hamsters name is pepper and she loves to eat, but latley ive been scared to put my hand in her cage. Like the time i was tring to drop a treat in her bowl she was hiding behind her slide. She imediatly jumped and attacked my hand! can you help me?

Answer 1

In the case of Syrians and Campbells dwarves (you probably have a Campbells, pet stores incorrectly sell them as "Siberian Dwarves"), I've seen alot of the "attacking" behavior. It has been much more severe in the Campbells. Campbells tend to be more territorial.

If she's attacking by you just putting your hand into the cage, food or not, taming is going to be extremely difficult, if not impossible. The best advice I can give you is to take her back to the pet store and get another one. Be sure to hold the second one in the store before bringing it home to be sure it doesn't bite.

More and more pet store animals are beginning to demonstrate temperament problems due to the nature that commercial breeders are breeding them. Here's the scenario: the commercial breeder needs to send some more hamsters to their client, the pet store. He goes to the cage with hamster pups and starts to take them out. One hamsters bites him hard several times. The commercial breeder knows the pet store will complain if they receive this biting hamster so he doesn't send it. What does he do with the biting hamster? He could kill it or if it's a female, he'll use her to breed more hamsters. So he's actually selecting the meanest hamsters to breed from! Over several generations, the temperament of a line can completely shift. Other breeders and I are concerned that hamsters are beginning to get a bad reputation as biters.

If you don't want to or can't take her back to the store, it's not a lost cause with your new friend because you bought her at the pet store, you may just have to work harder because of her genetically determined temperament. She may always be a bit persnickity but if you stop working with her altogether, she will get harder to handle when you need to change her cage.

You need to start holding her a couple times each day. If you can't get her out of the cage, then get her into a toilet paper roll and then dump her into your hand. Begin walking her from hand to hand, one in front of the other. You can also make it an unending "staircase". If you keep her moving you probably won't get bit. Do this over your bed so that if she manages to jump off your hand you can catch her. Once you're comfortable handling her in this fashion, begin to closing your fingers as she's walking from hand to hand so that she's now moving through an unending "tunnel". This will get her accustomed to being held and touched on her back. These sessions only need to last five minutes but you need to do them at least twice a day, preferably more. If you're scared of doing this at first, then wear a pair of thick leather gloves to get her accustomed to the "exercise".

If you have a ball that you want to roll around on the floor in, work with her before putting her in the ball. You may think that she'll be more tired and easier to work with after having some exercise but she'll be more excited and actually harder to work with.

She may never be easy to handle and you will have to recognize it as her individuality.

-Janice
http://www.holmdenhillhaven.com

Answer 2

Please do not thump the hamster on it's nose because it will view that as an attack and possibly begin biting more in defensive of itself.

Clean your hands so you don't smell like food. Try reaching in to pet her when she's sleepy and a little less alert. Go up to the cage and just calmly talking to her even if you're afraid of picking her up. Make sure the cage has a good place for her to hide. Find anything of yours scent-wise to put in the cage so she wont be so territorial.

Some small animals overcome biting and can be trained. Some cannot and may just like to explore things with their mouths. Some bite as a sign of affection.

Answer 3

Right now your hamster apparently sees you as the enemy. She doesnt know she can trust you, so she has to be taught that she can. offer her treats, (stuff like yogurt, or peanut butter would be great.. then she'll have to eat it off of your hand instead of grabbing it and running off, this will teach her that your hands arent a threat) talk gently to her, when she bites, dont scream or jerk your hand away, remain calm (easier said than done) if you have to, make a fist because it hurts a little less than getting your fingers bit. They sell stuff that is for people who bite their nails. they put it on their finger tips and it tastes absolutely horrible (so that when they bite, they get some of that nasty stuff in their mouth and remember not to bite)

See if you can find some of this. Its all natural so it wont harm your hamster but when she bites she'll get a nasty taste and she'll quickly learn that biting you isnt worth it (I used this stuff with a bird of mine once, it took a few times but it worked)

Hamsters can be trained not to bite, you just have to be patient, gentle, and consistant. Good luck!

Edit- Whatever you do, DONT grab her while she's sleeping, it'll freak her out and she'll probably attack your hand. Trust me I learned my lesson when I tried to grab a sleeping hamster. They dont like the surprise. But can you blame them? how would you feel if someone grabbed you while you were sleeping.

Also when youre trying to pick her up make sure you talk gently to her first so that she knows youre there.. A hamsters eyesight isnt that great.

Answer 4

no, it's really not feasible to teach a hamster not to bite... it's instinct afterall. But you can teach your hamster to learn to trust you... take things slow an ont' stick your hand in it's cage, it's pretty freaky from the hamster's perspective! Once it calms down, open the cage and see if it'll come out, if not, close it back, but if it does, let it approach you instead of you approaching it. It takes time, but, eventually it'll learn to live with you.

Answer 5

the challenge is it incredibly is dealing with sexual adulthood degree. Mine substitute into like it he'd chew the palms off you. All you may do is supply up choosing him up for approximately 2 weeks so it's going to pass. and then as quickly as you notice he/she has stopped biting than you are able to pass to step 2. managing your hamster greater generally , placed on gloves and initiate choosing it up like 3 and four cases an afternoon which will tame it and beneficial sufficient he gets use to it . and he would be okay to handel back Mine grew to become out ok. :) sturdy success.

Answer 6

That is what also happened to one of my pigeons. I was giving it food then suddenly, it attacked my hand. I didn't give it food until it let my hand inside his cage. I guess it learned its lesson. But please, DON'T LET IT STARVE. You should learn to handle our pet frequently so that it will trust you.
Good luck!!!!
And oh, nice hamster. Siberian dwarfs are expensive and need special attention in our country.

Answer 7

the hamster is afraid you are this hudge frickin hand in his cage and is i was pepper i would bite you too try to gradualy let him get used to you and all dont rush things with something that small i have had alot of hamsters 13 to be exact and the frist coule of weeks they all bit me but after that i was holding them and they got to play in the ball and all i got them treats then they died after a year but i got one then once that one died/pased away i got 2 more or one more or i just got a dog they last longer

Answer 8

Electro Shock Therapy... or filing its teeth

if those options are not desirable, then theres always the option of getting rid of it. I know a few python lovers who wouldn't mind taking it off your hands. :p

Honestly, sometimes animals are vicious. Some cases its due to disease, other times its just their nature. Unfortunately I dont think your hamster will ever be calm and friendly. Hamsters are too stupid to be trained at all. They lack the necessary brain power to conspetualize not biting.

Answer 9

you need to handle her more (she bites beacuse she is scared)
i have one too and he used to bt all the time but if u grin and bear it the biting will become less frequent

hope this helps

peace out :)

Answer 10

wash ur hand and never wake him up, btw, dont use a soap that smells good or like any thing thats eatable