Advice On New Syrian Hamster (male)

[Pookie]

I brought home my hamster (no name yet!) from a pet shop on 23/12/23 and as soon as I placed the box he came in from the pet shop into his new home, he came right out and started exploring. He didn't seem scared, but more curious on his new home. I observed him from the outside of his box and was careful to not initiate any touching or talking (until today) to help him settle in.

I will provide some pictures of my hamster for reference. I'm unsure of his age as the pet store never told me, so I'd appreciate if anyone could make any guesses! I will try and ask the pet store staff of his age the next time I visit. My hamster is about 4-5 inches in length with even, soft and quite shiny fur. I'm so sorry if the pictures aren't clear, my only light source was my lamp and I didn't want to turn my flash on to avoid scaring my hamster.

From what I observed, he's been sleeping around 14-15 hours a day and gets somewhat active during the middle of the night. He runs on his saucer (not for long though), urinates in the sand bath provided, drinks a healthy amount of water and he burrows in his bedding a lot. I'm not sure if this is all normal since I don't know his age so I don't know what to expect.

Earlier today, I offered him some lettuce and seeds and he willingly takes them from my hand, but when I put the food in my palm he ends up nibbling my fingers (I presume he's checking if it's edible since my fingers might smell of the food?) and doesn't walk on my palm to retrieve the food. When my hands are around him, I try to move slower than I usually do so I don't startle him, sometimes he jumps and flinches from my movement but he doesn't run away or hide. I've kept my hand flat and still in his bin-cage for about 15 minutes as I heard it can help my hamster to know I'm not there to hurt him. He moves around my hand and sniffs it occasionally, but doesn't touch it or walk on it. I also speak softly to him so he can adjust to my voice and familiarise himself with me. I've heard of the bath tub method when attempting to tame a hamster. However, I think it might be too early to start that on my hamster since I'm not yet at the stage where I can even touch him.

My ultimate goal is to tame him and help him to be comfortable around me. I've heard it can take months for a hamster to trust you, and my biggest fear is that my hamster will never trust me or that I won't take proper good care of him (even though I do my best to make sure everything is right for him). How do I know if he's happy? How do I know if he's beginning to trust me? I have so many questions and so little experience, but I'm determined to learn! I've had a look at some threads, but I think all hamsters are different and as someone who isn't so knowledgeable on hamsters I'd love some advice and suggestions from the community!