how to tame a nasty hamster

[barry&betty]

i bought my daughter a hamster from the pet shop yesterday, he hasn't had much human contact and bites as soon as u put your hand in the cage. i'm just after some tips to tame him. any help much appreciated

[elleg7391]

i have a few hamsters, and its normal that at the beginning they are quite nasty. wen u put your hand in the cage to get him or her out, u need to go extremely slowly and let him or her sniff u a few times and then slowly caress her or his head but do this very gently, after a while it wil begin to feel safe around you just remember not to be too jerky or make loud noises around him or her at the beginning. hope i have helped
: )

[barry&betty]

thanx i'll try my best my daughter is desperate to cuddle him!! my husband has called him stormy because of his stroppyness!!

[undercovers]

it is really difficult if they have reached a certain age without having any / much human contact - when i used to have baby hamster, or should i say when my hamsters used to have babies, i used to start handling them as soon as the mother started letting them out of her nest and out of sight for a while - this handling let them get used to it early on... i adopted a few hamsters that were unloved (ahhhh) and were really snappy (that could also be a good name!) it took me months but managed to stop them biting by;
wearing gloves to begin with
handling them everyday
and always giving them a small bit of fruit (they really liked apples) every time they were in my hand
eventually i then stopped using the gloves
It did take ages but they started thinking of my hands as them getting treats so stopped biting (if they bit my bare hand they got not apple)
It doesn't always work but worth a go and at least with some gloves on your daughter can play with them a bit more

good luck

[barry&betty]

he is a couple of months old, when we got our other hamster he had already been well handled and is really tame. thanx for all the advice undercovers and yours too elleg. i'll keep perservering, i had my hand in with treats on it today but he just squealed and ran into his bed. i never knew hamsters squealed!! i'll keep trying. thanx again for the help xXx

[Cheekystar]

make sure you wash your hands before you handle them , as if they can smell food they may might, also avaoid pikcing them up just after they wake up. you can buy little brushes for them, ours loves it, and she'll sit perfectly still while we brush her.

[southerngirl]

Following on from previous comments, it is best not to try and pick the hamster up by your fingers from above as this is how their enemies, birds of prey, catch them. It is better to scoop them up in your hands. Sometimes as said previously they will always bite but it should get better after time. Also remember that they are nocturnal creatures and should be left alone during the day.Have had hamster all my adult life and the worst hamsters for biting are the dwarf or russian hamster. They are also the best excapers.

[pb100191]

It is very usual. I had two hamsters, and they both used to actually fight each other physically! We managed to seperate them, but i think it's what all hamsters do. As soon as i put my hand in the cage my hamster would jump for me.

I think you have to make sure he knows that your not going to hurt him. For example, if you let him walk up on his hand, give him a treat.