If a hamster bites, what should you do? Do Djungarian hamsters bite, is the bite dangerous?

The hamster is a very beautiful and cute creature. They are generally kind and playful. But when the hamster is untamed, angry or pregnant, it can bite. And if it’s all at once, then it’s a real wild beast. There are cases where a hamster defended itself from hunting dogs. The most interesting thing is that the rodent succeeded. When a hamster bites it is not pleasant, but it is even worse when it bites children. What to do if bitten by a hamster? Why is he dangerous? How to protect yourself from bites? Below are all the answers in the article.

If a hamster bites, it means he had a reason for it. Most likely, you scared him, did not tame him, or the rodent is pregnant. A pregnant woman should not be touched at all, for the safety of herself, her pet and her offspring. Watch your children, explain to them what is possible and what is not. So that it does not happen that the hamster bites the child’s finger.

What to do if bitten by a hamster

To understand and to forgive. First you need to understand that he is not to blame. The rodent was defending itself from a possible threat. Therefore, you need to put him back in the cage and not be offended. The bite site should be washed with laundry soap, then use hydrogen peroxide and cover the wound with brilliant green. You can put an antibacterial patch on top.

But what should you do if your hamster bites you at the market or doesn’t have a vaccination? We do everything the same, but we take the hamster and take it for examination. We need to find out if he is sick, especially with rabies. After all the tests, depending on the result, you will be told whether you need to get vaccinated, and if so, which one. You can, of course, immediately go to the doctor and get an injection of the rabies vaccine, but it is quite painful. Therefore, I would better check the hamster first; most likely, vaccination will not be needed.

Precautionary measures

If a small rodent appears in the house, it is extremely important to teach the child how to behave correctly in order to prevent the occurrence of bites.

You should not take the animal out of its cage as soon as it arrives from the store. It is important to understand that the animal needs to adapt to the new territory.
If it is known that the hamster is a female, and even pregnant, it is also unacceptable to pick it up.
If the animal is sleeping or eating, children should not touch it. In a sleep situation, the hamster may become very frightened, not understanding what is happening, and bite. When he eats, he bites because he is torn away from his favorite treat.
Teach your child that there is no need to take the animal by the back. It is important that the hamster sees that they are trying to lift him.
Initially, parents themselves must verify the adequacy of the animal. There are some individuals that, despite any circumstances, are quite aggressive and bite whenever you touch them. Therefore, it is better if the parents meet the hamster first. Only after this, making sure that the hamster is adequate, place the animal in the child’s palm. Let both the animal and your baby get used to each other's company. After this, you can allow your child to independently remove the hamster from the cage.

Now you know, if a child was bitten by a hamster, what to do in such a situation. Remember what diseases these animals can carry. If you are not adopting a hamster from trusted people, then ideally you should show it to a veterinarian. Do not forget about the need to treat the wound in case the animal accidentally bites the child.

What to do if a hamster bites you until you bleed

The larger the hamster, the harder it can bite. The largest representatives of the domestic species are the Syrian ones. These rodents reach 18 cm and 100 grams of weight. But despite their relatively large size, these animals do not bite. If this hamster bites, it is extremely rare. It is not tamed, possibly pregnant, protecting itself or its children. I was bitten by a hamster with blood, what should I do? If he does manage to bite, the bite will be deeper and more painful than that of other rodents. Very often, the wound from such a bite can be lacerated. If a Syrian hamster bites you until it bleeds, you need to disinfect the wound, rinse it with hydrogen peroxide or alcohol, cover it with an adhesive plaster and wait until it heals. This wound will also not be very harmful in terms of bacteria, but it will be very unpleasant and painful. Therefore, be careful and do not allow the hamster to bite until it bleeds.

How do rodents die?

When the cause of death is old age or illness, the animals die within 3-5 days. If a rodent gets scared and falls from a height, it can die in 2-3 hours or even instantly.

