Do Syrian hamsters bite?

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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

You sure it is a Syrian Hamster and not a Siberian Hamster called Basil? 😂Those buggers do bite!

We have had Syrians, russian, Chinese, gerbils guinea pigs and rabbits.

The most child friendly we had were Chinese hamsters. In our experience they were the friendliest, happy to by handled, and we had pairs both times.

The least child friendly were the Russians. Too small and too fast to pick up easily. Which made cleaning out more of a faff than it needed to be.

Ours did.

Mine was great, very placid, used to go around the house on my shoulder 😂
She bit my dad once, but that was her one and only

Get a Siberian Filligree. They're very chill.

They bite until they are tamed through gradual handling. And don't stick your fingers through the cage bars, ever. There isnt such thing as a magical non-biting rodent sadly-- everyone always needs to be aware that they might bite in certain circumstances.

I had loads of hamsters as a kid and I tamed them all myself. Had a couple of bites before I learned to be careful. It is a good learning experience for a child and great when they become tame. Some have better termperments than others but regular handling is key. Start with strokes then pick them up for a couple of seconds. Build it. Be aware that if you pick them up round the waist they can bend their head under and get your thumb-- and if you put them on your palm they can bite that too hahaha. Plus they are grumpy if you wake them so give them time to wake up. Funny little things, grouchy wee teddybears.

I was bitten by my guinea pig too so they aren't the placid creatures some people are saying.

Some bite. Some don’t. There seems to be no reason as to which one you’ll get I’m my experience!

Yes, they do. They have poor eyesight, so if a finger is put near them, they mistake it for a piece of food.

My DC have had two Syrian hamsters (not at the same time) and they were gorgeous, both females, didn't bite once, not once, but they were handled regularly from relatively young. They were tortoiseshell in colour if that makes any odds.

I have horrible experiences of Russian hamsters and Gerbils though!

@JahanaraBegum my guinea pigs had very different personalities. One would chew your arm hair as a bit of a warning. He did sometimes nip and hated being carried really. His brother was like a cuddly teddy bear.

They bite. A lot. 😉

Rats are such good pets.

Ours never did, picked up with a mug initially before they were used to being handled very gentle sweet little creatures. I think the bitey ones must have been scared

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5457152-help-with-mean-little-hamster?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share

I think it’s luck of the draw! Ours doesn’t, he’s a chilled little thing.

We have had many Syrian hamsters over the years. The majority have been very calm and brilliant to handle.

But

We have had two or three that were absolutely evil, and would sink their teeth into you at the drop of a hat .

Whose hamsters are biting them??

I had three as an older child / younger teenager (separately, not at the same time). All would only bite if you did something really dumb like poke your fingers in the cage or wake them up when sleeping.

All would tolerate some handling (but would always have preferred to run around the bedroom). All were bought from Pets at Home (or similar).

They only live a couple of years, need cleaning regularly, are nocturnal and noisy at night. But no, not bitey, if treated properly.

We always had hamsters growing up. Syrian hamsters were always the most gentle but they can still bite, depending on their personality. Boys I found gentler than girls. Russian hamsters / roborovskis are evil little things though!

Just to let you know that if you do get a hamster, especially a Syrian, please watch some informational videos and get a large tank - you can get them fairly cheap second hand. Hamsters often bite because they are distressed in their environment; there’s obviously other reasons but I have seen so many poor enclosures and the poor things are hanging off the bars by their teeth out of boredom and stress.

They can do and have quite a nip! If you do get one please please get a large fish tank and research floor space needed and deep bedding for burrowing! A lot has changed since we were young! We got D's a hamster and made sure it was all very high welfare. Pro was a happy well cared for hamster, con was we never blinking saw him!

We had 2. One was very calm and would sit on your hand. The other one would try and bite your finger off! Unfortunately, the bitey one lived a year longer than the nice one!

We had a syrian and also a Roborovski dwarf hamster at different times

The Roborovski dwarf hamster was friendlier but I think it depends the hamster tbh

If tamed properly and handled from birth they can be delightful. I’ve had one that would sit on my shoulder and come when whistled. Proper pedigree hamster breeders tend to handle theirs, the judging criteria at shows include being handled.

Pets at home hamsters aren’t handled much at all so it’s quite the task to get them cuddly tame but it can be done for most.

I had hamsters for years as a child, and several more recently for my own kids. I have only been bitten once and that was when one was in his last few days and was in pain so did not want to be touched.
You do have to handle them properly and not frighten them. I would guess a very young child acting in an unpredictable way is more likely to get bitten.
our recent ones were from Pets at Home, and were just as friendly as the ones from an independent pet shop.

Rats would be my go to small animal. But guinea pigs are far better. Not sure why living until 7 isn't suitable.? Far better than than seeing kids getting distressed every 18 months or so