Feeding dwarf hamster treats/taming

Question
How often should I feed my dwarf hamster treats?Is it okay to feed treats every day if they are super small pieces?Like the Fiesta Healthy Toppings treats?I know dwarf hamsters are prone to diabetes,so what should I feed her as a treat?

I'm trying to tame her by giving her treats from my hand to gain trust.Is there a better method to tame her?When should I pick her up/pet her?I don't want her to bite me/get frightened and lose trust.

Answer
Hi Thao

Treats are fine but you are correct in that diabetes is quite common. Avoid giving sugary treats. Remember that honey is often included in hamster treats. You could give scrambled egg, cheese, nuts, seeds etc as treats instead of processed ones.  If a hamster develops diabetes they drink a lot of water and their pee smells sweet. Due to the amount they drink they need cleaning out every day or so. If you suspect diabetes you must not give any sugar at all - that includes dried fruit  that is sometimes in the standard hamster mix, or sugary treats including those that contain honey. You need to get sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, linseed and pumpkin seeds and mix these together and give a teaspoon of these daily alongside their other food. This combination of seeds contain essential fatty acids and help regulate sugar levels. I've had several with diabetes - most have gone onto live normal lives although sadly sometimes they don't survive or manage to get their sugar levels down.

Regarding taming  try to get her in a routine of coming out at the same time of day or every time you see her out of her nest. I've not had dwarf hamsters for a while but when I did I used to get them out every time they were out of their nest - just for a few minutes. This got them used to being handled and they quickly realised that it was safe for them - you need to build their confidence and also yours with handling them.

I hope this helps

Regards
Sheila