Biting hamster nightmare

[essbeebarmy]

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Owww!! How old is the hamster? It's been a few years since I worked in a pet shop but if it's not tame when you buy it it's gonna take some work! I think the key would be patience and thick gloves!
How old is your ds? It might be less stressful all round if you do all the handling until the hamster is more desensitised! Is it happy with your hand being near it? If it's never been handled at all you may be in for a struggle! I had a russian hamster years ago that used to throw itself onto it's back and scream if I went near it, never managed to hold it, it didn't seem fair to put it through that much stress!
Failing that, could you take it back to the petshop and swap it for a pair of gerbils? Never been bitten by one of them!

I had a hamster when I was little, bloody thing bit me, I still remember it and have a scar on my finger to remind me.

Throw it out of an upstairs window and tell everyone else that it's run away.

I had a gerbil who was truly a minion of Satan.

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What kind of pet shop was it? Small and local or chain store? Not sure what would happen if you took it back, think they would probably tell the next person it had been well handled! Depends on whether you trust the petshop and what will happen to the animal if you take it back Have you thought about going to a rehoming centre (Wood Green etc)? They'd know the animal's temperament and wouldn't be after your money in the same way!
When I worked in a petshop we used to be supplied with critters that were effectively factory farmed and were untouched by human hand, practically impossible to tame.
If you decide to keep it you will need to accept that it may never be tame. I studied animal behaviour at uni and remember a lecturer telling us that every time you handle a hamster it undergoes enough stress to induce a heart attack, tame or not (this was anecdotal, never seen any papers to back it up, although sounds entirely feasible!)

I would take it back and get a Rat much nicer and easier for kids to handle

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I used to use a cardboard tube to help tameour hamsters -one of those jaffa cake tubes would be ideal but cut down a bit so they don't lurk right in the bottom. You put it in the cage & they'll usually run in because it's dark. Then you lift it out & sit with it on your lap, so the hamster can come out in their own time - you can offer a bit of food if you like but this one sounds as if it'll need to take it slow - he may have been dropped by someone in the shop.
You do need a lot of patience at irst though, so it might be better for you to do it rather than your DS.

Take it back and find a friendly one. Our hamster is an absolute sweetie and has only ever bitten once despite regular handing by small children.

I agree with Redclover, if rodents aren't welll handled as babies they often never get properly tame.

If you haven't had it very long, it might still be settling in. We have had several hamsters. We always leave them alone completely for several days when they first arrive from the pet shop (apart from feeding them of course). Then taming them is very gradual - tempting them into a tube, letting them run on a lap, getting them used to our smell etc. It would be 3 weeks or so before we'd attempt to pick one up. Even once tame, I don't usually pick them up straight from their cage but allow them to walk out onto a hand. If they sense a hand coming down onto them, they will be scared it's a bird or something coming to eat them and of course they'll bite. I know they're all domesticated now but instincts are still very strong. i would persevere, but take it slowly. Buy a good book to help - I recommend 'The Really useful Hamster Guide' or something like that. Good Luck

is it a russian dwarf hamster?we had some when i was younger and these seemed very visious(sp?)