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    bellaluvsmerlin's Avatar
    bellaluvsmerlin Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Jul 12, 2011, 10:35 AM
    How do I pick up my hamster without him biting or running away?
    I got an untamed dwarf hamster and I'm scared of him! Every time I try to pick him up he bites me (extremely hard) and I bleed or he runs away or makes sudden movements and I have a phobia of sudden movements. I can't even pet him because he twitches and bites and again with the sudden movements. I need help! Since of my phobia should I get a different hamster (a tamed one)? Or is there a way I can handle him without bleeding or having to wear socks on my hands and without him making sudden movements?
    Alty's Avatar
    Alty Posts: 28,317, Reputation: 5972
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    #2

    Jul 17, 2011, 05:10 PM

    Dwarf hamster? What kind? Is he a syrian, a russian... etc. etc?

    Some breeds are easier to handle then others. Russian dwarfs are notorious biters, but can be trained if you are willing to put in the time and patience.

    Hamsters are small nocturnal prey animals. You're a big human. When you got to pick him up, what are you doing? Are you reaching into his cage, plucking him up? If so, he's a small prey animal. Biting is his only defense. He doesn't know you won't hurt him.

    Start by gaining his trust. Let him come to you, let him get used to you. Let him learn that you aren't going to hurt him.

    Treats are best. Open the cage, put your hand through the door with a treat in your hand (his favorite treat is best). Wait for him to come to you. It won't happen right away. It could take days, even weeks or months before he comes to the treat. Once he does, for a few days, try petting him. Move slowly, speak softly, don't make quick movements (he hates them as much as you do), and let him become accustomed to you.

    Start small, slow, patient, and work your way up.

    If you're nervous of quick movements, have a phobia, then maybe a hamster isn't for you. It takes a lot of patience to tame a hamster.

    Hamsters tolerate being held, being handled. They don't enjoy it. If you're going in with fear, expecting your hamster to just accept you plucking it out of its cage, then you're not a hamster person.
    joeisseggsybmeg's Avatar
    joeisseggsybmeg Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #3

    Dec 21, 2011, 01:42 AM
    I have a Russian dwarf and it keeps biting me and it really hurts,so how do I get him to be used to my hand?When I put my hand in the cage with the treat he is not interested in the treat but he is more interested in biting my hand off! Please help me and reply
    DaniCalifornia's Avatar
    DaniCalifornia Posts: 655, Reputation: 152
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    #4

    Dec 21, 2011, 04:58 AM
    When I put my hands into the cage with my robos, they smell and might have a little nibble, as they're used to associating "Hand in the cage" with "Getting food".

    You need to ease them into it, get them used to human contact. Lure then into a toilet roll tube, then slowly pick it up. Then you can put your hand at the end and see if they walk on it. Make sure you're not nervous and twitchy, or that you'll drop them if they DO nip, as that'll make it worse and they'll be more scared.

    X Dani
    Evie Cai's Avatar
    Evie Cai Posts: 6, Reputation: 0
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    #5

    Dec 15, 2012, 09:26 PM
    I think you should be slow moving and put your hand gently into the cage with the food it likes, not your hand though. It will get use to you if you do that a lot. I do that to my hamster. Now it is very used to me petting it. Try to let the hamster come close to you first though.
    Alty's Avatar
    Alty Posts: 28,317, Reputation: 5972
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    #6

    Dec 15, 2012, 10:00 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by Evie Cai View Post
    I think you should be slow moving and put your hand gently into the cage with the food it likes, not your hand though. It will get use to you if you do that a lot. I do that to my hamster. Now it is very used to me petting it. Try to let the hamster come close to you first though.
    This thread was started almost a year and a half ago. I'm pretty sure the OP (original poster) has it figured out by now, as her hamster is now an old hamster, near the end of its life.
    Evie Cai's Avatar
    Evie Cai Posts: 6, Reputation: 0
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    #7

