New Syrian not warming up after 3 weeks!

[Inky]

I have a new little Syrian named Moon Pie, he was 2 months old when I got him 3 weeks ago. He does not try to bite but he is not warming up at all. He's in a Ikea Detolf cage with tons of bedding, toys and a great house. I've been following all the normal guidelines which worked great for me in the past. The big issue with Moon Pie is he is hardly ever out/visible in his cage. I go in his room (his cage is in spare bedroom so not a stressful environment at all) multiple times every night to try to interact with him. If he is out playing, he will usually go hide in his house or tunnel or something within a minute or two. The few times when he is out and exploring, I do not try to pick him up. I know that would stress him out. The only contact so far is about a week ago he let me pet him on the back for a few seconds while he was out but that proved to be an isolated incident.

I am just at a loss for how to move forward with taming when he won't even show himself.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[quisp65]

I'm only a newbie, but are you putting only the nutritional health pellets in his dish and giving him the tasty stuff by hand? If he has got the best of conditions with out you then why does he need you ;-D... joking. We have to manipulate the little guys into liking us ...lol. But maybe this is why I still don't have a tame hamster

[Quicksilver]

Hi Inky - MoonPie looks a real cutie from the photo (and great name) ! I'm a newbie also with experience of one Syrian hamster, but I found this worked for us. Have you tried getting up earlier in the morning as you might catch MoonPie when he's up and about? Also maybe talking to him he will get used to your voice even if he doesn't come out he'll know your present and nothing to be frightened of. Every hamster has their own personality like humans - hope you get to see more of him soon

[cypher]

What a gorgeous little guy
Sorry to hear he's slow to gain confidence with you but some hams do take longer than others so don't worry too much just yet.
Do you offer treats when you do see him up & about, getting them to come to your hand for a small tasty treat before trying to stroke them is best, it helps them to get used to hands as something not threatening.
It may help if you can get him out for some interaction, if he'll climb into something you can use to carry him to a safe play area, playpen, bath (plug in & towel in the bottom) with some toys for him to explore & just begin with very short sessions interacting with him by just putting your hand down to see if he'll come to you or run over your hand to begin with, they will often find this less intimidating than hands coming into the cage especially if you have to approach them from above.
Other than that I would spend lots of time talking to him even if he appears to be hiding or asleep, then leave a tiny treat for him to find when you walk away so he begins to associate your voice with good things.
If you haven't done it already it might be worth doing the tissue trick too, put some plain white toilet tissue up your sleeve for a few hours then shred it up & put it in the cage, he may or may not use it for his nest, it doesn't really matter, the main idea is for him to get used to your scent in his cage.
How much cleaning are you doing? Best to stick to no more than spot cleaning for the first few weeks or a month so he can really settle in & feel secure.
I've found some hams more active & willing to interact early in the morning so as Quicksilver suggested trying to catch him out early might be worth a try.

[Inky]

Thanks everyone for the great ideas! I have been staying up super late every night trying to interact with him and I feel a little silly that it never occurred to me to get up early instead! I am going to do the tissue trick today and work on just giving him boring food and keeping the fun treats for when I'm around.

It's so great to have your support and encouragement. Thank you for taking the time to help me and Moon Pie!