Hi there! Am I getting this right: he doesn't come out if you're in the room but comes on your hand and lets you handle him if you offer him a treat?
If I understood that correctly, I would say yes it seems like your hamster is quite shy, but seems to be doing well... Have you tried replacing playpen activities with bathtub bonding sessions? Maybe if he comes on your hand you can take him to the bathtub and let him run on your legs a few minutes? It is frustrating of course to never see him going on in his cage, but I can't think of anything to do to improve that. Maybe he just needs more time. Maybe you can cheat by buying a red light. Apparently hamsters don't see the difference between red light and obscurity; or buying a pet camera so you can see what he's doing from another room.
I also got my male Syrian from a pet store in January, and he is also impossibly shy, but differently from yours: now he's happy to go about in his enclosure when we're around, and actually likes to come out, but still shies away from my hands, so I have to use his little carrier to take him anywhere! Good luck with yours, you've only had him 2 months, so there is still plenty of time of him to come out of his shell more. Keep us posted
