Hamster Central - View Single Post - What do I need to do with my two Russian campbells?

Pebbles82 · 07-23-2018, 05:47 AM

Hi - are they siblings who were living together already or do you mean you got them separately and put them together? If it's the latter and one is hiding and the other bolder then I would separate them now and keep them in different cages as the hiding one may be suffering stress from the presence of the other one.

If they were got as siblings who already lived together then - the outcome may be the same but just keep an eye on things. Any sign of bullying, fighting or squabbling and it would be best to separate them.

As Cypher says best to have a second cage ready regardless. When keeping a pair together anyway their set up needs to be done to avoid territorial behaviour - ie no platforms or levels, and two of everything - houses, wheels, food bowls, water bowls. They may still share one thing but they need one each so they have the option to avoid fighting breaking out.

If you don't have two of everything now - or the space to fit them in - it might be best just to separate them anyway. It sounds a bit like the bolder one is claiming the territory and the hiding one is being pushed out a bit. Could be an idea to add another house made out of a tissue box or shoe box with holes cut in so it has more than one entrance - 2 or 3 maybe. That way the shy one can't get blocked into the house by the other one.

What cage do you have at the moment? Cage size can also be relevant with a pair. Not too big, not too small.

07-23-2018, 05:47 AM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: What do I need to do with my two Russian campbells? Hi - are they siblings who were living together already or do you mean you got them separately and put them together? If it's the latter and one is hiding and the other bolder then I would separate them now and keep them in different cages as the hiding one may be suffering stress from the presence of the other one. If they were got as siblings who already lived together then - the outcome may be the same but just keep an eye on things. Any sign of bullying, fighting or squabbling and it would be best to separate them. As Cypher says best to have a second cage ready regardless. When keeping a pair together anyway their set up needs to be done to avoid territorial behaviour - ie no platforms or levels, and two of everything - houses, wheels, food bowls, water bowls. They may still share one thing but they need one each so they have the option to avoid fighting breaking out. If you don't have two of everything now - or the space to fit them in - it might be best just to separate them anyway. It sounds a bit like the bolder one is claiming the territory and the hiding one is being pushed out a bit. Could be an idea to add another house made out of a tissue box or shoe box with holes cut in so it has more than one entrance - 2 or 3 maybe. That way the shy one can't get blocked into the house by the other one. What cage do you have at the moment? Cage size can also be relevant with a pair. Not too big, not too small.