Subject: (biting hamster)

Hi.
I bought a syrian hamster from a pet shop she was 6 weeks old when i got her .I was told by them that she was partly tamed already. I asked how do I tame her fully. They told me to put a treat in my hand and let her take it from me. This I did but she bit me. I have been trying to stroke her to try and get her used to my hand but then she bit me again can you sugest in what way i can tame her.

thanks jemma

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Hi. Jemma.

I do not for one minute disbelieve what you are saying. I have come across this scenario so many times before.
This goon at the pet shop, what exactly did he mean by a partly tamed hamster. There is no such thing. Either it is tamed or it isn't. There is no in between. Taming a hamster does not necessarily mean to stop it from biting. It should not bite in the first place, "at all, ever ".
But I don't blame the pet shop owner for this. The fault (and it is a fault) here falls entirely on the shoulders of the breeder. The buck stops here, no one has taught it to bite. I find it very difficult to comprehend why some breeders breed animals with this kind of temperament. If they do not understand hamsters they shouldn't be breeding them. I would be appalled, and ashamed if one of my customers came back to me with one of my hamsters that bite.
Any good breeder who knows his hamsters, knows that the temperament of his animals is paramount.
I breed many hundreds of hamsters a year, and only ever been bitten once. That was because i tried to pick up a female who was already in pain with a dislocated hip. Ouch!!! Hurt me, I hurt you.

All I can suggest now is what I tell everybody else.
You have to now try and gain her trust and confidence. Even then you may not be successful in acquiring your goal. It may be that she is biting to defend herself, she may be genuinely just frightened of you. But if she has been bred from nasty parents then this could be a inherited characteristic (trait) from them and it will show in her. Then you do have a problem, you will end up with a pet that you will probably never be able to handle. I wish you the best of luck and hope that all ends well. This will take a little time and a lot of patience. I suggest you get a pair of gloves a tight leather fitting pair rather than the cumbersome gardening gloves. Her teeth should not be able to pierce these. Offer her some raw corn on the cob, boiled egg or something like this.
Offer it to her with your fingers not on your hand, as she will not voluntarily walk onto your hand at this stage. This will also reduce the available area of your hand that she can access to bite.
Give this a try for a couple of days do it repeatedly during her waking hours. But not just after she wakes up, hamsters are a little crabby for about the first half hour or so, they like to go to the loo have something to eat and groom etc:
When you see her playing around her cage this is the time to start.
Then after a couple of days entice her into a play ball, let her climb in on her own accord if need be.
Then let her have a run around for ten to fifteen minutes, then using the gloves hold the ball over the base of her cage with one hand, and make her walk over your other hand to get back in the cage.

Offer her another treat, corn or egg, then walk away and leave her alone for a while. Try again about 1-2 hours later doing the same thing, eventually she should then begin to associate that your hand means playtime and treat time. If you try and see the world as your hamster does, then you should make progress. Talk to her in a low tone whilst you tidy her cage up as she is still in there, then walk away without trying to touch her or stroke her..
This will give her the confidence that you mean no harm to her every time you arrive at her cage.
Once you are sure she is not to keen to bite, pick her out of the cage place her on the settee, or bed and let her have run around freely and explore, this is the one thing hamsters love to do but keep her under very close supervision. Scoop her up and let her run from one hand to the other then put her down again. Although she will jump from your hand, just scoop her up again in both hands, and repeat.

Always scoop her up in "both" hands never try to grab hold of her. To stop her from running away or off the edge of the settee just put your hand in front of her she will stop and change directions.
It is up to you to try and establish a bond of friendship between you and your hamster. This is so easy to do it just takes only a little time but a lot of patience. Good luck.

Regards Hammys Team.

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