Tip #1:
Never feed your hamsters directly before a show. Giving your hamsters a meal right before juggling them is akin to eating a large meal before riding a roller coaster! Not generally a good idea, especially if there are well-dressed people without umbrellas in the front two or three rows of the audience. If you have an unbalanced or particularly light hamster in your team and need to fill his cheek pouches with some sort of "ballast," (illus. 1) choose something inedible and/or unpalatable, such as gravel (rounded pieces to avoid injury!) or, for the larger Syrian hamsters, small marbles. A well-trained juggling hamster will know to accept these items and keep them despite their nonfood status.

Tip #2
A clean hamster is a pleasant hamster. (illus. 2) Always tidy up your hamsters before a big show! Bits of hay and fuzz clinging to the fur may not affect your performance, but they will affect the audience's opinion of your act. Most hamsters have naturally sleek, smooth fur, so a quick rub with a chamois or your shirtsleeve should suffice. For long-haired hamsters, use a (clean!) toothbrush. Use little or no water; you'd be surprised how quickly a wet, sweaty hamster begins to smell, especially when he's being hurled through the air at a high speed! (illus. 3)

Tip #3
Don't juggle more hamsters than you can handle safely and smoothly. Seven hamsters may be more dramatic than five, but hamsters flying across the room and dropping into people's beverages are a drama you could probably do without! You may decide you want to use more hamsters in order to provide a pleasant color contrast. If you're not sure about your ability to handle that many hamsters, however, you might consider instead using bicolored hamsters, or putting collars on each hamster in a color that contrasts with the coat. Don't be afraid to get creative!

Tip #4
Make sure your hamsters get along. (illus. 4) Many great shows are ruined by incompatible hamsters. If they're trying to fight and squabble in midair, they are not going to be in their best form! More seriously, a fight just prior to an act could result in one or more of your hamsters becoming injured and unable to perform for some time. Let's hope you brought backups!
It is definitely worth the time to put together a team of hamsters that are friendly toward one another, even if this means replacing the troulbemakers with calmer individuals. If, however, you have two very good hamsters who simply will not work well together, you might consider investing in a few more hamsters and dividing your show into multiple acts, with each of the incompatible animals performing in its own group. If you can't afford any more hamsters, several of the larger juggling shows are willing to lend their less experienced performers for a few weeks to a struggling smaller-scale act for little or no cost. This way, the new hamsters get valuable live-audience juggling experience, the bigger outfit gets to continue using its proven star performers without setting aside good show time for low-revenue "training" acts, and you get some young, enthusiastic hamsters to liven up your show and add variety!

And most important,
Tip #5
Have fun! This is entertainment, after all! Don't get too caught up in the business aspect of it all. When you stop having fun, your hamsters and the audience can tell, and both suffer for it. (illus. 5) If you feel yourself getting stressed out, take a few weeks off. Check your hamsters in to one of the many "rodent spas" made specifically for performing rodents. There they'll be able to forage, sun themselves, dig, and generally relax. (illus. 6) And don't forget to pamper yourself a little bit, too! Many rodent spas also have facilities for the trainers nearby, so you can check up on your charges from time to time while still getting a full spa treatment. I recommend Millie's Mouse House, The Spa For Sporting Rodents. Despite the name, it's a great place for hamsters, too!