Dwarf hamster severe aggression

Question
Hi,

I work at a Petco and recently adopted a dwarf hamster which had been returned by 2 separate owners because it is completely unhandleable! I was afraid it would spend its life in the back room of the pet shop since no one wanted to give it a 3rd chance.

Basically she tries to box with you if you put your fingers to the bars of the cage, and tries to bite. I put a hand in the cage with a leather glove on and it attacked it MULTIPLE times while scratching at it. I tried bribing her with treats and she will take them from my hand (after biting it a few times) and then wolfs down the food as if shes starving, or runs back to her bed and devours it.  

I will give this little ham a good home whether or not I can tame her, but it would be nice to be able to put my hand in the cage without a glove and not have it eaten off. ANY advice on helping such a psychological disaster would be appreciated. Thanks!

Sarah

Answer

           Well your hamster was mis-treated at one time or another. Maybe one of the previous owners, or maybe it was when she was a baby. It sounds as if your hamster was never handled, or barely ever handled. All I can say is, try picking her up by cupping her in your hands, definately put on gloves. By cupping her in your hands it gives her a sense of security. It may take some time to break her of her habbits, but it will pay off. She might not fully recover, most likely she will still be a little jumpy and scared. When you have her in your hands talk to her in a soothing voice, tell her she's ok. If you can calm her down enough to pet her with one hand try that stroke her head and back lightly. This also will help calm her down. Try doing this two to three times a day, until she starts to calm down, don't lay off of this or progress will be lost.

Hope this helps, and I wish you the best of luck with her. Write me again and tell me how everything works out with her.