Shy hamster or something else?
Hi,
This is my first post here, Im hoping to get some advice or reassurance.
I’ve had a male Syrian hamster now for 1 year. He’s in a large enclosure (it’s been upgraded once) he has plenty of deep bedding (aspen & paper mixed) a sand bath, cork logs, terracotta hides, a multi chamber bed, grass hides, vine wood, a large rodipet wheel, plenty of things to chew & lots of sprays & forage.
Most of the time he just runs & hides from me, as soon as I walk in the room he freezes for a few seconds then runs to his bed. He only comes out if the room he is in is in complete silence & darkness & seems to spend so much time hidden in his bed. Although I know he spends time out as I check everyday for missing food, I can tell he’s been in his sand bath & digging etc.
I just hope he’s not unhappy. I’ve tried free roaming, playpen & bathtub bonding for months but he always seemed uncomfortable & it didn’t improve so I eventually stopped as I was worried I’d cause him too much stress.
On very rare occasions he will completely surprise me & come out if I’m spot cleaning or something & he’ll even eat food from my hands & let me stroke him (as long as there are treats involved)
But lately I feel as though he is acting more & more shy & I would have thought that over time he would of improved. I’m just concerned that he seems scared all of the time. I don’t get to see him very much. For a while I accepted that this is just his personality & he doesn’t like much human interaction.
I just wondered if anyone has any advice or ideas. Or am I doing the right thing by just letting him be?
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