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A Biting Hamster
Why do hamsters bite ? Any hamster regardless of its age, type, colour, or gender should "Never bite". The only reason a hamster bites is simply because it has a bad temperament. The temperament of an animal will never be achieved by taming it. Temperament is hereditary and a temperament can be either aggressive or docile. A docile temperament is the number one priority when breeding hamsters. If you breed from hamsters with undesirable / bad temperaments their offspring's will be like-wise. A lot of hamster breeders that breed for the pet trade are not to concerned with temperament issues and will rely on quantity for profit rather than the quality of a well bred hamster. Hamsters' that come from a good reliable, reputable breeder will never show aggression towards it's owner / keeper.
There are a number of hamsters on the pet market to day that come from unreliable sources. The backgrounds of these hamsters are unknown. Therefore the temperament of theses animals may then put into some considerable doubt.
Many people buy hamsters from the pet shop without first enquiring about the temperament of the animal. A mistake made by a lot of people. Once they get the animal home and after the initial settling in period find that on trying to handle the animal it starts biting or nipping. To assess the animal’s temperament always ask to handle the animal at the point of purchase before committing yourself to buying it. On handling, the animal should make no attempt to bite at all, although it may show signs of being nervous and jumpy this is a natural reaction and once tamed it will be fine.
If care is exercised when buying (see buying hamsters) there should be no problem in acquiring a suitable pet for yourself or a child, and one that will not bite on being handled. An animal with a suspect temperament that bites on the first initial handling at the pet shop should be left where it is, otherwise it is going to cause problems later. Once you have finally acquired a hamster start taming him as soon as possible see handling taming hamsters. When I say taming, this is getting the hamster to become accustomed to being handled by human hand. Taming has nothing to do with aggression. You cannot tame the aggression out of a hamster, once aggressive always' aggressive. The ideal age in which to purchase a baby hamster is around 5-8 weeks old. A Hamster of this age should not bite at all and are much easier to tame at this age.
Some pet shops may not sell a lot of hamsters and therefore may have them in store for several weeks before selling them all. Some could be months old and adult before being sold. Take into consideration that pet shop staff unfortunately, but understandably, don't have the time to spend socializing each and every individual animal, so the animal may have had none, or very little human interaction the whole time it been in the shop but even so the animal should make no attempt to bite on handling.
Never waken sleeping hamsters this is one reason for getting a bite. Always wait till they are fully awake of their own accord. A sleepy hamster is a grumpy hamster. Always allow them time to wash groom and eat before commencing handling.
Never grab a hamster from above or behind, another reason for getting a bite, and always use cupped hands until the pup is tamed. Always let them know that you are about to pick them up. Other reasons a hamster may bite is fear, a frightened hamster is always' on the defense. You may get an unintentional nip from a hamster if it is startled. Hamsters should be handled as soon as they are old enough. Start handling and taming hamsters from an early age.
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