I just purchased my new Young Dwarf Hamster....?

Question

I bought an extremely young Dwarf hamster (named Shaggy) from PetCo yesterday. They said it was about a month old, maybe a little older. They also mentioned that Dwarf Hamsters are "vicious" and tend to bite.

We've been picking up Shaggy often and he hasn't bitten anyone yet.

One girl who worked at PetCo told us that since Shaggy was young, if we picked him up every day, he would get used to it and NOT bite.

We were wondering if we picked him up every day, will he still bite us when he's older..?

Answer 1

WELL . .. there is that chance.

Depending on the s*x or little Shaggy, they can get more agressive with maturity.

It is one of those things you can not know, like "will it rain tomorrow??"

OBVIOUSLY, tenderness, and the lack of fear will play a large part in the reaction(s) of little Shaggy.

Answer 2

If you handle him every day, he shouldn't bite. Taming is an on-going process. Dwarf hamsters are not "vicious". They tend to be more nippy than syrian hamsters, but they're not vicious. As long as you get him used to being handled and teach him biting is wrong, he'll be fine.

To be honest, most pet store employees don't know much about the animals. This is why it's so important for you to do your own research and not trust everything they say.

So, if you hold him every day and just spend time handling him, he should grow up to be very tame. Congrats on the new hamster :]

Answer 3

It is the right thing to do with any pet! The more you pick up your hamster the more he/she gets to know their owner. That makes them happy, they will trust you and won't be afraid of you. My daughter has had a hamster for 3 yrs and we play with him everyday. He is so spoiled and he has never bitten either of us or anyone else.

Answer 4

the baby hamster should be able to feel comfortable with you ang gain your trust. i think that it will reduce the biting but maybe not to a full 100%, depends on what you do. i had... SO MANY drawf hamsters in my life that i cant remember how many and all of them tend to bite. but the catch is i bought them when they were grown and the pet shop did not `pick them up everyday`

Answer 5

Well My sister and I both have Dwarf Hamsters, I never picked mine up when I got it, but my sis always did. Turns out, one day I went to go pick it up, and it bit me....  My sis has had hers for over 6 months now and is always picking it up and playing with it....

  Hope this helps!

Answer 6

No don't worry about it, it was the same with my hamster.