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Children's health

Hamster bite

29 replies

loopyloo87 · 19/09/2017 06:43

HI we bought a Syrian hamster from a pet shop last week for our 11 year old . I explained that gaining his trust would take time & patience. However last night she put her hand gently in his cage and he bit her drawing blood, the cut is tiny but it bled a fair bit.. I washed it thoroughly under the tap and covered with a plaster .. Should I call my Dr this morning I am keeping an eye on it for infection but I am worried

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littlebillie · 19/09/2017 06:57

Keep an eye on it they are normally deep but will heal

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loopyloo87 · 19/09/2017 08:08

Thankyou for your reply ,The hamster is my daughters first pet , we have a local breeder but she won't have any until Nov but my daughter couldn't wait it would have been better at least then we would have known our pets back ground... I feel that the ones in the pet shop are not used to being handled so getting bitten was frightening..It will take time for him to gain her trust. I'm worried about infection her finger looks ok this morning no swelling or redness but I did put another plaster on

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MrsJayy · 19/09/2017 08:14

Dont children get tetanus as part of their innoculations? She should be fine though she just keep an eye on it and tell her to keep out of hammys bedroom im sure if somebody stuck their hand in her bed she wouldn't be happpy either 😀

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loopyloo87 · 19/09/2017 10:29

Can children catch anything from a hamster bite ?

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MrsJayy · 19/09/2017 10:48

No they can't the dc were bitten by hamsters as kids they were fine honestly

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loopyloo87 · 19/09/2017 10:50

The cut was small but deep it bled a lot I was very worried especially as it's our first pet it was frightening

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FrankyStein · 19/09/2017 22:20

You sound like you have health anxiety. Maybe look at tackling that? I know it's hard to live with

Re the bite - it's a hamster bite. All kids get bitten by hamsters when they own them at some point. Forget that and concentrate on sorting the anxiety

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MarthaArthur · 19/09/2017 22:23

Hamsters bought in uk petshops dont have any weird diseases that can be spread to humans. If it doesnt look infected it will be fine just air it as much as possible. I used to get bitten a lot by my hamster. I miss the little monster.

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loopyloo87 · 20/09/2017 07:12

How dare you Frankystein anxiety has nothing to do with the concern for my child ... If you haven't got any positive helpful feed back please don't bother replying to my post... Your very insulting & rude why don't you learn some manners & empathy ..

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FrankyStein · 20/09/2017 07:22

Oh dear. Maybe you should re read my perfectly nice and measured response to you? Your response to me is hysterical and indicates anxiety

I'll back slowly away now though Grin

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SerendipityFelix · 20/09/2017 07:24

loopylou, you can't only accept what you deem "positive" answers. To me Frankystein's post did come across as polite and empathetic - why is suggesting that someone look at whether the degree of anxiety they're experiencing is rational or not insulting? There's no shame in having anxiety issues.

Describing a hamster bite as 'frightening' does sound to me like you've experienced a higher degree of anxiety around this incident than most people would.

Anyway, in summary - it's a minor injury and will heal, hamsters don't pose any specific health threat to humans with a functional immune system. I wouldn't worry about it any more than any other minor cut or graze and would concentrate on teaching your child to be patient when taming hammy (although hammy may be teaching that themselves lol!)

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monkeyfacegrace · 20/09/2017 07:26

Yep you sound very full of anxiety. It's a hamster bite. She'll be fine.

Isn't being bitten by a hamster/gerbil a right of passage? One of my little shits bit me through the finger, straight through the nail. That one hurt!

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Bumdishcloths · 20/09/2017 07:27

It's a hamster bite not a death sentence, calm down Hmm

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boxfile3 · 20/09/2017 09:25

Omg what is this gang up on Loopyloo87 ?? Frankystein if something like this can make you laugh hysterical you clearly need to get out more !! , would any of you be brave enough with your remarks to someones face I doubt it very much ..

Loopyloo87 I can understand your concerns & I doubt its anxiety especially if your child hasn't had a pet before, but if you washed the bite thoroughly it will heal

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monkeyfacegrace · 20/09/2017 10:23

boxfile you have made yourself look a little silly. Try reading the posts again, and understand there are different meaning of the word 'hysterical'.

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FrankyStein · 20/09/2017 10:32

I'm not ganging up on her! The read my original post. I SYMPATHISED with having anxiety for goodness sake.

And then re read the OPs posts. Slightly hysterical and yep, anxious. I'm not knocking her for having anxiety, it sucks. But a non infected hamster bite is really nothing to be 'so worried' about

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Hoppinggreen · 20/09/2017 10:36

Without wishing to be accused of "ganging up" on anyone a hamster bite is very very minor and there is no need at all to call the Doctor ( would love to be a fly on the wall during THAT conversation)
Your panic and subsequent replies to some posts are bit over the top OP

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Neverwasapancakegi7l · 20/09/2017 11:26

To be fair I had a hamster bite that got badly infected once and required strong antibiotics! But I was probably just unlucky and I guess an infection can happen in any wound. It took a few days to become a problem and was very obvious when infected. It cleared up after the antibiotics so even worst case scenario is a course of antibiotics and all will be fine but I doubt she will need them.
I was bitten lots of times over the years and that only happened to me once!

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boxfile3 · 20/09/2017 12:16

Oh yes infection can happen as my friend was bitten once and it travelled up her arm I agree it could be unlucky thankyou for your reply I can fully understand Loopyloo's concern .

.FrankyStein you really didn't have to suggest anxiety did you ? the question was regarding a hamster bite!!! Loopyloo wanted some support and reassurance not someone telling her that she had anxiety issues .. After reading some of the above posts I don't think that many of you had positive comments just comments about anxiety ....
Monkeyfacegrace, I by no means feel silly , I don't know who invited you into the discussion your another one with nothing positive or helpful to say
I think that some of you just use Mumsnet for a good rant

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monkeyfacegrace · 20/09/2017 12:55

Who invited me into the discussion? It's a public forum Grin

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magussisters · 20/09/2017 13:03

I've been bitten by hamsters a few times - they always bleed so much at the time - I can understand why it would feel frightening - but in my experience they heal well. I've never had an infection. I would just keep an eye on it for now.

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boxfile3 · 20/09/2017 13:11

I agree it's always best to keep an eye on animal bites . Monkeyface your user name clearly explains your ignorant and rude mannerism Grin

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MarthaArthur · 20/09/2017 14:09

Wow people are being over dramatic. Suggesting anxiety is perfectly normal and fine under the situation. "Frightening" and hamster bite do not go hand in hand ergo anxiety is a valid response. The over the top replies are something else though. I agree with you franky.

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FrankyStein · 20/09/2017 14:21

So...

I'm very worried
Can children catch anything from a hamster bite?
It bled a lot but looks perfectly normal but I'm so worried
Shall I call the doctor?



The above are the OPs own words from a few posts. Trust me, that's what anxiety looks like. It's not a bloody criticism! It's just a 'thing.'

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topcat1922 · 20/09/2017 14:30

Its amazing what a stir one innocent post has caused. I actually feel sorry for Loopyloo so what if she's anxious she's probably aware of it and just need advice ...These forums are for reassurance not criticism.
Mumsnet is well known for being unhelpful with people that are over opinionated...
Frankystein I hope that your never in a worrying situation and people mock you & are unhelpful . Tbh you don't sound like a very nice person to me.. There should be moderators on here to sort these negative comments out

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