Help!! My dwarf hamster (I have had for 9 days) isn’t tame

[Billz004]

I have had my 1 month old Dwarf hamster for 9 days now and he seems to be petrified of me. I have tried hand feeding from far he just curls into a corner and won’t move. Every time I speak to him in a soothing kind voice he looks up and starts getting scared.

What can I do? He is so cute but he isn’t making any progress being tamed?

Thanks for reading and thanks for your help

Btw: he is Male

[velma]

He sounds very young and you've only had him for 9 days which isn't very long at all. He is still settling in. I wouldn't expect him to be tame yet. Go back to basics. He's had an upheaval in changing homes when he came home with you so it's all a bit new & bewildering for him. Spend some days just sitting quietly near the cage talking to him. Then when you think he's getting a bit braver try offering him a treat. But you need to patient & keep your hand still - let him come to you. If he's skittish then if you're hand is moving or he feels you're chasing him around then he'll get scared. Don't rush him & im sure he'll get a bit braver.

[cypher]

As velma said 9 days isn't long at all so don't worry too much, some take longer to tame than others.
What's his cage set up like? Make sure he has some small hides as well as his main house so he feels safe in there along with plenty of substrate to dig into if he wants too.
I always begin by just talking to them quietly even if they don't come out they begin to get used to your voice & realise it's not a threat.
Is he in a barred cage or tank? If he's in a barred cage then it's easy to begin offering treats through the bars to begin with so you don't even have to put your hand in the cage which can be a bit scary for them at first.
Go slowly, just offering a small treat once he's got a bit more used to you being around, if he doesn't take it at first that's fine, just leave the treat & walk away so he will begin to associate you with good things.
You could try the tissue trick too, put some plain white toilet tissue up your sleeve for a few hours then shred it up a bit & put it in the cage, this will help him adjust to your scent, he may or may not take it into his nest but it doesn't really matter either way, you can do that daily for a while just putting a small amount into the cage for him.
Be patient & he'll come around.

[SimonandSyril]

9 days is a short amount of time to have a hamster be tame. Just be patient and take everything very slowly. The point of taming is to show the hamster is not scared of you and doesn't see you as a threat. So make yourself very still and calm when around him and don't make any sharp fast movements as this can and will petrify your hamster even more.

[Billz004]

Update for thoose intrested: I have been putting my hand in their completely still for about 45 minutes every 4 or so hours for two days and he seems to be fine around my hand; going on the wheel, eating, climbing my arm, eating on my hand. I wont make an attempy to pick him up yet as he might get scared. I will remain doing this for a few weeks and hopefully this will lead him to being tame.

[CMB]

That sounds like a good plan. Small steps at a time. Hopefully with practice he will get more confident.

[Macy]

9 days isn't long if you need some tips on hamsters check out ernisanimals on YouTube.
Dwarf hamsters generally take more time to tame than Syrians.