picking up hamsters

Question
I have a 8 month old syrian hamster that I bought from a pet store when he was 7 weeks old. I have worked with him daily since purchase and have spoiled him beyond belief.

When he was 3 months old, he had a half foot fall in his ball and was knocked unconsious for approximately 3 minutes and I took him to the vet and the hamster came out without a single injury.

I have trained him to hand feed and he allows me to brush him for up to a minute with a soft toothbrush but he will not allow me to pick him up. I don't force myself upon him and yet he still occasionally bites me. I am the only person in contact with him and I am very gentle and loving with him and I don't understand why he doesn't seem to trust me enough to pick him up.

I have followed most of the guides online on how to fix this problem with no positive outcomes. Is it too late to fix this problem?

Answer
Hi,
Unfortunately, the longer you leave a hamster untrained, and the older he gets, the more difficult it is to train them. However, it is not impossible, and if you persevere he will eventually allow you to handle her.

Here is my guide to handling them. My main point is not to rush it; that will get you right back to where you started. Take it slowly.
Don't wear gloves, as he will not get used to your scent and will be more likely to bite when you take them off.
Another good little tip I've learnt is to handle her bedding, so he associates your smell with the warmth and safety of his bed.

1) Put food on your hand and wait for him to come over. Do this every day until he is confident with coming onto your hand.
2)Talk to him gently all the time. Make sure he knows you mean no harm.
3) Gently and slowly curl your hand he is eating from round her body. Don't squeeze her, in fact barely touch him with your fingers. After another week or so he should just ignore you doing this.
4) Stroke him on the back with your other hand when he is sitting on your hand eating.
5) Move one hand over the top of his body, while he is sitting on the other one. Curl your fingers round her like you did before. He should be in an enclosed space between your two hands, but able to move around. Practice holding him like this with your hand on the ground first of all until he is used to it.
6) Eventually you will be able to move your hand just an inch or so off the ground of the cage without him squirming. He won't even notice if all goes well.
7) Over a couple of weeks, raise your hand each time slightly, until it is eventually completely out of the cage.
8) The trick is to keep calm, as tension passes straight into him. Keep a loose hold of him, so she is calm, but make sure she does fall out your hand. Keep him close to your body, never at arm's length. Patience is all that is required, and it can be frustrating, but given time any hamster can be trained.

Feel free to ask me any more questions.
Best of luck,
Kathryn