Why does my hamster seem unhappy or try to escape when I hold him?

Thanks for reaching out about Charly. Hamsters can be very scared and cage protective. When initially handling, try to scoop up in a cup to remove from the cage, then place on a table and try to pick up. This can bypass the territoriality of cage protection. Hamsters are also nocturnal, so don't like to woken. Good luck.

Unfortunately, some hamsters are more fearful and aggressive than others. This is just their personality. I would try to offer him daily treats but avoid touching him for awhile. Over time, slowly just try to pet him but do not antagonize him or pick him up. If he lets you pet him, give him another treat. Hopefully, over time, he will begin to warm up to you but unfortunately, not all do.

It is completely normal for a hamster to chew and chew and chew! Just be sure you are offering plenty of safe options for him to chew on, which it sounds like you are doing already. You may need to move him to a metal/wire cage that he cannot chew on and remove the plastic housing so he does not ingest any plastic. It is also normal for him to be a little jumpy as he is still getting used to his surroundings. Just continue working with him and encouraging him to come to you. Using his favorite treats can help too. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck!

Thanks for reaching out about Daabool and including a photo. Hamsters are desert animals, highly capable of extracting water from their food. Biting is a common fear response in hamsters, and continuing to earn/win trust by offering treats, keeping movements slow and deliberate. Try removing Daabool from his environment with a scoop or cup, to move to a neutral territory (i.e. table top). Then see if interactions are aggressive. Sometimes its just territorial defense. Good luck.

You have only had him for a week. You need to be patient, let him smell your hand/finger, pet him a little , let him climb on your hand, rather than forcing him to be on your hand by picking him up. It will take time before he trusts you, It can take 2 months before he is comfortable with you picking him up. Put yourself in his place: You are a terribly big human trying to grab a tiny animal,... that is very very scary. You need to gain his trust,

Show this to your sister: Check him thoroughly for injuries, or other abnormalities. Watch him when he eats. If his eating style has changed, he may have a problem in his mouth or with his teeth Most of the time hamsters chew the cage because of boredom, attention-seeking behavior, managing teeth growth, and the simple fun of chewing. Does he have a hamster wheel or an exercise ball? If not, those can relieve boredom. Give him some apple or birch twigs, Willow works too,dog biscuits, carrots to gnaw on. A hard dog treat helps with keeping teeth healthy.  Spend more time with him. Let your hamster crawl around on top of you while you lie on the floor. Hamsters love to explore, and once he has developed a trust in you he will want to climb all over you. Let him sleep during the day. Hamsters are nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day and are awake and active at night. Waking him up during the day, may cause him irritation. Interrupting his natural sleep schedule could lead to further undesirable behavior.  Check the size of his cage. As a general rule of thumb hamsters need at least a cubic foot of space. If your cage is smaller than that, he will need a bigger cage. Change the furniture in his cage around a bit to make it more interesting for him to explore. A cardboard tube from a roll of paper towel or toilet paper makes an excellent chew toy for hamsters and he should like to use it to hide and play in it. All this may help avoid biting , whether it is cage biting or biting your fingers. This is likely not a medical problem, unless you find an injury or you find that he is not chewing or eating properly or you think he may be in pain. And, unfortunately, sometimes Hamsters can turn into little bite machines. So if your hamster has plenty to chew on as described above, and the cage biting does not stop, you should move him into a glass aquarium, so he cannot keep up chewing bars and ruining his teeth. Be patient, it will take time. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

I would make sure bubbles has a large enclosures with plenty of toys to play with. Sometimes hamsters can have a lot of built up energy due to limited space. If he is eating,drinking and defecating normally I would not be concerned. However if he continues to have odd behavior or starts acting ill I would recommend taking him to a vet for an exam