my hamster biting me

Question
dear joanne-
    i just recently got my winter white hamster 5 days ago. i gave her time to get used to her new environment. and whenever i try to pick her up he bites.i even wash my hands first.i don't know the reason.
        -thank you-  

Answer
hi alex,

you could wash your hands 50 times before you try to handle her and it makes no difference. he will still bite you because he is not tame, he is pretty much still a wild animal. He is only biting you because he is scared you might be trying to kill him, which is rediculous but he doesn't know that! let me take you through the taming process.

1. get a big cardboard or plastic box, big enough so that he can't climb out, and put a thick layer of sawdust on the bottom.

2. get him out of his cage somehow, without having to pick him up, you could, put the cage in the box and leave the door of the cage open, he will sniff around for a bit, but his curiosity will take over and he'll climb out, into the box.

3. let him sniff around the box for a while, he may try to dig out or escape, but thats normal, all hamsters do this.

4. Nows the time to start making contact with him. the first thing to do now, is wash your hands. get some raisins, seeds, or just a handful of hamster food. 1 piece at a time, start feeding him from your fingers, give him the food, and he should just snatch it straight out of your hands. do this for a few days, once a day.

5. when he seems happy to take food from you, its time for the next step. again, get another handful of hamster food and put a little in the palm of your hand, put your hand down for him, palm up, and he'll sniff, and climb on to get the food, DO NOT move or you will scare him and you'll need to start again. now that you have held him, make sure you don't lift him too high, because when you move, he will jump and we don't want him to hurt himself. do this for a week or however long it takes him to feel comfortable.

6. now you can try picking him up. don't lift him up from above, he will see your hand coming down and he'll run away. take both your hands and scoop him up from underneath. he will jump and run away the first few times do you do this. but he needs to realize you are not a threat, so continue with this for as long as it takes to get him used to it. once you have him tamed, you can get rid of the box and start handling him without getting bit.

please remember that this can take a long time (it took me 8 weeks to fully tame my hamster) but you must have patience and most importantly - don't give up!

best of luck with this and if you still have problems, let me know. thank you for your question.

Joanne x