Biting for no reason? - HOW TO STOP BITING.

[tnh]

O Wise Fledermaus, and anyone else who reads this:

I can deal with hamsters that bite when they're scared, or startled, or feel intruded-upon. What I'm trying to cope with right now is a new hamster that bites at random when she's calm and comfortable.

I've had her for about two weeks now. We've been getting acquainted, and we're to the point where she'll climb into my hand without too much coaxing. Sometimes that's fine. And sometimes, when she's sitting there, she'll randomly up and bite me, hard, like a human making an offhand remark. If I don't scream or draw back, she'll continue sitting on my hand while I bleed all over everything.

I'm pretty sure I don't smell like food, because I never handle her without first washing my hands.

Any suggestions? I'm stumped.

[Die Fledermaus]

Nice to see you back.

Robin and Katie certainly know hamsters.

First thing is, as always, I'd want to know what kind of hamster. But as there is a separate forum for Dwarfs and Chinese I will assume Syrian. If this is a dwarf I suggest you PM Robin and ask her to specifically check this thread. She has more experience with them than I do. Many dwarfs
I had nipped for no particular reason; it was like a hello. I did not often handle them.

Two weeks is not especially long. You also did not tell us the ham's age or where she was before you got her. You did not mention if you are waking the ham up or letting the critter sleep in total privacy and darkness for as long as she wants. That helps relax them.

I will also assume the ham is healthy, although you did not say. Teeth OK?? I mean, not too long?

Why did Syrians bite me? Zeb bite me just once as I held all four of his legs (my fault). Lots of blood; little pain. A few others bit me when sick, or sadly, dying. I have been bitten four times by Syrians, and I have had scores of them. Biting is very rare, from my experience.

I had a lovely gerbil, Chrissie, who for NO apparent reason, after many months of daily handling, suddenly sunk her teeth in hard and held on hard! She left a bruise! She repeated this hours later after I washed my hands. I then handled her less, and with gloves. Several months later when I had the nerve to take off the gloves she did not bite me.

if I have a point, and I do, it is that sometimes there is no explanation. They all have different personalities and different life experiences, not to mention the habitat area they live in.

In cases such as that, the instant the teeth get near my skin the trick would be a tap on the nose, not hard, just enough to get the ham to associated that teeth on that soft flesh, so easy to bite!, gets a less than pleasurable tap on the nose. But not hard enough to get the ham scared or mad! Of course. Saying "No!" at the same time as the tap I do not know if it will help, but maybe it is worth a try.

Of course, you could wear gloves for awhile until she gets the idea.

And if she never gets the idea, keep wearing the gloves!

On the other hand, allowing a ham to bite a gloved hand WITHOUT that tap on the nose may calm her down, if not calm. Your call. Eventually they relax and stop. keep stroking the ham gently on the back even after a bite; that too can be calming.

Never squeeze or suddenly pick up, of course. never wake up and pick up, of course. (I am saying this for others).

Do not let the ham feel too high up; they prefer to be close to the ground. So keep them low and near something solid.

Never handle a hamster soon after they were eating; they might think you are food.

Nothing else to say, except PATIENCE!

[tnh]

Thanks. It's nice to be back. Sorry for the missing info.

The newbie is indeed a Syrian; at a guess, maybe ten or twelve weeks old, bought at a pet store. Teeth and health are okay. She got a little damp-arsed a couple of days after she came home with me, but that passed after a day or two. I did disturb her in her igloo two or three times right around then because I was checking to see whether she was okay, but otherwise she sleeps undisturbed.

She has a chunk of arbutus wood which she chews on, she runs in her wheel at night, and she's started climbing the walls of her cage. She's made a well-burrowed-in nest inside her plastic igloo, and seems to be a sound sleeper. I interact with her when she comes out. Things are coming along fine, except for the biting.

She didn't try to bite me when I was first watching her in the store, and she wasn't too jumpy. In fact, what struck me about her originally was her alertness and poise. The weird thing about the biting is that she doesn't seem upset when she does it. During one incident where she was sticking her nose out though her cage mesh and repeatedly trying to bite me, she also had her paw resting on my finger the entire time.

I'm not fast enough to tap her on the nose. I've been expressing disapproval by briefly blowing in her face (not very hard).

Patience it is.

[Die Fledermaus]

Yea, blowing in the face is a variant of tapping. You could have in the other hand one of those rubber "bulb" things photographers and such have - you squeeze them quick a a shot of air comes out. Easier than reaching with your lips.

Avoid lettuce. No nutrition; can cause the runs.

