Is holding my dwarf hamsters bad?

[BlueberryJerry05]

I am the type of person who loves animals, and I recently just bought two Campbell dwarf hamsters named Blueberry and Jerry. I love holding them or petting them but I also love giving them their alone time because they need it. I wanted to know if holding them too much or bothering them too much will result in them being stressed or aggressive. Should I stop holding them forever and leave them alone?

[Drago]

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with regularly handling your hamster granted they are okay with it! Handling itself won't usually stress them, only improper handling (or if they generally don't wish to be handled, but they'll make you well aware if they're not happy) be cautious with separating pairs for handling/playtime. Even just a few minutes separation can cause fallouts. Best wishes

[cypher]

Handling your hams regularly is all part of forming & maintaining a bond with them & should be really enjoyable for both them & you.
As you get to know them & pay attention to their behaviour is becomes quite apparent when they want to interact & when they want some time to themselves so let them come to you, if they want to interact & have some time out of the cage that's fine but if they seem hesitant then don't push it.
As Drago said you do need to interact with them together, don't separate them for out of cage time.

[InkyPen]

My Syrian is so keen on coming out for playtime / cuddles (this usually involves her running riot over me / the bed / the sofa inbetween stroking) that she usually climbs onto my hand when I put it onto her cage, so she can be lifted out.

I'd argue that a hamster that is tame and handled will tend to experience less stress from being around humans than a ham that never gets to leave its cage and doesn't associate humans near its cage with nice things. That said, they do need some peace and quiet - everything in moderation!

[snow pony]

Since I got my dwarf and have been handling him, and handling my Syrian more, she has become much more friendly. I think holding them and playing with them is good: it gives them a new environment and an interaction with you. As long as they are happy with it I'd just continue doing what you do.