My boy Patch-It's complicated

[IzzyHammy]

Hi people of hamster central I was wondering if you could help me out as me and my hammy are struggling to understand each other.pls read:

So in July 2015 I took a trip to pets at home (I had no hamsters as I'd had a hard time grieving over daisy who passed in 2013)and I realised that from the hamsters I had ever owned , I'd never had a Syrian... i needed a Syrian. I saw one that I instantly fell in love with. I decided to buy a new cage and then get a hamster after my summer holiday . September came and off I went back to pets at home where I found a hamster that looked incredibly like the one I liked before( later on I found out it was that same one) a mixed colour short hair Syrian, Patch is what I named him, and a lady picked him up and put him inside a little box for me(he did not care to be lifted) and put that box into another box(he managed to make a hole in both soon enough) . When I went to place him I his box I had to lift him and he bit me hard and drew blood. I didn't panic and just carried on with setting him up. After about 36 hours, I started the taming process I had always used and when it got to taking treats from my palm, came over placed his paw on my hand , licked, took a treat , and then... bit me again , drew blood I tried this again tried again the next day and same happened. My mum said she wanted to try and he did the same to her. From then on, I carried on caring for him, but no contact whatsoever, tbh I was a bit traumatized as non of my previous hamsters had done this. Months later , I tried again but only by treating him with one in my finger tips. He shows no fear whatsoever but I still will not try to pick him up no matter how courageous I think I am. I do stroke him confidently though, every day but not handling him means he is not gettin an all round weekly health check which is making me worried for him but his behaviour is normal and at night he is extremely active and I have successfully stopped his bar chewing with the oil method . I really want to cuddle him . I dearly love him . I am ok if anyone local would volunteer to tame him and up for suggestions. I am really stuck here

Thanks, IzzyHammy 🐹

[Hamsterita]

If he allows you to stroke him maybe he's already tamed. Some hamsters don't like to be handled, and he allowing you to stroke him is a big step. If you're worried of the bites, you can buy a pair of gardener gloves, they are thick and that way you can try to pick him up with no fears.

[Drago]

I agree with hamsterita, thick gardening gloves would really help. I find that bitey hamsters are the way they are simply because people have allowed them to be that way most of their lives. I would try handling him on a nightly basis so that he learns nipping won't get him out of anything! Good luck with taming :)

[IzzyHammy]

Thanks so much for the advice-maybe that's just the way he is always going to be- I'm actually more confident now , so I'll attempt it to see if he's still stuck in his old ways. I have tried normal gloves but he bit me through them, I'll definitely try gardening gloves when I can. Thanks again!