He is adorable! Lol at him. I've found Syrians aren't that interested in sand baths generally - they just try and dig to see if they can tunnel in it and find it doesn't go anywhere so stop bothering lol. They do tend to use it as a toilet though and maybe a place to sit and wash. It's not so essential for Syrians as it is for dwarf hamsters and they do a good job of cleaning themselves by licking themselves all over.
Some people think the sand can dry their fur too much so I just leave a dish of sand in the cage in the toilet area and clean that out every 5 days or so - it helps keep the clean
Our hammies have always pee'd in the sand but tend to poop elsewhere, which is ok as their poops aren't dirty and they hoard them for extra food supplies sometimes (they sometimes eat them as they have two stomachs and can redigest nutrients from the poops).