Im not in favor of gloves either, do you think he would bite or react if he didn't like me petting him whilst he was distracted? it seems I can pet him no other way its very contradicting and confusing.
I have made progress on the convincing of a bigger cage, my plan is to make one W 20" x L 40" H 20" It amounts to 800square inches and my current cage is less than half the minimum requirement and was the biggest cage in pets at home...rather disgusting. However would this be too much of a shock for him or could I put half his bedding from a clean out and things with his scent as you've suggested and introduce him to it for ten minutes a day for a few days? I wouldn't like to overwhelm him and dump him straight into it, I'd like to make the transition as smooth as possible I know he will be unsettled for a short time but whether its too much for him after all hes been through is entirely different
