Flat dwarf

[Ria P]

My foster dwarf Luca has this habit of going flat and i'm trying to figure out what this is all about.

I also want to get to know him a bit. He's not timid or scared and easy to pick up and handle because he's not very fast for a hamster and doesn't run away.
When i let him go from arm to arm he goes flat and almost wraps himself round me like a bracelet. It's almost like he has velcro on his paws and he needs to get his paws unstuck before he moves on.

He looks perfectly healthy and eats etc but he spends a lot of time in his house. Could be because he's new here and the cage he's in isn't ideal so he may be bored. I'm on the lookout for a better cage so he has more to do.

Has anyone come across this pancaking habit before and does anyone know what it means?

[cypher]

Pancaking is a sign of nervousness generally so he may not be quite as confident as. he seems, some hams also freeze a bit rather than run away. I’d say staying in his house a lot is probably the same thing rather than boredom so just take your time with him.
I’m sure he’ll be fine with a bit of time & stop doing it once he’s gained a bit more confidence.

[Ria P]

Thank you for your reply cypher, that's really interesting.

I wished i could get into a hamster's head sometimes.
When he sits on my lap he doesn't go flat but starts to move and sniff around.
He's from a household with children and lived in a cage where he must have felt exposed. Maybe he took to pancaking because he couldn't run away and hide.

He's advertised but i think i'll take him off, move him in a cage he can stay in then leave him to settle before handling him again but using a different approach.

I thought he's suitable for a household with children because he is so tame and fairly slow but i may have misread him completely.
By rehoming to a suitable home i don't just mean a good cage but the humans need to be the right sort as well.

[flowerfairy]

He sounds lovely. Hope he settles soon and that the right home comes along when the time is right.