mating ritual and taming...

Question
how do i know if my new hamsters are just fighting or are actually doing mating ritual... and how do i REALLY tame my hamsters.... cuz they always jump from my hands..

Answer
Hi,
Christine, first I will talk about the behavior problems. Do you know the gender of your hamsters? Normally, when you have two of the same sex in the same cage; they will fight for territory and to see who is the alpha male or female. If this continues, you will have to move one from the cage. Some hamsters just don't like each other. I have had to do that to some of my hamsters. After the hamsters have reached sexual maturity, the attitude of the hamster will change. So if you put another hamster with it, then they will fight. Sometimes they will injure each other or maybe they will fight to the death, but so far mine hasn't killed each other. If it was a mating ritual, then the hamsters would fight a little, but most of the time the female will surrender. Taming a hamster can be a challenge. All I can say on that is...you have to them get use to you and play with them a lot. Let them know that you won't hurt them and they should quit jumping out of your hand. I hope this little bit of information will help you. If you have any more questions just ask me.
        Karmen