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mangoandmimi · 01-09-2019, 06:13 AM

Definitely agree with one dwarf especially if you’ve not kept them before. Just having a spare cage isn’t all that helpful if a fight does suddenly break out and you’re too late to the scene. No one can watch them 24/7.
The idea of a dwarf pair does sound very cute but it just isn’t in their best interests, there are other small animals which actually need company so you could consider those if you really do want 2 living together.

I understand that smaller cages - 80x50cm ish seems to house them better with less risk but it doesn’t make any sense really to have to limit both size and setup just to house a pair. That size is definitely on the small size for 2. It has been shown a number of times that a properly bonded pair (not that common it seems) would be fine in any sized cage and the ones that fall out due to the cage size weren’t even bonded to start with, so they’re just tolerating each other’s presence. It does sound reasonable as it’s difficult to imagine how space alone will cause fall outs. Obviously that would mean lots of pairs in smaller cages wouldn’t actually be bonded but are stuck in a small & simply set up cage so it just makes me think how’s it benefitting the hamsters at all really.

01-09-2019, 06:13 AM
mangoandmimi Little Miss Tinytoes Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: UK Posts: 7,036	Re: new hamster ? in same room Definitely agree with one dwarf especially if you’ve not kept them before. Just having a spare cage isn’t all that helpful if a fight does suddenly break out and you’re too late to the scene. No one can watch them 24/7. The idea of a dwarf pair does sound very cute but it just isn’t in their best interests, there are other small animals which actually need company so you could consider those if you really do want 2 living together. I understand that smaller cages - 80x50cm ish seems to house them better with less risk but it doesn’t make any sense really to have to limit both size and setup just to house a pair. That size is definitely on the small size for 2. It has been shown a number of times that a properly bonded pair (not that common it seems) would be fine in any sized cage and the ones that fall out due to the cage size weren’t even bonded to start with, so they’re just tolerating each other’s presence. It does sound reasonable as it’s difficult to imagine how space alone will cause fall outs. Obviously that would mean lots of pairs in smaller cages wouldn’t actually be bonded but are stuck in a small & simply set up cage so it just makes me think how’s it benefitting the hamsters at all really.