90 replies to this topic

[hammylvr4evr]

Is hamster chewing on their cage a bad thing? Or not?

[Tink]

It's not bad but it means they are bored. How big is the cage?

[Emmie]

it doent nessary mean they are bored even if a hamster have plenty to do

[ArcherJP]

Of course it doesn't always mean the hamster is bored. I give my hamster tons of things to play with, chew on, etc. But as I once read somewhere: "Your hamster's first thought, regardless of toys, treats, etc.. is ESCAPE!" (not always true. my hamster's first thought is "food"... then "escape") And of course the bars are small, which I guess equates to "easy escape!" despite the bars being metal. The only thing I'd be wary of is if they're rather intensly going at the bars, they might get rub-burn on the top of their nose... but that doesn't happen often, and would occur over lots of time and fierce chewing.

[Kibbles]

I just recently got a bin cage, Its HUGE. Heres a link to a pic. My brother is also on the forum and he make a topic about it. Heres the link

[Geniverger]

When my hammie bites on the bars I started to say "NO" in a firm voice then gently pushed his lil nose off the bars - is this okay? He seems to listen. When I say "NO" firmly someone said I sounded mean, so now I feel bad but tone of voice communicates messages too!

Chewing on the bars of the cage is a natural thing for your hammy to do - it's instinctive and that's not going to change however many times you yell or poke his nose. He has to chew otherwise his teeth will overgrow and cause him a lot of pain and suffering.

Instead, try and find positive things for your hammy to chew on - I like to use honey and fruit bars (available from pet shops), cardboard weaved in and out of the bars of the cage where my hammy likes to chew and pieces of carrot.

Anyone who is good at origami can also make tiny cardboard food parcels - a small cardboard box filled with hamster food. Your hamster will chew the cardboard to get to the treats inside, as well as having something which stimulates it's natural foraging behavior.

[blackberry1227]

Hey wow thanks alot for posting this i never thought of putting my blackberry in a TIME OUT....I use to blow in her face...but now i realize why she doesn't like me :] yeah well i stearted the TIME OUT a couple days ago and it's really working she's already learning how to use her potty...I also used it when she ran away and now whenever she climbs out of her play pen she just sits there......hahah im so impressed on how this worked i highly recomend it to any one who is trying to tame their hamster!!!!


---Ashley

[blakskall]

about the biting vs nibbling.. Im guessing having to shake the hamster off your finger is a bite.. am i correct? lol happened to me this afternoon

[Logi]

If I can add my limited two pence experience... there's a huge range between just 'soft nibbling' like the above poster described and 'angry/scared bite'. For example, when I went to get my hammie, another in the cage came up and sniffed me, then bit me, but very gently. I had just come from having dinner, so I probably smelled like fries still! It was just a curious sort of nip, that didn't hurt but let me know that it would if he had bitten harder. I've noticed my boy do the same to a lot of the things in his new cage, especially things that he has no way of recognizing. Also, the nibbling I got from my rabbits and the hammie I had when I was right little was less 'soft nose-rubbings' than 'prickly nibble', similar to what I get from my cats when they're 'chewing my fleas out', as it were.

What I'm saying is... a bite, even if it hurts a little bit, like a hard pinch, might not be an aggressive thing. It depends a bit on context.

[mello]

yeah, what logi said was right.. i also experienced and observe that kind of behavior with my syrian L and my campbell M..

let me just share you a bit of my experience with my hamsters(just a little bit.. )

with my campbell M, i had no problem with her taming process... she's just so gentle and i experience not even a nip(hehe.. ) she's just so sweet that all she does was to sniff my hand and even somehow lick my fingers.. which was so sweet! and after those taming process, where now ok with each other, she even stopped pooping while we are still playing..

and now with my syrian L, i really had a hard time with her, she always nips my hand eveytime i try to hold her in my hands.. but just as i've read, somehow that nip is just a sign of her curiousity..(hehe.. i just wish it was right.. hihi) but i still believe that after some time, she will be used with my scent.

hehehe... im just so happy that i have those two girls with me.. their just so adorable!

