dwarf hamster behavior

Question
QUESTION: hi, it's me again ;]
I was wondering about the way my hamster acts. She always becomes very active at certain times like at night and after I change her bedding. She stands up on two legs and runs around all over the place and usually she just hops and jumps very far across the cage. She scratches and jumps very high to try to escape. What should I do? and Is this a good time to try to tame her and put my hand in the cage? Thank you for your help!

ANSWER: Hello! Glad to hear your hamster is doing well.  Hamsters are nocturnal, so your little pet is just acting natural, she is most active between the hours of 5pm to no later than 8am.  During that time she loves to run around and try to find escape routes, hamsters are notorious for being escape artists.  This is why we have to prevent them from getting too talented because they can get hurt outside their homes.  Whenever her home changes it makes her wonder where all her old stuff went and so she will try to keep on her toes.

This should be a great time to try and tame her,  just make sure you remember to wash your hands well, try to pet her first and then pick her up with your hands, being gentle yet firm (so that she wont just jump off your hand).  Let her walk around your hand for a few minutes.  If she bites you when you are trying to pick her up, please do not feel discouraged.  Try to scoop her out with a clean dry cup and placing her on your hand too, that can help out a lot if your hamster is very territorial.  Good luck!

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QUESTION:  Thank you for that. Should i use gloves or hands? When she bites, how should I punish her and let her know she did wrong? Should I not feed her treats or will she just bite more because she's hungry? Sorry for all the questions but I'm new to this and really really want to tame her so i can play with her without being bitten. Thanks.

Answer
You may use either your gloves or your hands, it all depends on how comfortable you feel at this point with your hamster. It's ok if you ask questions.  When she bites it will be hard to discipline her.  I usually just try to ease my finger away from their mouths so as to prevent them from biting.  If she really bites hard one option could be to lightly pinch either her ear or tail, be careful not to pinch too hard because a slight pinch to use is not the same for a hamster.  You should preferably feed your hamster everything she can eat, the more full your hamster's belly is, the happier she will be and the least likely she will bite out of hunger.