Handling

When you bring your hamster home and place him in his new cage, he will be very afraid and will need time to settle into his new home.  You should leave your hamster alone for 24 hours to give him time to settle down, he needs time to get used to his house before he can get used to you.

When the time comes for you to handle him, don't just put your hand in and pick him up!  he needs time to get used to who you are.  For the first couple of days just place your hand in your cage and leave it there for a short while so that he can get used to your smell and talk to him at the same time so he can get used to your voice as well.

After a short while he should become inquisitive and approach your hand, when he does this keep still so that he knows you won't hurt him.  You can also place a treat in your hand and when he takes it just keep still.  Keep doing this until you think that he trusts you.

Once you think he trusts you, give him a little stroke when he approaches your hand until you think that he trusts you doing this as well.

When it comes to picking up your hamster be very careful!  Hamsters are very fragile and easily scared.  You should sit down when you handle them for a while in case you drop him. 

If your hamster does bite you at any time, don't worry it's not that he doesn't like you, he is just frightened.  It's best to put him back in his cage if he does bite and leave him alone for a while to calm down.

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