Hamster Central - View Single Post - First time owner, will they be happier if I separate?

humanshapedblob · 09-22-2019, 07:39 PM

First time owner of Robo hamsters and I'm a helicopter parent by nature, so I have a few worries. This will be a long post, sorry.

I got two male brothers (almost 4months old) a few weeks ago. I noticed the smaller one had a pin sized hole in his ear, more about that later.
They slept together and generally seemed to enjoy each other's company, but after a week it became obvious that Merry was more dominant over his smaller brother Pippin.
This involved general shoving, chasing, and 'boxing' but there was never any squeaking, and Pippin never showed any injuries or missing fur. I just worried he was anxious in his cage.
They have two of everything, but their houses were close together and connected. I wasn't concerned as they always slept together but recently Merry started chasing Pip away.
I became very worried due to the size difference and reading some robo pairing horror stories online.
So I've rearranged the whole cage, giving entirely separate territories.
Beds at opposite ends of the cage, opposite water bottles, and wheels which meet in the middle. I scatter their food. They only share the sand bath (which pippin shows more interest in) and various tubes in the middle of the cage.
I have not seen any squabbling since, but they now sleep separately, only ever interacting because their individual wheels are side by side.
Yesterday I noticed the 'hole' in Pippins ear has torn to a little slit, it was slightly pink with no blood. I mean he could have done this himself while washing but it scared me a little
Tonight I have checked and there are no injuries, they are happily running next to each other on their individual wheels. I am just so afraid of making a mistake as a first time owner of this species.

Have I made the right decision or should I just pre-emptively separate them? Is not sleeping together a bad sign? I couldn't find any information.
I was wondering if Pip would be less flighty and nervous in his own cage.

The cage they are in is the Skyline Barney from Zooplus with the floors removed for obvious reasons. 97 x 52cm or 38.1 x 20.4inch.
https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small...r_cages/189303

Thank you for any advice guys.

09-22-2019, 07:39 PM
humanshapedblob Newborn Pup Join Date: Aug 2019 Posts: 2	First time owner, will they be happier if I separate? First time owner of Robo hamsters and I'm a helicopter parent by nature, so I have a few worries. This will be a long post, sorry. I got two male brothers (almost 4months old) a few weeks ago. I noticed the smaller one had a pin sized hole in his ear, more about that later. They slept together and generally seemed to enjoy each other's company, but after a week it became obvious that Merry was more dominant over his smaller brother Pippin. This involved general shoving, chasing, and 'boxing' but there was never any squeaking, and Pippin never showed any injuries or missing fur. I just worried he was anxious in his cage. They have two of everything, but their houses were close together and connected. I wasn't concerned as they always slept together but recently Merry started chasing Pip away. I became very worried due to the size difference and reading some robo pairing horror stories online. So I've rearranged the whole cage, giving entirely separate territories. Beds at opposite ends of the cage, opposite water bottles, and wheels which meet in the middle. I scatter their food. They only share the sand bath (which pippin shows more interest in) and various tubes in the middle of the cage. I have not seen any squabbling since, but they now sleep separately, only ever interacting because their individual wheels are side by side. Yesterday I noticed the 'hole' in Pippins ear has torn to a little slit, it was slightly pink with no blood. I mean he could have done this himself while washing but it scared me a little Tonight I have checked and there are no injuries, they are happily running next to each other on their individual wheels. I am just so afraid of making a mistake as a first time owner of this species. Have I made the right decision or should I just pre-emptively separate them? Is not sleeping together a bad sign? I couldn't find any information. I was wondering if Pip would be less flighty and nervous in his own cage. The cage they are in is the Skyline Barney from Zooplus with the floors removed for obvious reasons. 97 x 52cm or 38.1 x 20.4inch. https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small...r_cages/189303 Thank you for any advice guys.