Is my dwarf being weird?

[atsui]

Hey guys, this ones kind of a long story lol!
Yuki is a very new WW hamster i bought, when i got her she was in isolation for being bullied by littermates at the pet store. I have been with her for 2 and a half weeks now, and shes always been VERY scared. When i first got her she burrowed into the bedding and i would NEVER see her if the light was on. Only when the lights were off would i hear her on her wheel. If the lights did come on she would BOLT to her nest. This was pretty normal behaviour to me as i had just got her and i knew bonding and taming would take some time. She was very docile and did let me hand feed her.
Shes always had a bad habit of nibbling me, thinking my fingers are food and that. im really nervous when Yuki comes up to smell and or nibble me because my old hammy bit me SUPER hard once and so i get kind of flinchy, but sometimes when i have a sunflower seed in my hand she sniffs around and nibbles the fingers first before noticing the seed in my palm! Im just kinda giving you guys context as to the behaviour she exhibited before something weird happened.
I started feeding her mealworms recently, i give her 1 every 3-4 days. She LOVES them and is always eager to have a worm. problem is, right after i started feeding them to her shes become kind of aggressive. When i put my hand in the cage she sniffs and actually BITES, not nibbles anymore. (the bites arent severe enough to draw blood but enough to pinch and hurt) When i offer her spray millet, she LUNGES for it. when i offer her any sorts of food, she lunges for it. She stays in her nest and only comes out when lights are off as usual, but she is MUCH more intolerant of me petting, touching, or doing anything with her, really. She used to step into my hand to eat treats and let me lift her up a little but now shes just in her nest all the time, refusing to come out. I thought it was cage aggression at first, so i moved her into a new enclosure with more space. I thought it would be smart to keep her in my room, because the office where my Syrian is kept has its lights on much more often. I heard her on her wheel last night, but after the move she is still kind of frantic, panicked and scared. When she runs around the cage in the dark shes still very frantic, whereas my other Syrian boy kind of just takes leisurely strolls in his cage.
I put my kunckles in the cage last night, and she sniffed and ignored them, which kind of puts me to ease.
After all this talking i guess i just have a few questions to ask:

1. How do i tame her to be more accustomed to the light and/or me? Ive tried keeping the light on while i offer treats or talking gently but she refuses to give me the time of day.
2. WAS her behaviour cage aggression? ive heard that even with ample space hammys can develop it.
3. How do i make her gentle and calm again? any bonding tips?

Thanks for reading all of that, guys! Any help or input is really appreciated

[cypher]

If she is territorial in the cage that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with cage size, it might if the cage is very small but mostly it's just them protecting their territory & not wanting human hands in it!
Changing the cage is stressful for them & it can take a while even a couple of weeks to adjust to the change so it may be she needs more time.
What size is her cage now? Do you have a photo of the cage? Sometimes making changes to the cage set up can make a huge difference to their behaviour so if it is something to do with that we may be able to make some suggestions to help.
You will need to do most of your taming & bonding out of the cage, once you can get her used to hands then she may be a little better with hands in the cage but that will take time.
Do you have a playpen or other safe area for out of cage time where you can give her lots to do, toys, things to explore while you interact with her?

[atsui]

Originally Posted by cypher

If she is territorial in the cage that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with cage size, it might if the cage is very small but mostly it's just them protecting their territory & not wanting human hands in it!
Changing the cage is stressful for them & it can take a while even a couple of weeks to adjust to the change so it may be she needs more time.
What size is her cage now? Do you have a photo of the cage? Sometimes making changes to the cage set up can make a huge difference to their behaviour so if it is something to do with that we may be able to make some suggestions to help.
You will need to do most of your taming & bonding out of the cage, once you can get her used to hands then she may be a little better with hands in the cage but that will take time.
Do you have a playpen or other safe area for out of cage time where you can give her lots to do, toys, things to explore while you interact with her?

Thanks for your help! Yuki's cage is ~620 sq inches, and im unable to attach an image right now as im on mobile. ill reply with an image link later when im on desktop. Anyway, she does have a playpen but shes almost impossible to find when im around as shes always so scared. Ive tried using a ladle or something to transport her whenever i can, but while shes in her playpen she seems like shes having fun! shes sniffing and grooming, all while exploring the toys i put in there for her. she also seems to be MORE relaxed while outside than in her cage.

[atsui]

Originally Posted by cypher

If she is territorial in the cage that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with cage size, it might if the cage is very small but mostly it's just them protecting their territory & not wanting human hands in it!
Changing the cage is stressful for them & it can take a while even a couple of weeks to adjust to the change so it may be she needs more time.
What size is her cage now? Do you have a photo of the cage? Sometimes making changes to the cage set up can make a huge difference to their behaviour so if it is something to do with that we may be able to make some suggestions to help.
You will need to do most of your taming & bonding out of the cage, once you can get her used to hands then she may be a little better with hands in the cage but that will take time.
Do you have a playpen or other safe area for out of cage time where you can give her lots to do, toys, things to explore while you interact with her?

Here is the pic of her cage! https://ibb.co/fmmC98
Her wheel is under the popsicle stick house.

[cypher]

Why is her wheel under the house? If you want to see more of her then the best way is to have the things like the wheel that she's going to be using out in the open!
Is that popsicle house the only one she has? It looks as though it has a base or is that a second level I can see? The house shouldn't have a base at all & should be on a nice deep layer of substrate.
I would get rid of that ladder you have going up to the house, all ladders should be solid like bendy bridges, no small gaps at all.
Her cage is quite small but does still look fairly empty, I would put more in to make her feel more secure & more likely to come out when you're around, just simple things like bendy bridges to go under & climb on are good, maybe a toilet roll tube or two, something like an egg box (cardboard ones only) with a couple of holes cut in can make a great place to dig around in if you put some substrate inside & use it to hide food & treats.
If you do some of those things you should begin to see more of her as she gains the confidence to come out more & that will make it easier to get her out for out of cage time in the playpen, if she's more relaxed out of the cage then that's ok just keep interactions to those times.