How to help terrified dwarf

[SabreRose]

So I've had my dwarf, Salem, nearly two months now and the poor little guy is so shy and scared.
If I'm really quiet I can sit by his cage and watch but I start making noise or opening the cage and he shoots back into his nest or one of his hideaways.

After he settled in I tried all the usual taming things, putting my hand in, talking to him etc and at first he had a bit of cage aggression and would run at my hand and bite (well not bite more just hold onto my hand with his teeth) but now I go to open the cage and he's gone.
I know to be patient and that I probably won't ever get to hold him but it must be awful for him being so scared all the time.
Any idea on how I can help him?

[Drago]

I'd try starting from scratch to be honest. Try leaving him alone for a few days to a week and then assess how he's doing. I'd start off taming such a skittish ham by offering treats and nothing else. You could also try the tissue trick again and see if that makes any difference. I think the key to helping these animals is operant conditioning. Teach him to associate the sound of a cage opening or your approaching with treats. Don't make any sudden movements. Make sure everything you do is predictable and deliberate. Good luck with taming

[cypher]

What's his cage set up like?
Sometimes just making some changes to the cage can help, they are all different but generally not too much open space or space above them can help to make them feel secure.
I would try the tissue trick again, it never hurts anyway so worth a go, keep cleaning to an absolute minimum so he isn't disturbed by changes or having his scent removed.
What kind of cage do you have, barred cages can make life a lot easier as you can sit & talk to them quietly then just offer a treat through the bars even if they don't take it you can just drop it in & walk away to begin with so they start to associate you with nice things.
If you have a tank or top opening cage having to approach them from above can be very stressful for them, if you do then always try to approach as much from the side as you can rather than from directly above.
Whenever you do open the cage, even if he runs off I would still talk to him quietly for a short while & leave a treat close to wherever he's run off too before backing off again.
Some do take a long while to gain confidence but with patience & time they do usually come round.