Day 2: After learning that Ziggy would not tolerate hands in his cage, I decided to use a coffee mug to remove him from it. Since the mug was too large to put through the cage door, I removed the top off his cage. He ran into a near-by cubby . I knew he was afraid of me, but I also knew he would never get used to us if we left him alone every time he hid from us. So, I placed the mug on the floor of his cage, then removed the cubby he was hiding under. He immediately ran into the coffee mug. I placed my hand FIRMLY over the mug, and took him to the bathtub. (I had decided earlier that if I forced him to have to stay on, or near, a part of my body at all times, he would eventually would get used to my scent.)
So into the tub we went. I let Ziggy out in my lap, and he pooped all over me, and all over the tub as he ran around desperately! (This is the hardest part of HT- if you give in now, you will never get to the other side!) I timed us for a whole 5 minutes. He ran the entire time! Finally, never having the chance to try to feed him the carrot I had stashed beside the tub, I got out, leaving him to run around. He crawled back into the mug, and I took him back to his cage. No carrot...
Day 3: Tonight we would go for 10 minutes. Same thing- he ran frantically around, trying to avoid me like the plague. This time, I had brought a good book and distracted myself by reading-- as he ran around me. He ran over my legs and stomach several times. I ignored the running and read until the timer went off. Back to the cage- no carrot.
Day 4: Tonight the timer was set for 15 minutes. Carrot to the side, book in hand, we entered the tub. He did the whole running thing while I read. But, after about 5 minutes of running, he stopped. I guess he had become familiar enough with my scent that he was no longer afraid of my leg. So he sat on my leg and groomed. I slowly reached for the carrot outside of the tub. I then carefully offered it to him. He batted at it, trying to get it out of my hand. I would not allow it. He finally gave up. I put the carrot back on the side of the tub, and watched him run some more. A few minutes later, he plopped down my my side to rest. I once again offered the carrot. After persistantly trying to bat it out of my hand, he finally gave up-- and jerked it out of my hand! Well, as rude as it was... the fact is he DID take food from my hand. I sat still while he ate 1/2 the carrot, and stuffed his cheek with the rest of it.
This night, and for the next several nights, we increased our tub-time by 5 minutes each night until it reached about 30 minutes. We would stay in the tub together about 30 mintues every night for about 3 weeks. He eventually stopped running from me altogether. I continued to attempt picking him up from his cage, using the "fist method" demonstrated above. I still resorted to using the mug sometimes, but the day did finally come that he sniffed my fist, allowed me to open my hand, and sat still as I gently picked him up and brought him out. After many nights of this bonding process, Ziggy no longer needed the mug, and "tub-time" became a thing of the past.
For many hamsters, only a week or two will be needed. For others, such as those who were rough-handled or mistreated before they came to you, it could take months! But once again, PATIENCE WILL PAY OFF IF YOU DON'T GIVE UP!