Biting hamster

Question
My sons hamster a two-toned teddy bear is so mean, he/she won't let us hold it at all.  We had several before and I found the all brown ones to be much more passive.  It also has a wheel but won't run, I am not used to that with hamsters.  They use to keep us up all night.  What is up with him/her? can you help us, he also bites hard.

Answer
Hi Ramona,

Your hamster is actually a Syrian hamster, as were the 'brown' ones too.

All Syrian hamsters have different personalities and some will like the wheel more than others - this is normal and nothing to worry about as long as he isnt getting bored.

The colour of each hamster will make no difference to how tame they are or how tolerant they will be of being held.

Your new hamster is probably not very tame because he/she hasnt been handled much since birth.

The only way to tame your new hamster is to handle him/her as much as possible and just try to not let him/her prevent you from picking it up.

Always wash your hands before handling them because the slightest smell can be detected by them and could startle them or even make them think your hand is food!

Always make sure that whenever you attempt to pick up one of your hamsters, you do actually pick it up, do not let it prevent you from picking it up, always follow through and pick it up.  If you do let it prevent you from picking it up just once, either by running away and hiding or by squealing or biting, it will think it can do it all the time and it can be a bad habit to break.

Please just keep trying - do not give up - it will get used to you and will be very tame in a short time.

Good Luck.

Kind Regards,

Tammy