Hamsters are highly friendly animals that love attention from their owners! They are also entertaining to watch due to their engaging and playful personalities! However, all entertaining aspects aside, sometimes hamsters who get scared or stressed out may bite you. So, what should you do if that occurs, and how can you help your hamster overcome this issue?
You mustn’t hurt your animal or get scared when a hamster bites you. Instead, it is essential to immediately ensure that your hamster is safely placed back in the cage and head to the bathroom to wash their hands with soap and warm water. On top of this, it is wise to apply antibiotic cream and place a band-aid on the bite.
To dive deeper into this conversation, we must examine what to do step by step. If you do not wish to have your hamster bite you any longer, we recommend continuing reading, as we will discuss that topic below.
Why Do Hamsters Innately Bite?
Hamsters can bite a lot, but it is important to note that they do not usually bite out of aggression. For example, if you feed your hamster carrots or food and have your fingers out, they might think it is food. Also, hamsters might bite because they are curious and want to explore. Other times, it might be because your hamster is biting out of love. Often, this is considered a “love bite.”
On the other hand, hamsters might bite you because they feel scared, threatened, or stressed. A prime example is if you are late for work and must rush to get your clothes on, but take a minute to stop by and say hello to your fluffy friend.
Your hamster might get startled and bite you if awake or even wake up from their slumber. Some other examples might be due to mowing the lawn outdoors (especially if they are close to a window), TV being blasted in the room or near a wall, or even if someone or yourself winds up shouting.
Lastly, if your hamster does not know you too well, like if you recently bought one and brought it back from the store, then your hamster has not yet formed a relationship with you, hence why it might bite. You must create a well-developed furry-to-human friendship with them to help your hamster stop biting.
Overall, there are a myriad of reasons why your hamster might bite you, but it is crucial to take the time to learn these signs and be patient.
What Should You Do if Your Hamster Bites You?
Finding out why your hamster is biting you in the first place is extremely important. However, following the steps on what to do afterward is even more imperative. This is because you always have the potential to catch an illness that your hamster may be carrying. The sickness is caused by commensal bacteria from your hamster’s mouth or the skin of the bit person. Some of these sicknesses include the following:
- Ringworm
- Salmonellosis
- Tularemia
- Tapeworms
- Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus
- Pseudotuberculosis
However, it is also important to note that this does not happen as frequently as you think.
Step 1: Gently Put Your Hamster Back in Its Cage
You never want to squeeze, throw, or punish your hamster for biting. If they are giving you a love bite, ensuring you are not making your hamster feel scared for wanting to show you affection is essential. Instead, it is important to gently put them back in their cage and lock the door before going somewhere else to clean the wound, especially if it is punctured or any blood was drawn.
Step 2: Wash the Wound With Soap and Water
First, you want to ensure you wash your hands with soap and water. Although this might be self-explanatory, washing your hands thoroughly and not for just a few seconds to say you did it is essential. Ensure the soap is warm and not cold, as warm water removes germs more than cold water.
Step 3: Apply Antibiotic Cream as a Precaution
Once you have washed and dried your hands, applying antibiotic cream as a precautionary measure is vital. Antibiotic cream kills or stops bacteria from reproducing, making you healthier!
Step 4: Cover the Wound With a Band-Aid
After this, cover the wound with a band-aid. This will ensure the antibiotic cream remains on the bite mark and does its job. In addition, it will keep the bitten area clean from any elements that you may come in contact with. For example, if you go outside but it is dusty, it might get the wound dirty. Overall, band-aids protect the affected area from all sorts of negative things that could occur.
Step 5: Monitor for an Infection
Make sure you are monitoring the affected area. If you notice any more inflammation in the area, any puss comes out of it, or the wound is deep and severely bleeding, we recommend seeing your healthcare provider and seeing what they can do for you. If you are unsure what to do, it is better to go in anyway and be safe than sorry later on.
What Are Some Ways You Can Get Your Hamster to Stop Biting You?
If your hamster bites you, you can do other things as well to help prevent this from happening so often. Remember that this does not guarantee that your hamster will 100% stop biting you, but you can still train them through positive reinforcement. Despite how tiny hamsters are, they are brilliant little creatures that want to learn just as much as we do!
You must do each of these steps so your hamster gets used to you, especially if you recently bought it at the store or acquired it from a family member or friend.
