Hi everyone, I introduced myself briefly a few days ago, and since then I have been attempting to bond with my new Syrian Hamster "Little Dude".
I put my hand in his cage and he will sniff me and take carrot from my hand, but if I try to touch him, he flinches away and sometimes flattens his ears- at which point I shut the cage and walk away so as not to frighten him.
I started doing some research about bonding with hamsters and found the majority of websites to say the same thing- Feed them treats, let them smell you, don't grab them, etc.
Then I found this one website which basically suggests that you continually pick up your hamster until it calms down;
Taming handling hamsters
The video on here about taming actually made me a bit sad because the hamster is trying so hard to get away. Is this really a good way to tame your hamster?? What should I be doing? I'm really worried he'll never get used to me and let me touch him and it will be like having a goldfish I can only watch from afar!
I know I'm impatient but I just worry about him! Will the fact that he has flinched away and flattened his ears mean that he won't ever trust me now??
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.