Behavior change

The behavior of a hamster depends on the cause of death. In the early stages of pathologies, the animal may become aggressive and chew the cage. If, after the owner touched the pet, he bit him, this often indicates the presence of pain. The hamster should be taken to a veterinarian.

The hamster's behavior changes; with pathologies, the hamster gnaws at the cage.

In the later stages of diseases and in old age, the rodent becomes passive and does not respond to external stimuli. Pets stop stocking up. The last hours of his life the hamster lies in the corner of the cage. He starts having convulsions. You can tell that a rodent is dying by the groans and wheezes it makes.

External signs

Hair loss is an external sign of impending death in older individuals. Due to muscle weakness, the eyelids droop. There is clouding and sunken eyes. The animal loses its appetite, causing it to lose weight and vitality.

A young but sick individual may also look different from before. An unhealthy hamster has matted fur. Discharge appears from the nose and eyes. Breathing becomes rapid. Coordination deteriorates.

After poisoning or infection, the outward sign of the problem is profuse diarrhea.

How to distinguish from hibernation

Death and hibernation are easy to confuse. Before burying your pet, you need to examine it. The following signs indicate the occurrence of death:

Lack of breathing. You can hold a mirror to the hamster's nose. If it doesn't fog up, the pet is dead.
Low temperature. After the heart stops, the body begins to cool down.
Rigor mortis. If the animal's limbs do not straighten without effort, it has died.
No heartbeat. You need to place your finger on the pet's chest on the left side. In hibernating hamsters, the heart continues to beat.
Unpleasant smell. This sign is observed 5-6 hours after death. The smell is caused by the decomposition processes that have begun.

When dying, the hamster has no breathing or heartbeat.

Why is a hamster bite dangerous?

If the hamster had a vaccination, then practically nothing, only unpleasant and painful sensations. Because his teeth are long and can make a rather deep laceration, especially for such a small creature. But this wound is the same as others, for example, when a cat scratches deeply. That is, nothing bad will happen from a hamster bite. Moreover, many owners of these small rodents do not bother with bites at all. Bitten, oh well, so if you don’t want to play, sit in the cage. Rarely does anyone actually see a doctor. Only in extreme cases, when there is a real threat. It can be seen from what is described above. That is, when the hamster behaves strangely, or death occurs within a short period of time. Then you can panic and run to the hospital.

What can you get infected from hamsters?

A person can catch certain diseases from a rodent. This happens very rarely, but still you should not abuse security measures. So as not to lie on the bed later, no one likes it. Let's not focus on every disease and how to catch them. You can get the following from a hamster: tuberculosis, listerosis, toxoplasmosis (especially dangerous for pregnant women), ringworm, tularemia, parasitic diseases, etc. But you shouldn’t be afraid of your furry because of this. The chance of getting infected from it is negligible and only in case of bites. If he escaped from the cage, you need to find the escaped hamster in the apartment.

What could be the danger?

It is recommended to buy a hamster at a pet store. This way you will have almost one hundred percent confidence that the animal is healthy.

Pet hamsters purchased from people who breed these pets pose virtually no visible threat since they are not wild animals. However, it is worth knowing about diseases that hamsters can carry:

parasitic infections;
ringworm;
rabies;
listeriosis;
tuberculosis;
toxoplasmosis;
tularemia.

It is unacceptable to bring a wild hamster to your child. In addition to the fact that such an animal may have innate aggression and is unlikely to become tame, it is quite capable of being a carrier of many diseases.

Why does a hamster bite

These rodents bite for a reason. They have their reasons. As already mentioned, this is most likely for self-defense purposes.

