Hamster help.

[smudgley]

Ok, so as you know we finally gave in to Ashleigh wanting a hamster & we have had her for, erm... maybe 2 weeks(?) anyway, she cleans her cage out twice a week, she feeds her & changes her water every day & gets her out every day. BUT she has nipped Ashleigh about 3 or 4 times, twice she has drawn blood. Ashleigh was getting a bit wary of her, so tonight I said I would get her out for her & she bit hard onto my finger & I nearly bled to death! (well ok then, not quite that bad, but it did bleed lots) the point being that Ashleigh saw it happen & is now scared to get her out. Hamster seemed really on edge & jumpy this evening, not sure why? John wondered if one of the cats had been by the cage stressing her out, but I doubt it as the bedroom door is always closed. Ashleigh has been crying tonight saying that she just wants a nice hamster like Holly (cousins hamster) - any ideas, now I know you are going to say she needs more handling, but it's kind of hard when she is now quite scared of her! I didn't make a fuss & tried to hide the fact that she'd nipped me, but Ashleigh saw the blood running down my finger. Why is she biting? .Elaine?? Jane ??.anyone??

We don't get her out when she is sleepy or just woke up, but Ashleigh made a good point when I said she doesn't handle her enough by reminding me that she's always asleep....which she is. She's still a baby & she sleeps loads, so it is hard finding a time to play with her.

[Elaine]

Well sadly hamsters are nocturnal creatures and so they do sleep most of the day, waking every few hours for a little nibble. When you or your daughter try to pick the hammy up, how exactly do you do it? Is it possible that maybe your daughter has hurt her, not deliberately ofcourse, but they do need gentle handling.
I am nervous of the nippers too, it hurts when they bite.
We always advise people who buy hamsters for children to have the child sitting on the floor with the cage infront of them, that way should the hamster jump, it doesnt have too far to fall. Rub some bedding on your hands for scent transfer and gently cup your hands around the hamster, allowing it to walk onto your hands, then with the other hand, gently cover the hamster and take it out of the cage.
As your daughter has gotten a fright, it may be an idea over the next few days to get her to scent transfer and just allow the hammy to smell her hand.
Oh another thing is if your daughter has just eaten crisps or something, make sure she washes her hands before handling the hammy as it will smell the food on her go for a bite.
Hope that helps a little, if not I am sure Jane will have some tips.

[smudgley]

That advice sounds good Elaine. I do however feel that we are on a slipperly downhill slope & that Ashleigh is now getting quite scared of her. She is quite hard to get a grip of, because of the layout of the cage. I tried to let her sniff my fingers tonight, but I must admit, I kept thinking she was going to bite me again. :oops: & after a nip, it puts you off. :( I could do with someone who knows a bit about hamsters handling her a little to build up Ashleighs confidence again with her.

Would you be able to pop round one evening Elaine? :roll: please?

[Elaine]

If I lived closer, sure I would:lol:
I know what you mean though, they give a nasty nip.
What kind of cage does she have?
I have Indy in a glass tank, as you all know she is a man eater and i cannt handle her, although I have managed to stroke her on occasion.
There's a thought, why not offer the hammy a nice treat with one hand and try to gently stroke her with the other, might help to get your daughters confidence up a bit.
I am thinking though that the problems may have arose around the kind of cage you have her in, if its not easy to get hold of her, if it is one of those rotastack types, I dont reckomend them at all, then it would be hard to get hold of her and perhaps as your daughter has been trying, she has inadvertantly hurt or caused the hammy some discomfort.
I prefer a large cage or tank with a few different levels and add my own tunnels etc. Makes life much easier for all.

[Elaine]

I have also used gloves for handling some of the nippers, not Indy as she would go right through them. Grooming gloves or gardening gloves.

[smudgley]

it's kind of a small rotastack "ish" one, but it has a helter skelter & a few tubes & not much in the way of clear floor space. The only way we can get her is when she's on that. So she's either heading up the slide or down it. She is a sweet little thing & is ok once she's out. But you know what it's like with these situations, a small problem, very quickly becomes a massive one & if she isn't handled loads now - she wont be able to handle her at all.
We do give her treats from our hand which she will take.

She takes everything into her wheel, it's an enclosed one, like a tube type of wheel & she has her bedding in there & all her food & all her treats & she spends all her time in the wheel, either playing or snoozing! Thanks for the advice. I would suggest maybe I could bring her to the supreme for some inputs on handling techniques, but maybe a hamster at a cat show is not a good move. :shock: :shock: :lol:

[Elaine]

http://www.essortment.com/hobbies/petsproperlyha_tqxr.htm

I dont know if this link will help, it may explain what I mean about handling better than i have.
Does she have a hamster ball? If so does it fit into the cage, so the hammy can climb into it by itself? Thats how I get Indy out of her tank. They are naturally curious and will go into almost anything.
Oh now that I have said that, the screaming hammy at work, rather than risk being bitten and stress the hammy out further, I put a toilet roll tube into the cage, let the hammy walk into it then I just cupped either end and lifted it out, that may be easier.

[Donna]

My kids hamsters always bit until they got used to our scent. I would just say persevere although they are quite scary once you have been caught once!!

[Jane]

Unfortunately, this is the problem a majority of hamsters from pet shops..A lot of pet shops never handle the hamsters and a lot also come from breeding farm type places so they have never been handled. She is biting because she's scared - she doesn't know that you want to stroke her, love her and fuss over her, all she knows is that a big giant hand is coming into her cage.