>> The weird thing about the biting is that she doesn't seem upset when she does it. <<

Neither did Chrissie the gerb when she bit me. It was very matter-of-fact.

>> During one incident where she was sticking her nose out though her cage mesh and repeatedly trying to bite me, <<

Or just trying to get out?

Keep us posted.

I am making this a sticky thread (on biting). Check back for responses from anyone else.

[pinky]

Hi tnh--sorry, I've been so busy that I've just been checking the forum cursorily, and I missed this.

I have no experience with Syrians, but I have had a bitey dwarf and have another now. In their cases, though, it's really cage aggression. Talk about enigmatic: Jayde jumps up and down when I approach the aquarium--"take me out! take me out!"--and then if I try to I will be soundly bitten. More than once I've lifted my hand out with her still hanging on. . .

Mallory, bitey dwarf #1, nipped predictably: when held with feet in the air, and when my hands smelled like food. Once I learned to avoid those things, all was well. Jayde is not as predictable. I have had to change some of what I do with her to avoid situations where she may nip/bite--but with those changes she behaves well. So I concede to her--one concession being that I never try to pick her up from her tank or playpen with my hands.

As to your situation, I think patience will be the key. Your ham isn't showing consistently bad behavior, at least. However, I know how aggravating it is when the behavior seems random and you're perpetually afraid of losing a chunk of a finger. It really takes the fun out of hamster playtime, doesn't it?

Maybe you shouldn't let her sit in your hand too long--transfer her to your lap or a play area. In other words, avoid the situation, as I do with Jayde. Then, after a few weeks more of bonding, "test" her and see what happens.

Hope this helps in some way.

[Die Fledermaus]

Funny. I have never had a Syrian bite me for absolutely no reason.

It was Chrissie the gerb who once did that in my hand, as I said.

Actually, the gerb bite drew much less blood but hurt much more: ham teeth were long but in and out fast; gerb teeth a littler smaller but she put the clamp on me and held on really tight. The strength of the bite of an animal that small was surprising. But then if they can gnaw through PVC pipe, and they can, I should have expected this.

See this link - you will love the photos! ;D
kanez.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Ham&action=display&thread=61

[tnh]

Fledermaus, you were dead right -- patience is the trick.

I remember you saying years ago that what you did with your Maggie to get her to be calm and happy was to never do anything she didn't want. That's what I've been doing with my newbie.

I've been talking to her, feeding her tiny snacks, and letting her get used to me and my hand. When I feel her start to nip at my fingers, I withdraw them. Opening her mouth to bite gets her a puff in the face. Last night I held my finger against the bars of her cage and she repeatedly butted it with her nose, but didn't bite, nip, or appear to be thinking about biting, so hurray!

Paying attention to what she wants has suggested another tactic. She always wants to get out of her cage (especially if it means she gets to run around in her hamsterball), so I've been opening her cage door and positioning my hand just outside it. She can get out, but she has to step onto my hand to do it. It took her a couple of days to work up to trying it, and a few more of putting one foot, then two feet onto my hand before withdrawing, and then a couple of days of slowly and cautiously climbing out onto my hand, then immediately leaping back inside.

Today she walked out onto my hand, jumped into my lap, and jumped from there into her hamsterball, and did it all again in reverse when her hamsterball session was over. I think we're going to be fine.

Thank you!

(By the way, she has a name now: Agnes Margaret, a.k.a. Aggie Maggie, so in a way she's a Maggie too. Here's a photo: www.flickr.com/photos/35314672@N04/sets/72157617516155292/)

...

More on non-biting: For a while, I was considering getting some bitter apple solution and putting it on my fingers. I figured I wouldn't want to live that way, but it probably wouldn't take long for her to get the idea. I decided not to try it after all. Do you know anyone who has?

[Die Fledermaus]

If you look at the Memorial Gallery in my signature, the hamster on the home page is Maggie. Her story is touching.

>> Fledermaus, you were dead rightFledermaus, you were dead right <<

Always thus!

Nice the way she walks onto your hand. But YOU deserve much credit for your patience.

I have heard of people putting Bitter Apple or the like (such as YUCH or alum) on cage bars, with limited results, but not on the fingers. Syrians are very much prone NOT to bite, normally. So as you discovered, there is no need to try such things.

Keep us posted.

Unusual cage in the photo, What is it?

Aggie Maggie looks very calm and content.



LINK HERE
Lovely photo gallery. Worth a look, everyone.


In fact you could post the link in the Photo Gallery forum. Your names are very unique and creative. I have gone through so many names I am down to picking the names of trees in New Zealand!

I just realized "tnh" are your initials. Duh.