    Dec 16, 2012, 07:06 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by Alty View Post
    This thread was started almost a year and a half ago. I'm pretty sure the OP (original poster) has it figured out by now, as her hamster is now an old hamster, near the end of its life.
    How do you pick a hamster without letting it normal? It is pretty hard! Pick the hamster's favorite food first, slowly put your hand in. Hamsters don't like fast movements. I bet you don't either!
    Alty's Avatar
    Alty Posts: 28,317, Reputation: 5972
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    #8

    Dec 16, 2012, 07:16 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by Evie Cai View Post
    How do you pick a hamster without letting it normal? It is pretty hard! Pick the hamster's favorite food first, slowly put your hand in. Hamsters don't like fast movements. I bet you don't either!
    What?

    "How do I pick a hamster without letting it normal?" What does that mean? I can't even guess.

    Why are you giving me advice? I didn't ask, nor do I need it. If you read my post to you, it was to inform you that this is an old question, and the poster that asked it hasn't been back for years!
    alyssdicenzo's Avatar
    alyssdicenzo Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #9

    Jan 30, 2013, 05:32 PM
    Mine is a Chinese dwarf hamster
    Alty's Avatar
    Alty Posts: 28,317, Reputation: 5972
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    #10

    Jan 30, 2013, 06:19 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by alyssdicenzo View Post
    mine is a Chinese dwarf hamster
    One major word of advice that I can give, is never ever ever reach down and pluck the hamster up. Lay your hand flat, and let him come to you. Also remember that as a rule, hamster don't like being held, or picked up. They will tolerate it from someone they trust, but they don't enjoy it.

    Remember that in the wild this is a prey animal, an animal that other animals eat. A pet store employ pointed something out to me that made so much sense. It was a bit of a shock because I don't expect any kind of knowledge about animals from a pet store employee.

    When we got our gerbils she suggested laying our hand flat with food to tame them, something I already knew. It was her explanation of why plucking them up is so scary to them (I also knew that plucking was a bad thing, but her explanation made so much sense), that I will share with you, because it makes so much sense. What animal preys on rodents? Owls, Hawks, and large birds. How do they catch the rodent? They swoop down and pluck them up with their claws. A human hand coming down from above, looks like a claw. The only defense, the only way to possibly save your life if you're a tiny rodent, is to bite.

    Most people get a hamster and immediately want to hold it, pet it, love it. Give the hamster time. Let him come to you. Spend a lot of time just handling things in his cage, palm up, or down, but never from above. Give him food, offer treats.

    Sooner or later he'll trust you enough to come to you. It won't happen over night, no animal is tamed over night, but if you put in the time and effort, it should pay off.
    Evie Cai's Avatar
    Evie Cai Posts: 6, Reputation: 0
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    #11

    Jan 31, 2013, 02:40 PM
    Warning: never buy a chinese dwarf hamster! If they bite you, it really hurts!
    Alty's Avatar
    Alty Posts: 28,317, Reputation: 5972
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    #12

    Jan 31, 2013, 10:59 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by Evie Cai View Post
    Warning: NEVER BUY A CHINESE DWARF HAMSTER! IF THEY BITE YOU, IT REALLY HURTS!
    Any animal can bite, and it never tickles when they do. An animal that bites is an animal that's afraid, not tame, and not handled correctly.

    Chinese dwarf hamsters do have a bigger reputation for being aggressive than other hamsters, but, they're also one of the only hamsters that can actually be housed with other hamsters.

    It really all depends on the hamster, and on the human that cares for them.

    Saying "Never buy a Chinese dwarf hamster! If they bite you, it really hurts", is the same as saying "never buy a pitbull, they're all aggressive and they will bite". It's not fair to make that statement about all Russian dwarf hamsters, anymore that it's fair to say that about all pitbulls. A lot of it is due to the humans that own them.

    Your statement is not at all accurate, or well researched, or fair.
    abinatasha's Avatar
    abinatasha Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #13

    Mar 3, 2013, 01:14 PM
    Well I just let my hamster get used to me and my smell of my hand and then just kept feeding her of my hand and picking her up to let her get used to me

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