dwarf hamster keeps nipping

[83mummypig]

So we adopted a baby dwarf hamster. He's incredibly friendly and will come up to bars for treats and take them out of hands, is really nosey etc. He loves his ball and loves crawling on us HOWEVER if he's in your hands he nips/bites and draws blood. It's like he nips and clings on. I now hold him with a pair of gardening clothes as it hurts so I want the protection. He is continuing this behaviour - not as much, but enough that I'm too scared to hold him with bare skin!

Any tips? My daughter has seen him bite and my reaction and she's too scared to go near him when he's out his cage.

My friend advised me to prepare for having a hamster by putting my finger in the jaws of a stapler and pressing it down. Hard. Several times a day and repeat until I was cured of the notion to get one. This is why I am now slave to two guinea pigs. Sorry for your trouble, the hamster whisperers will be along soon.

What kind of dwarf is he? Robos are known for nipping whereas Chinese hardly ever bite. Russians aren't normally big biters either. Do you alway wash your hands first? You may smell like food, remember they are all but blind. I wiggle my finger when mine nips just to show that I'm not a treat lol. Keep his bum supported so he doesn't panic thinking he is going to fall.

Unfortunately, that's what a lot of dwarf hamsters do. Some will gladly snuggle in a gentle hand, while others never take to human touch and will nip every time you go near them. Part of the problem is down to lack of socialisation when small (almost always a problem with pet shop hamsters). Sometimes, it's just personality, though. Russian dwarves are probably the tamest of dwarf hamsters and even then, with a well socialised litter, you'll get snuggly, tame ones (almost always male) and ones which are pretty feral in nature.