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Original poster

bloody hell

62 replies

itati · 07/07/2008 17:46

posting 1 hand so apologies

the hamster has just bit/scratched my son and drawn blood in 2 places. he was stood near his cage but wasn't doing anything. ds is only 3 and really cried. the hamster bit me last week and hs bit me before. I really don't know what to do for the best short of liberating him in the garden

OP posts:

bruxeur · 07/07/2008 17:46

Blender.

piratecat · 07/07/2008 17:47

how did the hamster bite/scratch thru the bars?

Or was the hamster out?

Original poster

itati · 07/07/2008 17:47

He got him through the bars, DS was pointing to a balloon he wanted and the next thing I heard the scream fro mds and the squeak from the hamster

OP posts:

hertsnessex · 07/07/2008 17:48

get rid of hamster or don't let your son near it.

Original poster

itati · 07/07/2008 17:49

TBH I do think the hamster should go but I did choose to bring him home and don't know how to go about it. I am very upset he has hurt ds, though he is thrilled with his winnie the pooh plaster now.

OP posts:

piratecat · 07/07/2008 17:53

hi sfinger must have been very close to bars. yet no excuse, he is prob just a narky hamster, like you get narky cats, bunnies, dogs.

emiliadaniel · 07/07/2008 17:56

It can't really have come as a surprise that hamsters bite small objects poked through their cage bars, can it? The hamster should go, but only because he deserves to live with someone who understands them.

Ecmo · 07/07/2008 17:59

Hamsters have really poor eyesight so they tend to bite anything that poked at them as they think it could be food. We had one like this was always biting me as I tried to clean the cage out.

Original poster

itati · 07/07/2008 18:42

Actually, emiliadaniel, he didn't put his fingers through the cage, so before you start criticising me get your facts straight.

He DIDNOT put his fingers through the bars.

OP posts:

piratecat · 07/07/2008 18:49

but a hamsters head is much bigger than the tiny gaps in a normal cage. Thats what I didn't understand either. My hamster, Jimmy (god rest his soul), could just about squeeze his snout and top teeth, one side of the metal and his jaw the other.

I would have had to have had my finger touching the bar for him to reach enough to bite me.

Just get rid of the hamster.

Original poster

itati · 07/07/2008 18:52

Well it must have been his claws then.

OP posts:

milknosugar · 07/07/2008 18:53

most hamsters bite ime, they are a really bad choice of pet for littlies but most people dont realise til they get them. you dont have to get rid of it, just dont let ds near the cage. dont get upset about people saying he was close, its not a parenting criticism! i had a really grumpy little git thing who always bit so i just scooped him up with a hamster bowl if i had to get him out of his cage. alternatively offer him for free to a loving home where they realise hamsters bite and are not afraid of them. then get a rat, they are much friendlier

amonkeyscousin · 07/07/2008 18:54

lol a hamster with the reach of Frank Bruno.

Or a porky telling dc, and by that I don't mean to be mean, it's just that kids are fascinated with animals, and imo hamsters are not ideal pets for little ones.

peanutbutterkid · 07/07/2008 18:54

All hamsters bite given the opportunity & only the slightest excuse, it's one reason they aren't recommended for children under 8yo (not having a go, just stating a fact, pet shop should have told you this all emphatically before they let you buy one).

I guess I would keep hammie but move cage somewhere that children can't touch/reach without adult help.

Original poster

itati · 07/07/2008 18:55

He is my hamster, all of them are, as I feel my children are too young to have a pet. I am actually now scared to go near him in case he bites me and atm his food is on the outside of the cage.

I was just upset as they know not to pt fingers through the bars and he wasn't even paying attention to the hamster.

OP posts:

milknosugar · 07/07/2008 18:55

i think someone on here has a recipe for hamster casserole.....

Mutt · 07/07/2008 18:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

peanutbutterkid · 07/07/2008 18:57

Oh, and sadly we have a biting pet rat, so they aren't always a solution. We have 4 other pet rats who are great, and they put up with a huge amount of rough handling from small children (er, ahem, not like I let kids near them unsupervised, of course not ).

Original poster

itati · 07/07/2008 18:57

I was right there so I know what my son was doing and he is only 3.

Hamster is now on top of the bookcase.

OP posts:

Blu · 07/07/2008 18:58

Hopefully Itati, your poor DS will now keep his fingers out of range, so the problem won't recur? Hard way for him to learn, when he was innocently not-provking it, but hamsters are famed for taking a bite out of people, aren't they?

Glad your DS has recovered enough to enjoy his plaster - they never fail!

peanutbutterkid · 07/07/2008 18:58

Don't decide anything tonite, Itati. Sounds like you're having a bad evening. No rush, eh?

Mutt · 07/07/2008 18:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

itati · 07/07/2008 19:00

Having a poo eveing tbh.

Blu - he was stood by the cage, pointing up to the balloon he wanted and the hamster got him. Why can't you accept he wasn't doing anything to the hamster? He bit me last week, they know to stay away.

OP posts:

amonkeyscousin · 07/07/2008 19:04

well if you are going to have hamsters, and they are not for the children, then they should be kept away from them.

Original poster

itati · 07/07/2008 19:04

Thank you for that

OP posts:

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