Hello there. He isn't a biter I am sure xxx It's just too soon to start taming. He needs to feel settled and then start very slowly. They will easily feel threatened by a hand in the cage after just moving in and not having chance to feel at home in their cage (and it's especially important you don't start moving, changing or cleaning things in the cage for the first two weeks.
It was probably a combination of 1) Are you something to eat and 2) Go away and leave me alone unless you're something to eat. They can often think you are food anyway if you haven't washed your hands first, or even if you use flowery soap or honey soap or something!
It does make you nervous but you need to just remember he's a bit scared too. I got scared when we got our last Syrian who ran at my hand when I put it into the cage as it to attack me. He actually had cage agression because his cage was too small. When he started to have other problems I upgraded him.
As BorisP says you could do the tissue trick. Usually it's recommended that for the first 2 or 3 days you just leave them alone (hard when you want to cuddle them) and during this time they will scent mark their territory/cage so they can find their way around and decide where to nest. After that start by just talking to him through the cage gently so he gets to know your voice and presence, and then move on to offering a treat through the bars. Take it slowly.
Some hamsters just hate a hand in the cage. The next stage is usually said to be offering a treat on the palm of your hand but I've always found this a setback if it means putting your hand in the cage. They are usually completely different once out of the cage as they aren't being territorial, so I used to let ours out in the bathtub for a taming session (dry with plug in) or a playpen area. They will often just hop in a hamster ball if you put it in the cage and you can pop the lid on and transport them that way by carrying the ball to the safe area, setting it down and taking the lid off. If the ball won't fit or go over a cage door, then I also used to use a tube - a rat sized one or old pringles tube is good. They should just walk into the tube if you put it near them and then put your hand over either end to lift them out of the tube. If you're nervous about doing this wear gloves and it's probably best to have a hamster ball there as well, then put one end of the tube into the ball and let him walk into the ball then put the lid on.
Our last Syrian only ever bit me once - quite hard but didn't draw blood and thats's when I poked my finger in his house and woke him up - silly me! Plus we had just left him somewhere for 10 days when on holiday so he was probably a bit miffed.
They will sometimes give a gentle nip to tell you you are hurting them or holding them awkwardly or something but not often.
Bathtub taming is a good idea - until your hamster is hand tame and has learned to trust you then he won't be happy being touched or picked up and they can ping (leap two feet in the air) and land and hurt themselves.
We used to put our Syrian in the bathtub and let him run around with a cardboard tube and a mug on its side as toys and occasionally try and stroke him on the back with one finger - he would jerk his head round as if to bite and see it off so we would leave him that session. You can use an old toothbrush to stroke them on the back if you feel nervous here. After doing this a few times (we only stroked him once or twice each time) he stopped jerking his head round and accepted being stroked on the back by a finger. Then progress began quite quickly. you can then move on to just cupping a hand under them as they're walking around in the bathtub and lift your hand a fraction but don't try and hold them - just let them walk off and maybe do that a couple of times. From that stage we were able to pick ours up and hold him and he was as tame and cuddly as anything - when he was in the mood for it!
They do have different personalities as well and some will never like being held for long - they like to be off and exploring - some will go to sleep on you - and some of that depends what time of the evening is - they get more active later on and more dopey around 8pm to 9pm I've found.
Some hamsters are lazy, some are maverick. You two will soon get to know each other. Right now Yoda is trying to decide if you're friend or foe! So don't mess with his cage and tell him he's clever and adorable
Also is his cage big enough? If it's very small it can make them have cage aggression and stress.
A little help needed please
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