Why does our hamster seem frantic

He is trying (almost successful) to get out of his cage and has put all of his bedding and food down the tube.he seems frantic. Is he sick? We've had him about 2 months and have not seen this before. He bit my wife the other night..and had hot done that at anytime before. Do we need to go to the vet??!!??

Sounds like a normal hamster to me. I currently have two hamsters and have had loads of hamsters in the past. Escaping is their reason for living. If they hada cage the size of a football field, they'd be trying to escape. That's what they do.

Hamsters are desert animals that have evolved to be ground dwellers. They live in underground tunnels (like groundhogs or gophers), and I believe that stuffing the tubs full of shavings and junk is just a security blanket of sorts. Deep in their hamster-psychic they have the instinct of protecting themselves from predators that might come down the tubes at them.

If he's frantic.. maybe he's just really wanting love. Do you have any other hamsters around? Our male hamster who gets VERY frantic when our female (kept in separate cage, other side of the room) is in heat. He goes MENTAL. You said that you have had yoru hamster 2 months - if he's about 3 months old, perhaps he's just like a 18 year old man and sowing his wild oats... or rather, wanting to.

As far as the biting. That might be a coincedence - perhaps your wife hadn't washed her hands and they smelled tasty?