When i first got him.

Question

when i first goy my hamster ( my third) i was happy. my past hamsters (girls and boys) were very calm after a few days and i could easily pick them up. With ym latest hamster, all he does is bite. when we first got him i opened the box he was in  to see if he was ok. he ran out into the garden and i thought i lost him. i loked for him and found him.
He ran fast. really fast and when i pciked him up he jumped out of my hand. he wasnt injured but started crying after(sounded like a printer) he is ok now and runs fast and still likes to bite. he has buit me but he has got used to me. he still doesnt like me that much. it has been 8 weeks. how can i get him to like me more

Answer
hi ashley,

hamsters need some sort of taming, they think you are a threat and you need to teach them that you don't mean to hurt them. here is a guide you can follow to tame your hamster.

first things first - always wash your hands before handling him, if you smell like food, you will get bitten! also, wear gloves if you have to..

1. hamsters are naturally timid and its all about getting it to realize you mean it no harm.
2. this process may take a while so you have to be patient and don't give up!
3. first way to start this is to feed it treats through the bars with your hands.
4. once he does this without hassle, rest your hand, palm up in the cage with a treat in the middle, his curiosity and need for the food will overwhelm him and he'll soon climb on no problem.
5. now for the hard part, you'll notice that once he's on your hand, any movement or trying to hold him propperly will have him running. so you'll need a box, big enough that he can't climb out. get him in the box via his excersize ball (if you don't have one, get one cheap from your pet store, serious value for money and is a MUST for any hamster owner) fill the bottom of the box with a thick layer of sawdust, he is going to jump when you try to grab him. anyway, start trying to cup him from underneath with your hands. if he jumps, no worries, just rinse and repeat this process until you can hold him without her trying to jump away. hamsters will always try to escape your grasp, but it shouldn't come across as panicky once tamed.

* reminder - this could take up to a few weeks for him to be fully tamed.

best of luck with this and let me know how you got on :)Thanks for your question.

Joanne xx