Should I be worried?

[Peppy2017]

Hi Everyone,

So I am a new hamster owner. I got Peppy, a teddy bear hamster, 1 week and 3 days ago;, and I'm not 100% sure what normal behavior is for hamsters when their brought to a new home. When I first brought him home he was active and alert, even when someone was around. He would hide at first but then come out and get close enough to sniff my hand. Then he'd run if I tried to touch him. He's finally let me pet him without running, although he still trembles as if he is scared. He will take treats from my hand, and some times he will come out of hiding if he hears the food bag rattle. I thought he was settling in nicely but now he is almost the complete opposite. He will still take a treat from me and come out to eat but he seems to be so much more afraid than he was when I first brought him home. He barley comes out any more unless it's dark, and hides any where he can when awake (even behind his wheel). And instead of his ears being up like when I first brought him home, they are almost always down. I expected behavior like this when I first brought him home but not after he started to show signs of settling in. I know it takes time to settle in, I just don't understand the change in him. The only thing that's been different is that I've used my alarm a few times in the past few days. Could that be why he is suddenly acting so much more timid than before? Is this normal behavior, or should I be worried?

Thanks,

Peppy2017

[CMB]

All three of my hamsters have behaved like yours. They have days when they hide/sleep more. I think cold weather can make them stay in their nest more.

[cypher]

This does seem to happen sometimes, they're often very curious when they first come home & want to explore everything that's new but then once they make a home for themselves & get comfortable they can become shy & nervous again.
Spend lots of time just talking to him gently & reassure him, even if he's hiding somewhere so he can get used to you being around, try to tempt him with a treat even if he won't take it from you talk to him & then just leave the treat for him to take when you walk away & he'll begin to associate you with good things.
Try to get into a routine, beginning slowly for short periods, of out of cage time with him each evening, see if you can get him to climb into something like a tube, a mug or anything you can transport him in & take him to a safe play area with some toys to explore & maybe a wheel, let him run around a bit then interact with him for a short while, if you're consistent with him but don't rush things he should gain confidence.
Have you done much cage cleaning? This can be really stressful for them, especially while they settle so just stick to spot cleaning & maybe do partial cleans every few weeks, always putting some of the old substrate, nest & food hoard back when you do clean, that will help him to feel secure in his cage.