I am a owner of russian dwarf hamster for over a year , that is my first ever hamster and I can tell you that he does like to be held when he is sleepy ( if you know what I mean
He is active some time during day hours and he likes to be taken out from his cage and he is free roaming in one of my rooms ( hamster proof obviously ) , when I want to put him down to his cage he lets me hold him for about 30 mins in my hands, give him cuddles , eating trats , he falls asleep etc. but when I was doing the same thing in late evening / night time he wanted to explore the room / didnt want to be held at all .