Why Do Hamsters Lick You? (Sign of Love or Something Else!)

If you have a soft spot in your heart for animals, then you probably already know that licking is a universal sign of affection and respect. But is that the case with every kind of animal?

So, what are your thoughts? Why do hamsters lick you? Hamsters may lick you as a gesture of love, but most likely, it’s because they’re lacking sodium in their diet or they are angry. Regular licking can be a good sign, but if it is licking excessively, then you have reasons to be concerned about.

We are going to find out whether there’s any abnormality in the way your hamster is licking you. So keep an eye out for helpful hints in the article here.

Why Does My Hamster Lick Me?

It might be a very common question: why do hamsters lick humans? It can be basically for three reasons.

Salt Deficiency

What happens maximum times is that hamsters are in salt deficiency. Salt is an essential part of the animal body. If you see that your hamster is licking you in a continuous process, you should understand that it lacks salt or sodium in its body.

As we all know, salt is very important because it helps to clean the pulses properly, and a low sodium level can cause harm to the nervous system. So yes, if your hamster is suffering from sodium deficiency, now is the time to take care of it.

Have you ever tasted your hand? If you have, then you should know that it tastes somewhat salty. That is why hamsters leak into your hand extensively when they are deficient in salt.

For example, when you are in a food craving, you start preparing yourself for only that food, like pizza and burgers. That is the same way hamsters are addicted to your hand because they crave the salt in your fingers.

What Should Be Done If The Hamsters’ Bodies Lack Salt?

If you become sure that your hamster has a salt deficiency, then you should start providing them with salt in various ways like food and fingers.

Below we are going to show you how you can add salt to their food and also other ways to satisfy their hunger for salt

Salty Food

Food is the most effective way to provide salt to them. So, if you notice your hamster is lacking in salt, you probably aren’t giving them the right food. In this case, you should change the diet of the hamsters.

First of all, you have to put some salty food in the diet of the hamster, and then you observe the animal for a few days. If you say that it stopped licking your fingers after the diet change, that means it was because of the salt deficiency.

If it’s still licking your fingers, it is because the hamster was affectionate towards you, or it should be something else. For the best result, you can consult with a vet.

Salty Fingers

Your hamster’s constant licking is normal, so don’t try to stop it. To satisfy their insatiable need to lick your fingers, you must make more opportunities available for this activity. To accomplish this, you need more than one finger.

Each of your fingers contains a certain amount of salt, which is not sufficient for your hamster’s body. Their body needs a certain amount of salt which can be found only in their food or in other ways but your fingers have a very limited salt

For this, you can just apply some salt (not very much, but a very small amount of salt) to your fingers. Make sure, before letting your hamster lick your fingers, you do not apply a lot of salt to your hands, which can cause internal problems in your body.

Ingestion of excessive salt can cause damage to the kidneys and the heart. So be sure about what you are providing.

Care Or Affection

Your hamster can also lick you because you are very adorable to it. It can also be a sign of love that it has for you.

Licking is the primary form of communication used by hamsters. Hamsters maintain their cleanliness by cleaning their fur by licking it with their teeth. They will occasionally show affection by making cute noises to each other while they are grooming themselves. Hamsters are also known to groom other members of their families.

Angry

Again it can also lick you because it is angry. It can happen because they are frustrated about something or you are not providing them with the actual food they need. You can find out that if your hamster bites you hard while it is licking you

Is It Normal For A Hamster To Lick You?

Yes, it is quite normal. There is no harm when your hamster licks your hand until either you have a dirty hand or your hamster has bad saliva. Certainly, if it’s tamed at your house, it can always be free from diseases like meningitis and leptospirosis. As a result, your hamstring is more likely to bother you in safe ways.

But if you have a dirty hand, it might harm your animal. If you want your hamster to lick your finger, don’t use any cream or lotion before you give your hand to it.

Remember that any ingredients in your hands can be hazardous to your bird’s body. It can be bad for their mouth and body. To summarize, hamsters are extremely clean animals that are unlikely to transmit disease to you.

When Hamsters Lick You, Do They Bite?

Of course, they can bite you but in two situations. One is if they are angry, and the other is due to affection. If your animal starts giving a little bite to your hand, that means it’s showing its affection. But when it pulls blood from your hand, it means that it is in a very aggressive mood.

Below we have stated two different bites of hampsters:

Adoring Bite

What do you think? Do hamsters lick to show affection? It is completely fine if your animal bites you in a very gentle way. To understand, let’s say your animal is licking you and suddenly bites you on your hand, but you don’t feel any pain. Then don’t worry, that is a very normal thing.

Sometimes what happens is that there is some leftover food on your hand or the nails, which they like to eat. So when they lick your hand out of affection, they also give you a small bite, which will not cause you any pain but is a sign of their love for you. They feel homely with you if they do this.

Aggression Bite

Now coming to the aggressive bite, the way you can understand it is if they lick you and start biting you very aggressively, if blood comes out, or if you feel excessive pain. This happens because they are either very sad or angry for any reason.

If this happens, then you should leave the hamster alone for some time. Slowly or gently approach it whenever you provide it with food. Make sure you provide him with good food in this case.

Related Questions

Questions are very simple things if you concentrate on any topic. If you have read this article and have questions then it is good. You can look at our FAQ section to clarify your idea.

How Come Hamsters Constantly Lick The bars Of Their Cage?

Hamsters will often lick the bars of their cage to learn about their surroundings. They lack the cognitive abilities of humans but make up for it with highly developed sense organs. At the time this behavior is an expression of irritation with being confined and a desire to escape.

Do Hampsters Lick Themselves?

Hamsters, no matter where they are, always and everywhere clean themselves. That is something that almost everyone is aware of.

Hamsters are about as clean as cats, which is to say that they are on par with them. If you’ve watched your hamster while he’s grooming himself, you undoubtedly already know that this is something he regularly does.

Wrapping Up

Your hamster may be licking you out of affection, frustration, or a need for salt, as discussed in this article. That’s fine until they are showing love to you, are aggressive, or have a deficiency of salt.

If you see some major change of behavior in your hamster then it is more like it is angry or in salt deficiency.  If not, then they are doing it out of affection. However, if the situation gets worse, you can always consult a vet.