Do Syrian hamsters bite?

[FcukBreastCancer]

Used to love mine. I'm trying to persuade dh. Kids miss their guinea pigs (now in heaven).
Mine never bit, but I've heard stories of them being savage.

Yabu - they are bitey little f*ckers
Yanbu - they are placid and lovely and wouldn't harm a finger

I think they are 50/50 in each camp - with literally no grey areas!

Bitey little fuckers that are nocturnal! Guinea pigs or rats (in groups) make much better pets.

Sadly, the abiding memory of my little Syrian blue was of my hand getting shredded. But, they are all different.

We've got 3, 2 are super friendly and playful, takes treats from kids, happy being picked up ect, our 3rd one would rather chew your hand off than be handled!

I've had a couple of bites. I second rats.

Yes, and their teeth are v Sharp!

I think they're less likely to bite if they're used to being handled gently from as young as possible.

Also I've read that you're more likely to get bitten if they smell food on your hands.

Guinea pigs every time. Gentle, diurnal little herbivores who like human company

Mine bit through my thumbnail. In shock, I shook my hand and he flew across the room. Thought I had killed him but he scurried away and consoled himself by eating through some wiring before we caught him a day later. He had a tumor (which the vets managed to remove), then long teeth that the vet clipped, then he finally got put to sleep at 18 months old. Cost a bloody fortune.

They can bite.
If you don't want to be bitten you need to get one that has been handled from 4 weeks old (eg: from a breeder not Pets at Home) and build up gently to handling it outside the cage (eg: in an empty bath with towels down or a playpen) without swooping down from above like an owl or squeezing it.
Don't ever stick your hand into the cage or your fingers through the bars as they are territorial and will think your finger is food to collect.

I have had a dozen or so and only been bitten a handful of times in total following these rules, at least two of which were when I actually didn't follow them and tried to encourage the hamster to move from the cage to the transport tub directly.

Pretty much all rodents will bite if handled or kept incorrectly.

Ultimately, most small rodents essentially dislike being handled. They might tolerate it, but minimal handling is best for most of them.

Rats are probably the exception - they almost never bite and are very amenable to being handled and interacting with people. They're incredibly gentle animals. However, they do need a much, much larger cage than a) hamsters and b) pretty much any cage a pet shop will try to tell you is suitable, and they should be kept in pairs at the very least with three being the best option. They also need letting out to wander for a good while every day and need to be fed a good, varied diet that includes enough protein.

Argh. I do not have room for rats and my extremely spoilt guinea pigs will not be replaced. I have redone all the cages. Indoor, outdoor, bigger indoor and run! Plus they lived until aged 7 which doesnt suit as mean as it sounds. I'd like to think that I look after pets well. My rabbit lived till 11.

I've had 6, 4 of them were bitey fuckers and 2 were really placid and happy to be handled. I have also had gerbils which I found were much more amenable to being handled and never bit me

I think most animals will bite if frightened.

We had one who was beyond tame,we got him used to being handled by just letting him run over our hands for a couple of weeks before actually picking him up. He was so lovely and knew his name 😊

We've had 2.
First one was lovely and came out at tea time and handled well.
The second was bitey and more squirmy and generally less good.

I have had a few and was happy not to pick them up much so I didn't get bitten. I could stroke them and hand feed them. I have also had Russian dwarf hamsters which definitely bite given the chance.
Some people can have an anyphalactic reaction to hamster bites.

Gerbils all the way , you can get two sisters who live together. They happy to be handled, bloody escape artists though you need a proper gerbil tank.
I think our lived until about 3?
We had a hamester who hated everyone.

A relative had Degus which were really friendly - with people - they need a pair at least and generally get on, but their arguing amongst themselves when they have a spat is pretty violent for kids to watch.
Though I wish I’d heard of them earlier - my kids had a variety of small animals - the Russian hamster was a determined and angry biter but the Syrian one was delightful - both quite small for younger children though to handle I think.

Ours was called Sid as in Vicious.

Depends on the hamster individually like with any animal OP. I've had 3 that was lovely and placid since handling the day I got them til the day they passed, never bit anyone. I also had 1 that was bitey and nearly had my stepdads finger off.

The natural instincts of syrian hamsters are to travel large distances through the night and sleep during the day. Makes them a spectacularly unsuitable pet to be kept in a small cage for young children imo.

One that is well socialised and in a safe environment is likely to be friendly. Otherwise, they can have the ability to be finger munchers.

I’ve had 10 and am yet to have a bitey one, however I’ve never bought one from Pets at Home. I used to buy them from an independent pet shop where the staff handled them, but more recently I buy them from a breeder. When you get them from a breeder they’re already used to being handled.

The one I currently have is a proper little character. I’ve had her since she was 7 weeks old. She comes out in the day because she’s so nosey. Her home is by the key box so when DH is getting ready to leave for work in morning she comes out and begs him for treats, which she always gets. She stamps and bangs when she wants to come out, then promptly goes to sleep on my shoulder.

My local rescue has two girls she promises are tame. I shouldn't of looked 😅
This is how I ended up with guinea pigs. Same rescue

A friend recommended gerbils, I just am more comfortable with hamsters but not sure why. Had a few myself as a kid. Not ruled out gerbils

We always had hamsters growing up and in my memory they were lovely and didn’t bite and we handled them very nicely. I remember getting a class hamster at school and being horrified at how many children were terrible at handling it - dropping, squeezing, shoving hands in the cage and scaring it.

In my head I was basically a hamster whisperer.

Just asked my mum and she says they did bite and were a nightmare so perhaps I’ve remembered wrong.

Oops.

Oh well. If you get one just don’t get one of those dwarf ones. Those are awful. Syrians are so much nicer.