catching and handling our hamster

Question
Our female hamster is still young, and very fast. I have had her a week and only once managed to get her picked up, she then leapt out of my hands. Fortunately she was not far off the ground. please help as we do want to clean her cage, and would like to pet her.

Answer
Hi,
Firstly, do not attempt to grab her, as she will get startled, and may bite. You need to clean her cage at least once a week, so if needed use gloves to put her into another small cage while it is being cleaned, or into a ball so she can roll around. Don't use gloves to train her though, or she will not get used to your scent, and when you take them off she still may bite.
Follow these steps to train her:

Note: They usually do not bite unless startled, so do not make any sudden movements. Allow him to sniff you.

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 know you mean no harm.
3) Gently and slowly curl your hand he is eating from round his body. Don't squeeze him, 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 him 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 he is calm, but make sure he 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.

I hope this method works for you.
Wishing you the best of luck,
Kathryn