Perhaps you didn't pick him up correctly. This can make him uncomfortable and even cause pain. You need to be able to pick up a rodent. Ideally, it is enough to simply offer your hand so that he can climb on it himself.
The hamster is hungry, and your hands smell like food. I don't like games much on an empty stomach.
While playing with an animal, you can make a sudden movement that will scare the little hamster and he will begin to defend himself.
You didn't take care of his teeth. Their hamster must constantly grind on something, since they grow throughout their lives. To do this, special mineral stones or a piece of wood are thrown into the cage.
The hamster bit until it bled because it was not used to you. You rarely hand feed him without giving him a chance to get used to your smell.
The hamster is pregnant, in this case you should not touch it at all. Even after giving birth, all the time while the female is feeding the babies, do not touch them or her.

Possible reasons

A hamster bites when it senses danger.
A pet will not bite its owner, especially to the point of drawing blood, without a good reason. We will look at the main factors that provoke aggression in a hamster.

Fear. The case when a child takes the hamster from above, holding its back. The animal does not understand what is happening, gets scared and defends itself by biting. In such a situation, it can bite its owner repeatedly.
A hamster can be frightened by a sudden movement or any unexpected action at the moment when a child is playing with it.
Your baby's smelly hands can arouse your hamster's interest in a new smell. Especially if it smells like something tasty, and the animal is also hungry. As a rule, such bites are single and shallow.
An attempt to protect themselves or their offspring is observed in pregnant females or animals that have recently given birth. If this is your situation, you need to know that it is unacceptable to handle either a pregnant or recently given birth hamster or her babies.
Trying to grind my teeth. Hamsters have long, sharp incisors and front teeth that continue to grow throughout the animal's life. Therefore, the animal needs constant grinding. If a rodent does not have objects in its cage to sharpen its teeth on, it may bite your hand when it finds itself outside its territory. Therefore, it is recommended that the animal in the cage have a branch of a fruit tree or root parts of plants, a cracker.
The hamster will bite if the child squeezes it tightly in his hand, that is, it will cause direct pain to the animal.
A bite can occur in a situation where the hamster has just been brought into the house. The animal is frightened by a change of environment; it needs time to adapt. It is unacceptable to immediately pick it up.

My son loves hamsters very much. Now we have two animals, Snowball and Shustrik. These are atypically tame hamsters, who have never bitten, calmly run around and play.

Statistics

The virus is more common among wolves, foxes and other wild animals. In domestic animals, it manifests itself in dogs and cats. Rare cases of the disease occur in rodents, namely squirrels, rats and hamsters. There are certain areas where rabies is widespread, which can be found out at the nearest veterinary clinic.

The virus is widespread in America and Canada, where raccoons, foxes, and skunks are carriers. Bats are also susceptible to rabies in Africa, Asia, and Europe.

There are two types of rabies: urban and natural habitats. The above animals are natural. In the city, the virus is common in cats, dogs, and farm animals.

It's safe to say that a rabid hamster is a rare occurrence. There have been cases where hamsters have bitten owners, infecting them. But these are isolated precedents.

In 2003, there was an incident in Russia in the city of Novosibirsk. A pet store bought a hamster for a boy in the middle of summer. Two months later, he bit his 8-year-old owner and died. The examination diagnosed rabies.

Three years later, an infection was discovered, but in Belarus. A hamster bit a 12-year-old girl. Then he died 2 days later. The laboratory confirmed the diagnosis of rabies. The girl was saved after undergoing a course of vaccinations.

It happened that, having bought three hamsters, they all bit the young owners. This happened in Ukraine in 2012. They died a week after the purchase. The children were admitted to the hospital to undergo a vaccination course.

The last time rabies in hamsters was noticed was a year ago, in 2022. Again, Belarus and a hamster dies after infecting a 19-year-old girl. The diagnosis was confirmed.

The cases are isolated, but they will serve as a pretext to begin developing a vaccine against rabies in rodents. Now there is no cure, but for prevention they give vaccines to cats, dogs and ferrets.