Remember that you cannot instill this behavior in a day’s time. These steps will take time, patience, and understanding on your part. Make sure not to compare your hamster to other people’s, as each little fluffy fur baby has a different personality and has gone through various situations. So, without further ado, let us continue reading.
Here is a quick video that we can show you how to bond with your hamster:
1. Spend Time With Your Hamster
The biggest way you can instill the no-biting behavior in your hamster is simply by spending time with them! It can be as simple as hiding food in their cage to help your hamster naturally forage. In addition, make sure you allow your hamster to get used to your presence by speaking softly and moving slowly when near the cage.
A good example of this is if you work from home. You can plug your laptop into an outlet nearby and sit next to someone so they can see who you are. If you work in a call center, this would be perfect as you speak with people regularly. Alternatively, try reading aloud for several minutes if you like reading books.
If your hamster is new, make sure you allow plenty of time for them to acquire it in their new cage. It is easy to want to bombard them with so much love right after getting your hamster, but you have to think of it as if you were going to a new school, got a new job, or even moved somewhere completely new. In that case, you will likely take some time to get used to wherever you are at. It is the same with hamsters.
For those needing a visual, here is a video describing what is mentioned above.
2. Introduce Your Scent to Them
One thing that can significantly help your hamster get used to you is introducing your scent to them. You can get a few pieces of toilet paper and rub it on yourself, like your arm, then place it in their cage to help them get used to your scent. Make sure you change these out every few days to ensure the scent is still there.
3. Provide Treats for Your Hamster
Once your hamster is used to your scent, consider providing them with a treat here and there! In doing so, your hamster will associate your presence with something positive, helping them build trust with you as their owner. Plus, giving your hamster a treat allows their diet to have variety instead of only pellets and seeds.
4. Gently Start Petting Your Hamster Once They Are Used to You
After a week or so of acclimating your new hamster to the environment, slowly but surely start gently petting your hamster once they gets used to you. This will help solidify any bond you have made thus far. Plus, they might have already seen you change out their food, water, or sand bath, so they will already know you will not harm them.
5. Pick Your Hamster Up
After everything is said and done, your hamster is ready for you to start picking them up regularly. It is essential to do this at least once a day. This is because a hamster who is not regularly touched or played with might be more prone to biting than one who does not get manhandled enough.
6. Regularly Spend Time With Them
You want to create a routine for your hamster so they know what to expect each day. For example, make sure to spot-clean their cage each day, provide refreshing water, put food in their bowls, and spend time with them during the evening while they are awake. Hamsters are nocturnal, so this would be the best time to bond with them.
Some Tips to Know Beforehand
Before we finish off, it is important to know some tips beforehand. This will help you get a better grasp on what you can do to further protect yourself and create a positive feedback.
1. Make Sure to Wear Gloves When Initially Introducing Yourself
Suppose you are extremely afraid of any hamster biting you, especially if you are trying to train them not to bite in the first place. In that case, you can wear gloves to further protect your hands. Anti-bite gloves are on the market for multiple small animals, including gerbils, mice, rats, hedgehogs, sugar gliders, and, of course, hamsters.
2. Train Them at Their Pace, Not Yours
Rome was not built in a day, so the same can be said for training your hamster to not bite you. It will take lots of time and patience, especially when your hamster begins to get to know you. Make sure you speak softly and take things slow, and within a short period, your hamster will be happy each time it sees you!
3. Do the Training Sessions During Evenings
Hamsters are nocturnal animals, so they will be most active in the evening and night. Because of this, you will not get the best results in the morning or afternoon, so make sure you do these training sessions at night. However, as mentioned previously, if you work from home or are home during the day, you can still be near them and use your voice near them. Hamsters have very sensitive ears, so they can hear everything while sleeping.
Conclusion
To finalize everything we have covered today, if a hamster bites you, do not panic! Otherwise, it may scare your hamster more, leading to further biting. Make sure to gently place them in the cage and proceed with washing your hands.
Following this, you want to put antibiotic cream on the wound. Lastly, make sure you are doing the steps we mentioned above to help your hamster get used to you as their owner and lessen the chances of them biting in the first place.
If this article has helped you, we recommend looking at our other hamster articles. We aim to make you the best hamster owner you can be, and we wish you the best in all your little pet endeavors!