[Chouji1001]

I think we were very lucky to get the hamster we did. We made a post earlier ( http://hamsterhideout.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=54128 ) The reason I feel lucky we got this hamster, is that he will never try to bite, even if we surprised him for any reason! When he smells food on our fingers, he will lick us, just like the previous poster! We find it so cute! My best tip for choosing a hamster would be to not buy it too fast, take your time in there, see the ones that will be less likely to be a biter, you know. We chose one that was already like 4 months or 5 months old, that had fathered 2 times with the same female hamster, so he was pretty calm, yet still playful. That's my main tip, with my 2 hamsters, I never had to tame them at all, they were already very nice

I don't know what I would have done if they were biting me though, I'd most probably fear to be bitten again, but I'd have grown over it and tried to tame it the best I could I guess

[Rhesus_A]

I think we were very lucky to get the hamster we did. We made a post earlier ( http://hamsterhideout.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=54128 ) The reason I feel lucky we got this hamster, is that he will never try to bite, even if we surprised him for any reason! When he smells food on our fingers, he will lick us, just like the previous poster! We find it so cute! My best tip for choosing a hamster would be to not buy it too fast, take your time in there, see the ones that will be less likely to be a biter, you know. We chose one that was already like 4 months or 5 months old, that had fathered 2 times with the same female hamster, so he was pretty calm, yet still playful. That's my main tip, with my 2 hamsters, I never had to tame them at all, they were already very nice

I don't know what I would have done if they were biting me though, I'd most probably fear to be bitten again, but I'd have grown over it and tried to tame it the best I could I guess

My hamsters likes to lick my fingers too... I think it all started when I gave them some bread wet with skim milk...

[Yossarian]

Anyone who is good at origami can also make tiny cardboard food parcels - a small cardboard box filled with hamster food. Your hamster will chew the cardboard to get to the treats inside, as well as having something which stimulates it's natural foraging behavior.

This is wonderful! I will do this today!

Last night, I put a square of tissue paper I made smell like me in Chris' home, and put a food in the middle of it. When I woke up, I looked, and he had torn it up and was lying in the middle of it asleep ! At least I did not smell funny.

These tips are very much good!

[Toshie]

Um, hi, I read almost all the previous posts, but I can't help it, as the fear of being bitten just, uh, naturally comes to me. It's like, when I have the hamster in my hands, I automatically get all nervy! If I put my hands in her cage(flat on base) after washing them, I would also get bitten. But in that case, I think that she's being territorial. Used the scent tissue method though.

[Mouse Potato]

Um, hi, I read almost all the previous posts, but I can't help it, as the fear of being bitten just, uh, naturally comes to me. It's like, when I have the hamster in my hands, I automatically get all nervy! If I put my hands in her cage(flat on base) after washing them, I would also get bitten. But in that case, I think that she's being territorial. Used the scent tissue method though.

Although it's hard not to worry sometimes (I used to have to handle parrots, they can give fiendish bites, even just as a curiosity thing! I was terrified for quite a while O.o ) the best thing you can do is take a calm and collected approach. The hormones that are released when you feel fear will give out a particular scent, and your behaviour may become more jerky and erratic. These things will also make your hamster jumpy, so she's more likely to bite. The best thing to do is to take a few deep breaths and calm yourself down before you pick up the hamster. If this still doesn't calm your fear, you could perhaps try with the glove method, but I wouldn't really recommend it as it makes it harder for the hamster to get used to your scent.

The scented tissues are a great idea, they certainly allowed my hamster to calm down and feel more at ease with his surroundings.

If your hamster is territorial, it can be because her cage is too small. If your cage size is below 360inches floorspace and she's continually biting, you may want to consider buying an extension, in order to give her a bit more space and put her more at ease. Is she very new? This can also contribute to biting. Try to leave her alone for a while and see if she calms down - a new environment can be quite intimidating for a hamster, so it's quite natural for her to be a little more agressive than normal.

Good luck! Try not to be afraid.

Edited by Mouse Potato, 31 January 2011 - 10:40 PM.