Are hamsters friendly?

Yes they are very friendly my best friend used to own two but the other one escaped so now its alone. The most friendly is the teddy bear hamster. If you are considering it as a pet I suggest that you research about them first so that they would live for a really long time. You have to know how to pick one from the store, how to choose a cage, how to take care of them and what are the toys most suitable for them. My best friend and I researched a lot before she got one since I help her take care of them and now her hamster has really grown a lot.

Here's a link that might be helpful in your research http://allaboutteddybearhamsters.blogspot.com/

It all depends on how the hamster was raised. When I had hamsters, several years ago the first ones I bought from the store weren't as friendly as I would like because the store handled them with gloves and were afraid of them so they didn't socialize them. But the hamster babies I raised were super friendly, cause I played with them from the time that they could be handled until I sold them to a local pet store.

Teddy Bear Hamsters are the big and furry type and they usually are pretty friendly. I had drawf hamsters cause they were just soo cute! I had all the colors brown, albino and even a new silver color that was being imported from England at the time.

My suggestion is to read or research a little about hamsters first, but here are some tips.

I would get a large aquarium for a cage. The smell will be less and they are less likely to escape out of an aquarium (Hamsters are smart little buggers you will be amazed at what they can escape from).

Avoid the grass hut things with the metal wire--one of my hamsters got a foot stuck in one of those and became footless--didn't seem to hinder him much.

Feed them fresh food. If you have a local pet store and they have a fresh hamster mix get that. The packaged stuff from chains isn't as good for them. Also feed them fresh vegetables, they love orange slices (give as rare treat), peanuts, potato peelings, just about any nut or vegetable matter. Hamsters normally have a life span of 1 year or less--all my hamsters lived 2-3 years because we feed them fresh food.

Hamsters can be a great pet. I loved the ones that I had.

They can be friendly if you gently stroke and handle them from a very early age. When fully-grown, they have got very sharp teeth though and can give a nasty bite...they don't mean to harm, that's just a hamster being a hamster. To cut down the risk of getting bitten, make sure they have plenty of other stuff to chew on like brazil nuts with their shells still on. Hamsters make lovely pets...they are easy to look after, acrobatic, and amusing. Make sure your hamster has plenty of things to do to prevent boredom, like things to climb on, tunnels to explore, toys to play with....even a little swing to swing on... and hard things to chew on. I'm sure you'll love your little hamster.

It is totally a tame animal. But it has bitten me once, still cant find why. Hamster is still way better than dog and cat.

I had a pet Black Bear hampster who was female, she was always friendly to me, she would come up to the top of her Habitrail when I took lid off, she would stand on her hind legs and greet me. Then she would want me to play with her. I had her about 4 years before she died, it was hard, she knew if I was having a hard day and would cheer me up with her antics and company.

My daughter found one under The Chriatmas tree from Santa this past Christmas. It is russian hamster she named "Baby". I much prefer a hamster to rats or mice. She has a very sweet temperament, likes to be out with my daughter or with me visiting and playing. For some reason she loves to run around on my keyboard, while I am working, which is kind of funny. My daughter really loves her, talks to her and carries her around the house with her.

I dont have one, but my polish friend has one and his is a really cutie, its a really nice pet to have i supose.
Cheers.

Did you get a hamster yet?
I have had all different sorts of rodent pets and the hamster is not my favorite. I had several hamsters and they are very cute, but not that friendly IMHO. They are stubbornly nocturnal and usually won't adapt to your schedule. They aren't very exciting when they sleep all day buried in their bedding. They are also more likely to bite than other small rodents. This isn't just opinion. I've read it in a book about rodents and I know from experience. I was bitten several times by my hamsters, but never by pet mice, and by a pet rat only when she was very pregnant with 10 babies.
In my opinion, mice are too small and fast; gerbils are too hyper and sort of ugly; hamsters are cute but grumpy; guinea pigs are sweet but messy and eat a lot; rabbits are very messy and can be destructive; but RATS are smart, social, agile, and flexible. Rats are the best small rodent. They can learn your routine, they can learn tricks, they are unlikely to bite unless hurt or sick, they are large enough to be handled easily and not lost, but are small enough to keep in a small space and not make a huge mess.
We have two rat boys now and they are great. I give each a raisin for "dessert" each night and they grab it with their little hands and eat it up with enthusiasm. They come up to the front of the cage and put their noses out when I come in the room. They will ride on a shoulder and like to be scratched behind the ears.
That's another thing wrong with hamsters - they have extremely poor vision and poor balance and can fall easily. You can't play with them much.

I have always loved hamsters! When I was a kid, I almost always had one. They usually lived 2-3 years despite the fact that my family didn't know too much about them in terms of giving them lots of interesting things and fresh food and stuff. Now we have a hamster again for my 4-yr old daughter. He is a teddybear hamster and VERY friendly. I heard recently that males are more friendly than females. We also got him as a baby, and this is definitely the way to go. That way you can teach the baby hamster to trust you. Only one time did he bite me - very early on and it was more of a cautious nibble to see if I was tasty. I wasn't, so he never did it again! He never bit my daughter. Hamsters are fun, but it's true that you do have to allow for the fact that they're only awake in the evening. Works great for us - we have hamster time right before bed with my daughter - if he's not awake already I gently rouse him and then I often let him run around the living room in his exercise ball while she's sleeping.

SOOOOoooooo... in closing, I say go for it! They're not cuddly like cats, but they are fun and sweet. And if you end up not really bonding the hamster will do quite fine on his own as long as you keep giving fresh food and water and clean the cage once a week. Not too much risk involved!