Scared and Shy Campbell's

[Bethyboo11]

About 2 weeks ago, I adopted the most gorgeous Campbell's dwarf hamster, who is around 5 months old, and comes from a very good background - lots of handling.
When I brought her home, she was understandably very shy, and I just assumed this would be a phase, as this is what my first hamster was like for the first few days.
Fast forward a fortnight, she is still very reluctant to come out of her nest, and everytime she hears my footsteps, or my whispering voice, she sprints back to her nest, and I don't see her again for at least another 24 hours.
Considering she has occasionally taken treats from me, I thought to try and giver her another. I tried this last night, and she sprinted from her wheel, to underneath a log, and began to scream.
Someone please help me! Am I doing something wrong?

[cypher]

Two weeks isn't that long & some hams do take a fair bit longer than others to adjust to a big change like this & it can be more difficult for a slightly older hamster so don't get too disheartened just yet, she may just take time & patience to come round.
Have you done the tissue trick with her?
Are there any other animals around her or anything else in her environment that might possibly make her nervous?
Is there much difference between the cage she was in before & the one you have her in now? Some hams settle better in smaller cages to begin with, it can be a bit difficult to get the balance right sometimes but you want enough little hideouts for her to be safe but don't want to make it too easy for her to hide away completely so you may have to experiment a little to see what works for her.
Just keep talking to her quietly & if she runs off keep talking, don't give up & leave her too it immediately, the same goes for offering treats, sometimes you just have to stand there patiently & wait for a while, it may take several goes but after a while they do find it hard to resist.
Patience & consistency are the key really.

[pinkneon]

Hi!
My Syrian hamster took 3 months to be comfortable and tame. I did end up changing his cage during that time though, but he seemed better once he had a cage with doors on the side rather than just on top - being prey animals hamsters don't like you comng from above. I would give your hamster a little longer, and as cypher suggested, try the tissue trick with her. It'll help her get used to your scent. Another thing you can try, maybe in a few more weeks though, is transferring her from the cage into a plastic box or something for taming - use a cup/tube or something to begin with. It could be that she doesn't want you invading her space

[Cinnamon Bear]

That must be very disheartening, all you can do is keep feeding her treats so she associates you with good things. When you feed her or if she doesn't take a treat at all then leave the food bowl in the cage & make lots of noise while you drop or pour her food/treat into her bowl & let her be more curious whose giving me my food

For treats you can also use dried crickets & meal worms, I don't feed my Russian much seeds (sunflower & pumpkin seeds) occasionally I do but I don't want him over weight as they are diabetes prone

Definitely keep all sugary treats away completely.

[AmityvilleHams]

Not sure if there's anything similar as far as treats go in the UK,but in the US Gerber baby puffs are very popular and for good reason!They're cheap here(not cheap in the UK unfortunately),and despite having fruit ingredients they are incredibly low in sugar(a serving of around 60 pieces is about a gram if not less of sugar,and obviously a hamster won't be getting anywhere near 60 pieces).

[Nancy's Hamsters]

Place tissue on your body where it can collect your scent and give the scented tissue to her for a nice comfy nest. This may help her understand you are a good thing and not a predator come to have a snack of her.