Consequences of a bite

If a Syrian, Djungarian or other type of rodent bites you, this will lead to the formation of a miniature wound that heals fairly quickly. When bitten, an increase in body temperature can sometimes be observed, the wound swells slightly and breaks out. These are the signs that indicate that the wound has become infected. Please note that you will never get a disease such as tetanus or rabies from a hamster in your life. Naturally, provided that he has not previously visited such an animal world, in which there may be a cat or a dog that has similar diseases.

For children, such bites will be considered more dangerous than for adults. First of all, this is due to the fact that children are good at scratching the area where infection can easily enter. And it’s not always the case that children tell their parents that such a situation has occurred. In any case, the wound must be washed and disinfected. Naturally, many are interested in the consequences and what to do if a child suddenly becomes ill. Immediately after this action on the part of the rodent, for several days you should monitor both the behavior of the pet and your own child. If there are no changes at this stage, then everything is in perfect order.

How can a hamster become infected?

Rabies rarely occurs in hamsters. Another exceptional case is when the disease is transmitted to people from him. It is known for sure that this is incurable and there is no chance of recovery. We must not forget about the tiny percentage of chances of getting infected.

You need to make sure that the hamster does not come into contact with unknown animals, because there is always a risk. If the owner likes to walk his pet animal, then he should not be distracted, since someone is constantly hunting the small animal.

If the owner wants to get another rodent or mate his own with another hamster, then he needs to make sure that the new one is completely healthy.

What provokes the brave little guy to bite?

Hamsters bite in self-defense, due to mistrust of the owner, or improper handling. To avoid being bitten by a rodent in the future, it needs to be tamed.

This is interesting: There are cases in history when, thanks to their thin teeth, Djungarian hamsters were able to protect themselves from hunting dogs.

Rodents bite your finger in the following cases:

The female is expecting offspring (aggression is explained by the instinct of self-preservation). The most dangerous is a female with cubs;
The hamster felt pain, for example as a result of improper handling. A child can squeeze the animal tightly in his hand, to which the rodent will certainly react;
A newly purchased dwarf can react to a change in environment. You should not pick up a hamster immediately after purchase - let him adapt to his new home;
The pet does not wear down its teeth on special chalk and crackers;
If the hamster's owner is a child, adults should tell them what to do if a hamster bites until it bleeds and emphasize that the animal is not a toy;
A hamster should feel protected in its house, so even if a four-legged furry ball has hurt you, under no circumstances should you reach into the animal’s cage and hit it. The house is his personal territory.

Where to get vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis in Krasnoyarsk?

You can get vaccinated or have a tick tested in the city of Krasnoyarsk at the medical office. Here you will be greeted by helpful staff who will tell you how to get diagnosed, get vaccinated and make an appointment with a specialist.

You can register in one of the ways convenient for you:

Online on our website medyunion.ru. Fill out the electronic form, indicating your contact information, doctor's specialization, and a convenient date and time for your appointment.
Request a call back by indicating your name and phone number. Our managers will call you back within 15 minutes and answer your questions.
Call the medical clinic reception at phone number +7.

Features of handling Campbell's hamsters

Breeds of domestic hamsters are not as diverse as we used to think. Today it is common to breed the following breeds:

Dzungarian (Sungur);
Syrian hamsters;
Angora hamster;
Roborovsky's hamsters;
Campbell's hamster.

Campbell's hamsters are one of the most problematic species to keep at home. For a comfortable stay for one hamster, it is enough to purchase a cage measuring 50 by 30 cm. Hamsters are unusually nimble, so the distance between the bars of the grid should not be more than 0.5 cm so that the pet does not escape. It is advisable to provide the animal with a running wheel. Under natural conditions, hamsters are excellent runners and sometimes cover considerable distances, so in a cage they need to receive sufficient physical activity.

Campbell's hamsters are nocturnal, which can be an obstacle to their communication with humans. They become active at night, and by morning they hide back in the house or nest. You can only communicate with them in the evening or early in the morning.

