Please help- skittish and shy!

[WelshHammi]

I rescued a little guy too! Boris he still zones out sometimes and is very careful but now I’ve had him for a while he loves nothing but to be cuddled! I did a lot of soft talking at the beginning to help him get used to my voice! And my guy did the same not drinking!! I was super worried but then one night I caught him having a drink! I did do a little dance much to his amusement he stopped and looked at me as if to say what on earth?! But maybe try the talking that might get him used to your voice? I sang to boris a lot making up songs with his name! The things we do!

[dreamtree1234]

Congrats to the both of you. That is extremely exciting news and a huge step in taming. I am so very happy for you both. Have fun!!!!

[cypher]

That's great news, well done both of you!

[luckadoodledoo]

Awww, bless little Boris! It's really good to hear that they can settle in their forever homes with a little time and patience; the results are always really rewarding.

I was woken up at 5 this morning to the sound of him bar chewing :/ I think I heard it the previous night too- maybe it's worth making/swapping out some of his current toys to stimulate him a bit more? I gave him a small "ball" made out of toilet roll rings with seeds in and it seemed to calm him down; after he was done with that, he went to sleep. I really hope the cage isn't too small for him already (he's 14 weeks old and the cage is a Criceti 15; 78cm x 48cm)

[cypher]

The cage is a bit on the small side but should be fine for now, I wouldn't swap things around too much though as that can really upset them, if you have the space add in more temporary things like the toilet roll treat toy & maybe other things to chew, I don't remember now if you have a whimzee for him or not but that might help. Scatter feeding is good for keeping them busy too.
As you can gradually increase out of cage time he should be calmer in the cage too.

[WelshHammi]

Yes they do settle in! At first he was quite jumpy if I went near his cage now he thinks he is a flying squirrel monkey and tries to jump on me! I got a detolf cage which he loves Boris is about 9/10 months so a little older but still acts like he a baby! He comes up to the glass every night paw out so I blow a kiss when I say goodnight after evening play! I recommend whimzees as great chews! And lots of hiding of food all around the cage! Little boxes of food so they really have to work hard

[luckadoodledoo]

Thank you all for your replies! I've since been able to handle him, though he really won't let me pick him up and he's still very jumpy in & out of the cage, even occasionally flips over if I stroke his back. Unfortunately his bar chewing has come back again, though it seems to stop temporarily if I go into his cage to spot clean/give him a treat to gnaw on or turn the lights off, so I'm wondering if I ought to move him to a room where it gets dark earlier? Initially I thought it was that he wanted to be out of his cage, but wherever I try to give him space (bathtub, plastic container, shower, even freerange in a hamster-proof bathroom) he's frantic and tries to jump up/scape/chew at the walls to escape. If he's in his cage, he's stressed and if he's out, he's stressed. He still runs on the wheel like a madman and still chatters his teeth from time to time. I'm wondering if a ball might help him have some more freedom to roam (although the ethics of balls concerns me a bit...). If it wasn't for the fact he won't let me pick him up, I'd be more than happy just to let him free range in hamster-proof rooms but his panickyness and inability to catch him is proving difficult (I have to transport him in a wooden tube, since he tries to jump away if I scoop him from underneath). He doesn't seem to show any interest in the tunnels and chews of various textures in his cage any more, nor scatter feeding. If I offer the wooden tube he doesn't seem interested in coming out, but he clearly isn't happy in the cage either. If I leave the lid of the cage open, he doesn't make any attempt to escape.. Perhaps his cage needs cleaning and it's stressing him out? Hot weather? Should I go ahead and make a bigger DIY bin cage? I can't even perform health checks on him, I'm really not sure what to do with him

Update: he was chewing on and off from about 11:30pm to 6am and seemed to stop & go to bed after I gave him fresh food with some fresh veggies mixed in. He's always been awfully picky with his food, despite trying to slowly introduce a healthier Burgess mix in. He only eats fresh veggies and sunflower seeds for sure and leaves the rest, even if I leave it for a few days.

[cypher]

Did you manage to get any photos of his cage set up? It sounds as though it might be either time for an upgrade or to make some changes to his cage, if he's not really happy in the cage then everything is going to be that bit more difficult. If you could post some photos it would be easier to tell if that is the problem or not.

[luckadoodledoo]

Ah, of course; apologies, I ought to have included some in the first place!

[luckadoodledoo]

Oh boy, those pictures are way bigger than they need to be apologies!