Remy sounds like Ralph our hamster! We have a fabric playpen like the sainsburys one but without the lip at the top and oh my goodness within 10 seconds hes climbing the walls - he tries to bite it but he cant bite through it at all its quite sturdy. My daughter usually watches him while im cleaning out the cage because its a long drop from the side onto the floor. Recently I've been putting books and dvd cases in there to make little obstacle courses with treats - err it keeps him occupied for like half a minute then hes up at the sides again! I do hope you find something for him that keeps him safe and that he cant climb the sides
As for handling, Ralph took at least 6 months to feel confident with us, but as Ria said they are their own hamster, I have had 3 hamster and they were all very different - thankfully not like hamster number 2 Foxy who would have your hand off if you dared to put it in the cage without thick gardening gloves on she died very young, she only came out for food - bit me so many times even through the gloves!