Incredible love of freedom is another characteristic feature of Campbell's hamsters. They don’t like to be picked up and begin to defend themselves and let their teeth in. Experienced owners often remove animals from cages while wearing gloves. However, once in your arms, these hamsters quickly come to their senses, becoming tame and affectionate.

Symptoms

If your region of residence is unfavorable for this terrible disease, it is better to find out in advance what the signs of rabies are in hamsters.

Rabies is always characterized by unusual animal behavior, and this is not always aggression. Mad foxes can be affectionate, lose their fear of humans, and lick their hands. The hamster simply loses orientation in space, constantly wandering around the cage without a clear goal. Appetite is absent or distorted (eating inedible objects). The rodent is worried, squeaks, and sometimes shows aggression.

At the final stage of the disease, paralysis of the pharynx causes the inability to take food and water, as well as profuse salivation. Before death, the animal falls into a coma and convulsions are observed.

Symptoms of rabies in hamsters can be vague, in such cases the owners say that the rodent died suddenly. Usually the animal dies no later than a week from the moment of brain damage.

Consequences of bites

Hamsters have decent sized teeth. If a hamster bites until it bleeds in the area in close proximity to the tendons, they may be damaged, which entails an inflammatory process and disruption of the normal functioning of the fingers. The problem can be easily solved by promptly contacting a specialist.

There are no other complications from the bite of a healthy hamster, but if the animal is a carrier of infectious diseases, then untimely contacting a medical facility can lead to various complications. Therefore, do not trust your child to care for an animal that looks sick.

And most importantly: do not give up your pets. Remember that a bite from any animal can be dangerous, and hamsters are one of the most harmless pets in this regard. And if you or your child are nevertheless bitten by a hamster, then knowing what to do, you reduce the likelihood of infection, which is not particularly high, but is possible.

>Video

What to do if bitten by a hamster? You will find the answer to this question by watching the following video.

What diseases are transmitted to humans

Even proper care for your hamster is not a guarantee that it will remain active and healthy throughout its life. Sometimes an infection can enter the animal’s body when consuming low-quality food or using filler.

Pets can infect humans with infectious diseases such as:

Listeriosis is a disease that negatively affects the nervous system of animals and humans.
Tularemia, which affects the lymph nodes, skin and other parts of the body.
Toxoplasmosis is a disease that poses a particular danger to pregnant women. The entry of infection into the body of a pregnant woman causes various pathologies of the fetus.
Ringworm is an infectious fungal infection of the skin.
Tuberculosis is a dangerous disease of the respiratory tract. A pet can become infected by airborne droplets from humans.
Parasites that live in the body of an animal.
Various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Pregnant women should be especially careful when contacting hamsters - the virus that causes lymphocytic choreomeningitis can penetrate the placenta and harm the fetus.

Prevention

There is no cure for rabies and there are no preventive vaccines. But hamsters very rarely get rabies, which is good news. Prevention is simple:

Do not let the rodent roam outside the house and reduce contact with other animals.
Buy hamsters in special stores or nurseries, but not on the market.

Contagious diseases of hamsters

Contrary to popular belief, hamsters very rarely get rabies. So far, not a single case of human infection with this disease after being bitten by a furry rodent has been recorded. But the list of possible diseases carried by pets, unfortunately, is not limited to one item.

The most dangerous diseases that hamsters can carry are:

Tuberculosis. The pulmonary form is widespread. The sick animal gradually loses weight and loses activity.
Listeriosis. It affects the central nervous system, which leads to impaired coordination of movements.
Toxoplasmosis is dangerous for pregnant women as it can lead to impaired fetal development. It is tolerated by children and adults asymptomatically and does not cause complications.
Tularemia. The disease progresses at the site of penetration, then spreads throughout the body. The external manifestation is similar to ulceration of the skin.

Toxoplasmosis is the only disease that can be transmitted to animals asymptomatically. Other diseases, one way or another, affect the appearance and activity of the pet.

Hamsters can be carriers of toxoplasmosis