[Drago]

I leave my hams to settle in anywhere from 4 days to a week, depends how long I personally feel they seem to be settling down. During this period, I don't spot clean daily or move/touch anything this way the ham can become completely comfortable with his/her environment. First I begin small with giving tissues and napkins with my scent on and out it in their food dishes so they can smell me and they tend to appreciate the extra nesting material as well. Then I'll start speaking calmly to them and putting my hands near the cage, and I will also give a cheerio each time I pass and they act curious or friendly towards me. After that I like to pet the ham slowly and see their reaction, most hams, even my most tame don't like being pet so this is mostly to desensitize them to human touch and hands. I'll do this until I will begin lifting them slowly and letting them become comfortable with having me touch them. Then they're generally all good to be tamed and I can take them out as I please. One taking horror story I have is when I decided to be impulsive and pick my young Syrian up without taking it slow and steady. Well, needless to say, she hissed at me, bit my finger open, and then leapt out of my hand! She was a cheeky little one, and never tamed down or enjoyed being touched. I had it coming though, rushing her into it! I use the same approach for all hams, but will modify based on personality. No two hamsters are the same and each taking method is different for each hamster. And lastly, my favorite treats to use are plain cheerios as they are yummy and healthy in moderation. Hope this comtributed a bit!