hamster biting

Question
hi again,

thanks for the reply ill try it out, i think it will be really useful, i was just wondering, my hamster keeps coming to the edge of the cage every time im near, i put my knuckles up to the cage and he keeps trying bite me, i think he thinks its food and because ive done it a few times, it automatically does it, i think i got him into a habit, is there anyway of getting him out of this habit? also i did it once and it was getting really excited and was making a fast paced breathing of some sort.

regards, marc

Answer
Hi Marc

Putting your fingers or knuckles up to the cage is never a good idea with a hamster.  They are very shortsighted and rely almost totally on smell, therefore to them your hand appears to be food.  This is a natural instinct for them, and therefore even now if I were to put my finger through the bars on any hamster cage I would expect to get bitten.

You can feed him treats through the bars  - at first they sometimes snatch these, but after a while they calm down and take them more gently.  Then if your hand accidentally goes up to the side of the cage he may not rush to bite, but if you put your finger through the bar, no matter how tame he is his natural instinct would be to bite.

Regards