Hamster Central - View Single Post - James and his new best friend having a night snack

Pebbles82 · 02-09-2018, 04:33 AM

I agree. They do look very sweet, but it can soon turn to fighting or bullying - especially as one is younger and one is bigger.

It takes an experienced owner to introduce a dwarf hamster to another when they haven't lived together since birth or aren't siblings or related.

Looking at the video it seemed to me that one hamster is dominating the food bowl and the other is not getting at it/cautious about trying to feed from it. This is the kind of territorial behaviour that will happen where the larger one will dominate and the other one fail to thrive.

Your new female is very sweet and looks very young. Please get her a cage of her own and let them live separately.

It is our human instinct that wants them to be friends but hamster are extremely territorial by nature, and even siblings who have lived together since birth can start fighting to the death. And the smaller one comes off worst - if not killed they can be seriously maimed and need putting to sleep.

Another big no no for a pair living together is shelves and levels as these do lead to territorial behaviour. On your video you will notice that your larger hammy is on the top shelf and taking food and the younger one is up and down betwee the shelves.

It is a very sweet video but it is a dangerous situation. Your new younger lady really does need her own cage.

02-09-2018, 04:33 AM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: James and his new best friend having a night snack I agree. They do look very sweet, but it can soon turn to fighting or bullying - especially as one is younger and one is bigger. It takes an experienced owner to introduce a dwarf hamster to another when they haven't lived together since birth or aren't siblings or related. Looking at the video it seemed to me that one hamster is dominating the food bowl and the other is not getting at it/cautious about trying to feed from it. This is the kind of territorial behaviour that will happen where the larger one will dominate and the other one fail to thrive. Your new female is very sweet and looks very young. Please get her a cage of her own and let them live separately. It is our human instinct that wants them to be friends but hamster are extremely territorial by nature, and even siblings who have lived together since birth can start fighting to the death. And the smaller one comes off worst - if not killed they can be seriously maimed and need putting to sleep. Another big no no for a pair living together is shelves and levels as these do lead to territorial behaviour. On your video you will notice that your larger hammy is on the top shelf and taking food and the younger one is up and down betwee the shelves. It is a very sweet video but it is a dangerous situation. Your new younger lady really does need her own cage.