[racinghamster]

Hi Miint. First of all, you have done exactly the right thing by removing her from imminent danger. She will need quiet time now so just provide her with her cage comforts, even if these are home-made from cardboard boxes and toilet roll tubes. She needs a cage/tub of her own now and no, she won`t get lonely. These things happen sadly and we have to accept that hamsters have their own reasons for falling out. It`s never logical to place human feelings and emotions into it because some owners try to get the robos back together again feeling sorry for the lonely one and that`s a big no go, especially when serious ball fights and injuries have already occurred. She has been `chased `from the territory and because she couldn`t run away, was constantly attacked. Captive hamsters have no way of escaping a cage as they can in the wild.

Use saline on any wounds. Boil the kettle, pour a pint of boiled water into a glass jug and add one teaspoonful of table salt or sea salt. Allow the salt to melt in the hot water and allow to cool right down. It can be poured into a sterile glass bottle and kept in the fridge, but it`s easy to mix up fresh when required really and it`s cheap to make.

Gently wipe any bloodied wounds with a clean cotton pad where necessary. Monitor her for any signs that she`s not coping, but most robos are tough and she will need time to eat, sleep and get used to having her own space. Don`t feel bad about this. The main thing is, she`s safe now.

Vanilla will cope. Just give her time and love. The other two remaining robos could also end up fighting due to the re-adjustment of their pack, so keep a close eye on them for any similar signs of bullying or start of escalations.

How is Vanilla now? And no, it`s not really a good idea to keep dwarf hamsters in pairs or groups as this is usually the end result sadly, even though many live well together for a time, it`s never guaranteed. x