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Small pets

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Original poster

Our new dwarf hamster is a bit bitey:(

21 replies

Plipplops · 30/06/2017 19:48

DD1 (10) got a winter white hamster last Saturday. It was 11 weeks old. We've been trying to handle her every day to get her used to us. First couple of days she bit a little bit but it it didn't hurt (although it was a bit of a shock. Yesterday she bit me and DD2 hard - drawing blood on both of us. Today when DH was trying to get her out she did the same thing.

DD1 was really upset yesterday as she really wants to be able to handle her but is also a bit scared. I was trying to pick the thing up today and was a bit scared myself which probably meant I was being a bit twitchy.

What are we doing wrong? Do they always just bite??

OP posts:
Snap8TheCat · 30/06/2017 19:52

Yes they are biters. Not really ideal pets for children. Does he/she have a mate? They usually prefer being in pairs?

DearMrDilkington · 30/06/2017 19:53

It's still very early days.

You really shouldn't handle them until a few days - week of bringing them home. They need to feel comfortable in their new environment with all the new sounds and smells around them.

Leave the hamster alone for a while to settle in.

DearMrDilkington · 30/06/2017 19:53

Don't keep hamsters together!! They'll kill each otherShock

Original poster
Plipplops · 30/06/2017 19:54

We were told they were a good choice - not too crazy fast and not too bitey? Mind you I suppose all rodents bite don't they? What would be a good pet for a child although it's a bit bloody late now?

OP posts:
ElizaDontlittle · 30/06/2017 19:57

Dwarf hamsters they advise you keep in groups. They are bitey and not great pets for small children.
Hamsters of non dwarf varieties they advise to keep singly and are less bitey, more happy to be handled.

Swatsup · 30/06/2017 19:58

I don't think you have chosen the right pet really as they do tend to bite. You need to be patient, make sure you have washed your hands and then rub your hands in hamsters bedding. Let the hamster come to you with some treats. If you want to get it out the cage encourage into a toilet tube or box and use that to get it out rather than picking it up. It will take time though :-)

ElizaDontlittle · 30/06/2017 19:58

Oh, and get a kitten! Brilliant pet for a child.

ConfessorKahlan · 30/06/2017 19:59

Dwarf hamsters are very bitey, I'm afraid. It probably won't get any better. I used to keep many over the years and they were all the same.

MrDilkington Syrian hamsters will attack each other and kill, but dwarf Russians or Chinese live happily in pairs and this is fact better for them.

Sorry, but dwarf hamsters are not really great pets for children. I know that it's a bit late now though!

They are very entertaining to watch as they can be mental acrobats, but handling them is always going to be risky.

Hairhorror1 · 30/06/2017 19:59

Rats are great pets! So friendly and affectionate and you can teach them tricks!

I've heard gerbils are good but I've no experience of them.
Sorry your hamster is bitey. I would give her some space and some nice treats. Gradually start to handle her in short doses

SamPotatoes · 30/06/2017 20:00

Ds's hamster was a bit bitey at first. He read about getting her used to his smell so tucked a piece of kitchen roll into his sock for the day. He then put it in her cage and she shredded it and used it as bedding. It seemed to work as she stopped biting. She will now come when he calls her, is really easy to handle and even curls up to sleep on him when she gets bored of playing.

Snap8TheCat · 30/06/2017 20:01

We kept dwarf hamsters for years, always in pairs.

Deux · 30/06/2017 20:01

I'm by no means an expert as we have a Syrian. On you tube there is a British teen girl who has a great series of videos on how to care for a hamster, how to handle it etc.

On one of her videos she recommends getting into an empty bath and letting the hamster run over your legs etc. We got DH to do it first Grin

expatinscotland · 30/06/2017 20:02

I'm so sorry to read this. We've had 4 Syrians and they've all been wonderful pets.

RodeoDriveBaby · 30/06/2017 20:03

Hamsters generally don't make good pets for children, they don't like being handled.

I've had dozens of hamsters over the years and only ever had a couple who were happy to be handled, the others were all bitey little feckers. My winter white was the worst of the lot!!

Lottie991 · 30/06/2017 20:05

Dwarf hamsters do bite, I remember having them when I was younger and all they did was bite they were also really hard to handle and very fast.
Syrian hamsters on the other hand are fantastic little pets for children, Handled regularly from the start, I have one and he doesn't bite our children at all.
My nieces also have one, It doesn't bite and is very good.
They are brilliant small pets for kids, My 3 year old handles him really well.

Lottie991 · 30/06/2017 20:09

Maybe see if you could take her back and swap for a Syrian hamster?They are the best type of hamster for children.

blacksheep2014 · 30/06/2017 20:31

Yes yes to the empty bath, my df helped me train my beloved childhood dwarf this way, weeks of dangling gentle hands over the edge of the bath, toilet roll tubes and treats to make it more interesting. Also 'potty trained' her to pee in an empty jam jar in corner of cage AND on the two occassions she escaped he simply made porridge with water in her bowl and she was home in her cage within minutes. She lived to be 4.5 years and was often carried around in the pocket of my teenage hoodies. Fascinating animals and, with a bit of patience, brill pets!

user838383 · 05/07/2017 08:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Alisvolatpropiis · 05/07/2017 08:50

They are bitey.

I had Russian dwarf hamsters as a child. One killed and ate the other, then died itself shortly afterwards.

rightwhine · 05/07/2017 08:56

My dwarf Russian hamsters lived together quite happily but yes, they were biters.

PenelopeFlintstone · 05/07/2017 09:03

I also would try to take it back and swap it.

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