Hamster acting weird?

[Bearhammy]

Hello there! This is all new to me so I may just be overly worried but I had a few questions about my new Syrian named Bear. I got him about a week ago and he’s in a 55gallon tank with an attached 20 gallon tank currently I have in on a mix of aspen and clean n cozy bedding and plenty of places to hide and burrow. But he’s been making these “pfft” noises a lot. He’ll just walk around his cage and make these noises. I don’t know if he’s allergic to the bedding or if he’s maybe just talking to himself? He also sleeps for most of the day and almost all night. When I first brought him home he would wake up around 8pm and fall asleep around 7am. But now he’s not awake until around 2am and goes to bed around 7am. He does wake up durning the day to eat, but is that normal for a hamster to sleep that much?? And I let him settle in for three days because the person who had him before I mistreated him, so since then I’ve been talking to him and started the taming process, he takes food from my hand no problem but if I lay my hand out flat he just bites my finger tips. Am I moving to fast? Sorry for all the questions. Just overly worried I’m doing something wrong and stressing him out 😅

[CMB]

I have a dwarf hamster who sleeps/stays hidden a lot. They vary in how active they are. Daylight, temperature can effect them to. Check his wheel is spinning well and give him things to go through, under, over etc to encourage him to explore/play.

Not sure about the noise he makes. He may be easier to tame outside of his cage. You could let him climb into a box and take him to a safe play area, like a dry bath with the plug in or a playpen.

[cypher]

I'm not sure about the noise he makes either, it's hard to say without actually hearing it but he could just be making normal ham noises, if his breathing seems fine when you do see him then it's most likely not something to worry about but just keep an eye on his general health to be sure.
It's not unusual for them to be more active at first, some are some aren't they all respond to a new home differently, he sounds quite settled really.
As long as you can interact with him at some time & continue taming I wouldn't worry, if that has to be early in the morning rather than the evenings for now that would be fine, as he gets tamer & more used to you he may begin to get up earlier in the evening again.
It doesn't sound as though you're going too fast for him, if he's taking food from your hand already he must feel quite comfortable with you.
If he bites your fingers when you lay your hand in the cage it could just be exploratory nibbling (which they usually grow out of) or it could be that he doesn't really like hands in his cage & taming would be better done out of the cage.
You could try just burying your finger tips in the substrate when you put your hand flat in the cage, temptation out of the way he might respond better!

[Bearhammy]

So I’ve been trying the bathtub method on taming and anytime I get him in he wants nothing to do with anything but getting out. He bites everything and makes hissing noises. I know there are some hamsters that don’t like being handled period. I just don’t want to stress him out. In his cage he’ll take treats from my hand but if my hand is laid out he’ll bite me pretty hard. I always make sure to wash my hands and all before placing them in his cage. But in the bathtub he won’t wven take the treats or come close to my hand or any of his toys I place inside.

[cypher]

How often are you doing the bath taming? Given his history & that he hasn't been with you long it might be best to do it no more than once every few days if it's stressing him so much.
I would keep offering treats in the cage but maybe stop just laying your hands in the cage for a little while until he gets a bit more settled then try again.
You may have to go really slowly with him but I'm sure he'll come round with time & patience.

[cookietiger]

I'm nowhere near an expert but maybe he might be sneezing? My Syrian sneezed a lot when we first got him so I changed his bedding and didn't give him a sand bath. He stopped sneezing after a while.
Good luck with taming.

[Bearhammy]

Thanks for all the advice. I’ll try and go slower with him and when I clean his cage I’ll just do paper bedding and see if the noises stop. Thanks!