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dwarf hamsters

21 15:46:00

Question
Hello!
    I have a dwarf hamster and I need help taming it and with its diet. I also need help seeing if it's a male or female. It is two months old and I've had it for 6 days now. I use a glove to pick it up and put into my hand. I play with it on my hands everyday and I let it run around in its exercise ball. When do you think it is ready to be picked up with bare hands? I don't want to use bitter lime gel or anything like that, just using my bare hands. Sometimes I put my hand, palm up, on the floor of the cage but when the hamster comes, I am too scared it will bite me so I jerk away. How much do you think one dwarf hamster should eat a day and what should its diet consist of? How much vegetables, meat, fruits...etc? Right now I feed it once in the morning and once in the evening. Each time i feed it 3-5 pinches of hamster mix and a small piece of fruit or vegetable. The pet store said that the hamster was a male but I took a look and it looks female. Is two months old enough to tell? The holes are close so that it looks like one hole and it does not have a bump where its genitals are. However, I can't find any nipples... Thank you sooo much for your help!! It is greatly appreciated that you answer as much as you know. =]

Answer
Michelle,
I think you may have already answered one of my main questions and that was whether or not it was a male or female. It's possible that it's a female. Sometimes you may not see nipples with all the fur. :)
I don't think you should use gloves or anything to play with the hamster, you sorta gotta bite the bullet and use your hand. My hamster became tamed once I started placing sunflower seeds in my hand and he would come to the sunflower seeds. Yes he would nibble my hand but it was only a nibble to figure out what it was. Hamsters do not have good eye sight so talking to them is good as well. Generally a hamster will nibble at your hand if you place your hand in the cage, it's them saying my property mine!!
Choobles,my hamster does it all the time and he stops after a minute or so. I tell him that it's me and I have food and for some reason he stops.
As far as food comsumption a good hamster diet is needed. I have used Nutriphase Gold hamster food mixed in with vitakraft hamster food. He liked that. I recently bought F.M. Brown's Tropical Carnival for Hamsters and gerbils and I currently mix that with some vitakraft hamster food and I add in a pinch of F.M. Brown's Fruit and Nut for Small animals. My hamster is over weight and fat and that's how I like him, because dwarf hamsters only live 1-2 years and I figure why not spoil them and make them happy as can be so I really never watch how much I feed him. If you don't want a hamster that's fat then generally most people will fill the bowl half way each day. As far as veggies go a good frozen mixed veggie diet is good and I would put in a teaspoon or tablespoon of frozen mixed veggies a day and make sure to take them out after a few hours.

I hope I have answered everything, if I didn't feel free to ask again. :)