Feed her food through the bars at first until she is confident to take it then trying feeding food inside the cage. This might sound strange but is always recommended on hamster forums, you (or Ashleigh) can "wear" some white unscented toilet roll for a few hours (like up your sleeve or something) meaning your scent will be on it - you can then give this to the hammy and they will have your scent in the cage. Don't worry if the hamster starts ripping the tissue up, they're doing that because it's tissue, not because it smells like you :lol:

You can (or Ashleigh if she's confident enough) can sit in a dry bath tub, playpen, or maybe a hall with doors if you have one? and just let the hamster run around. Don't try to touch it - just let them run over you so it can get used to your scent. It is really unlikely they will bite like that. You can try stroking her then if you are both confident with this. Let her sniff you before you start stroking her, or atleast let her see your hand otherwise she will be scared and will probably flinch, turn round and bite you, but if she sees/smells you first it probably wont happen. Oh and always wash your hands before handling her, just incase you smell like food because then she will want to eat you lol. Even the tamest hammies will nip/bite when you smell yummy like food.

Not sure whether I helped..hope I did?

[tilly]

Ised to have hamster and they all bit as well. I can't offer any better help but hope you can sort it out. The gloves sound a good idea as bites hurt alot. I remember once i wa biten and the hamster wouldn't let go for ages. anyway I survived and hope yo do as well. (I was between 8-14 when I owned hamsters)
Sally

[Jane]

Oh, just another tip, if the hamster bites you and wont let go, try moving your finger (or whatever they're holding with their teeth), like, kind of push her backwards, she will loose grip to stop herself falling hopefully.

[smudgley]

Thanks Jane, that's helpful.

I did try to find a breeder of hamsters, before resorting to the petshop as I would have prefered one that came from a caring breeder, but I just didn't know where else to look!
I have studied cat / dog behaviour & the importance of early socialisation must be the same in all creatures, which is why I would have paid a bit more for a well handled baby hamster.

She will take food through the bars, she will take food out your hand in the cage. She is actually very tame! But when she feels like it...she bites! :roll:

[Jane]

Yep it's best if they're handled from roughly two weeks old (they shouldn't be handled before that) but some pet shop hammies turn out really tame :)

Hmm, I wonder what causes her to bite then? Is it when she is out and about or is it when she is in the cage?

[smudgley]

Both. When she's on your lap or when she's in the cage.

[Ramble]

hello!
Just popped 'over' and spotted this.
I totally understand what you mean and I was really wary of Sulu when my son got him. All credit to my son though he used to just stick his hand in the cage and let the hamster bite him!!!!!! He didn't then move his hand, as I told him that it was like a puppy, if you move your hand everytime they bite,they learn thats a good way to get rid of you! He had a few nasty nips but then the hamster gace up and hasn't bitten since. He initially fed him by hand in the cage as well.

The hamster ball tip someone else suggested is also a good one. We always get him out of the cage in his and let him roll round and sniff us through it. It has been invaluable as we didn't pick him up for a while, except in the ball.

He is now a happy, friendly little guy who seeks out attention when he hears you around!

I know it is scary, but I think the more the hamster smells you and realises that biting doesn't work, the better. I read somewhere (not that this will help you) that they can smell fear and react to it!!!!!!

Someone who may be able to help you though is Jane (with Belle) they kept rats for years and when she visited first with Belle, she was a big help (without even realising it) about the hamster!!!

Good luck!

[smudgley]

I figured if we don't start handling this little girl really soon, she'll never be handled! So thanks to Elaine. ;) She's fine now....... Gloves! 2 pairs of thick gloves to build Ashleighs confidence & all is fine now, we get her out every day & handle her loads with the gloves on, she knows now that the gloves mean playtime & she likes the smell of the gloves.

The other thing which we hadn't realised :oops: was that because she's in Ashleighs room, & she fills the wheel with food & bedding & it's very noisy, we would make the wheel unusable at night, which meant she was probably getting frustrated too. She now goes into the spare room at night & wheels around to her hearts contect.

The gloves was a great idea. :)

And bizzarely I'm just off to take Belle home to Jane now. :cool:

[Ramble]

Aw I'm glad it's all settled!
I wasn't keen on getting a hamster but I love him to bits now, as does my OH who was less keen than me!!!
Bet Jane will be pleased to have Belle back!!! Keep sending her festive name suggestions!!!!! ; )

[smudgley]

Wouldn't say I love this hamster, but we're away for the weekend & are taking the bloomin' thing with us. :roll:

Belle pups are due on Cristmas day! :-D

[Elaine]

So pleased to hear that things are getting better and Ashleighs confidence is gaining with the hammy.

[dandysmom]

Good news, Smudgley! It's great how someone here always manages to come up with helpful suggestions.....:D

[Fran]

Who is Jane and Belle?? Have I missed a thread? :smt017

[Elaine]

Who is Jane and Belle?? Have I missed a thread? :smt017


I wondered about that too.

[Jane]

I wondered about that too.

Ditto :lol:

[alexgirl73]

just caught this today, and had a giggle over it (sorry smudgley lol). Tbh, this is why I stopped having hamsters as pets and went over to keeping rats. I used to get bitten loads by hamsters, especially those evil little dwarf ones, vicious little so and so's they are lol. Rats are much friendlier and I've never been bitten by one yet. Glad to hear that things are a bit better though.

[smudgley]

Oh Jane is one of my Brood Bitch holders. Belle is her Brood. Ramble puppy walked one of Belles last litter.

[Kazz]

Oh Jane is one of my Brood Bitch holders. Belle is her Brood. Ailsa puppy walked one of Belles last litter.

The world gets smaller and smaller every day.:-D

[smudgley]

Not the Jane from Catsey, but another Jane, Ramble is from Catsey though.:lol:

Edited my posts as I forgot Ailsas username was now Ramble

Confused?