To those who've successfully housed a pair/group of Campbells...

[genevieve]

To those who've successfully housed a pair/group of Campbells Russian hamsters (as in, not had to separate due to fighting), I have a few questions for you :)



How many did you house together?

Where did you get them from? (eg. pet shop, breeder, shelter etc)
When were they introduced? Or were they together from birth?
If they weren't together when you got them, how were they introduced? (eg. vanilla method, split cage method etc)
How big was their cage?
How many wheels did they have?
Did you use a food bowl, or did you scatter food?
How many water bottles did they have?

How many "houses" / "hideouts" did they have?

What other stimulative items (eg. toys, sand bath etc) did they have in their home, and how many of each?
How long did they live together before one/both/all passed away?
Did they ever have to be temporarily separated for any reason? (eg. illness)
How often did they play fight, and did it ever look serious?
Do you think they got along well?
Would you every house a pair/group again? Why/why not?


Thanks to all who answer, this will be a huge help! :grin:

[essentiallysue]

I have two little dwarfs who have happily lived together for a year on May 9 (was Mother's Day when I got them). The had a squabble at first until it was decided who was the dominant one, and have never squabbled since. Halle defends the cage and her sister with her little bites. Mariah never bites. Lately Mariah has been not well. Her sister has been taking care of her. By this I mean she sleeps with her all the time. And if I try to take care of Mariah, I have to go through Halle first! LOL
I have been feeding Mariah on the tip of my finger to make sure she is eating, but I think Halle is feeding her by taking food in the little house for her.
Mariah never had good teeth, so I have had to feed her special things - fresh foods and baby foods to make sure she has enough, though she does eat some of her food mix.
These two love each other so much I don't know what Halle will do if Mariah passes away. They have two bin cages connected with a tunnel tube. Each cage has several houses, sand dishes, and wheels and food dishes. So whichever side they choose is well equiped.

[hamster mum]

How many did you house together?
3 girls (mother and her daughters)

Where did you get them from? (eg. pet shop, breeder, shelter etc)
The mum was given to me when pregnant by a woman in a (non pet selling) pet shop.

When were they introduced? Or were they together from birth?
They were together since she gave birth to them.

If they weren't together when you got them, how were they introduced? (eg. vanilla method, split cage method etc)
See above

How big was their cage?
They had a furplast Mary Im not sure of the dimensions but its the same size as a hamster heaven if that helps

How many wheels did they have?
Always one per hamster.

Did you use a food bowl, or did you scatter food?
3 food bowls (one per hamster)

How many water bottles did they have?
One per hamster (seeing a pattern here;))

How many "houses" / "hideouts" did they have?
They had one each but they always slept together.

What other stimulative items (eg. toys, sand bath etc) did they have in their home, and how many of each?
One sand bath which they shared nicely then loads of general hamster toys also one each, plenty of cardboard boxes and tubes but they didnt see those as high value, no tubes though.

How long did they live together before one/both/all passed away?
Between 16 months and 2 years old (they were terribly interbred:().

Did they ever have to be temporarily separated for any reason? (eg. illness)
They spent every moment together, even played together when free ranging.

How often did they play fight, and did it ever look serious?
They hardly ever play fought, they did occasionally squeak when they met each other face to face coming round a toy or whatever but it was more a shock type of squeak.

Do you think they got along well?
Very well.

Would you every house a pair/group again? Why/why not?
Definately, they truelly adored each other and got an awful lot out of their company. They played more with each other than they did with any toys.

I think the reason I was lucky with my girls was that I followed the rules I learned off many hamster experts on here and they were, no extra levels or tubes that they can try to defend, one of any high value item per hamster, and that they had a wonderful mum who didnt put up with any in fighting when they were babies. I did always have spare cages at the ready in case things didnt work out but luckily they did.

[genevieve]

...

I'm glad to hear they get along well :) How big are the bins, if you don't mind me asking?

...

Thanks hamster mum, very helpful! :)

[samincittagazze]

How many did you house together? 3 at first, now 2
Where did you get them from? (eg. pet shop, breeder, shelter etc) Pets@Home
When were they introduced? Or were they together from birth? Together from birth
If they weren't together when you got them, how were they introduced? (eg. vanilla method, split cage method etc)
How big was their cage? The 3 were originally in a Duna Fun with lots of add ons, when Frohike fought with Byers I separated her, and Langly and Byers now live in a 90 x 40 tank together.
How many wheels did they have? 2
Did you use a food bowl, or did you scatter food? Food bowl, they quite happily sit in it together and munch
How many water bottles did they have? 1, I keep a close eye on them though, but they never seem to be territorial over it.
How many "houses" / "hideouts" did they have?
Um, 2, but they mostly burrow - I give them deep substrate.
What other stimulative items (eg. toys, sand bath etc) did they have in their home, and how many of each? 1 sand bath, and lots of climbing things, few tubes and bridges.
How long did they live together before one/both/all passed away? They're still young, so I'm hoping they'll be around for a while. :)
Did they ever have to be temporarily separated for any reason? (eg. illness) Nope, after separating Frohike I've never had any problems
How often did they play fight, and did it ever look serious? I rarely see them play fight, but if one of them is trying to sleep and the other is moving around and disturbing them they have a squeaking argument, which is very loud and very cute.
Do you think they got along well? They seem to. Telling each other off aside, they eat together, play together and sleep together, which seems like a good sign to me.
Would you every house a pair/group again? Why/why not? I would absolutely house a pair again, but only groups in even numbers: I've learnt my lesson. But my two are adorable together. Byers is particularly good for Langly; she's a nervous little thing and Byers daring seems to give her more confidence when they are out of their cage.

[stellanova1]

How many did you house together?
2
Where did you get them from? (eg. pet shop, breeder, shelter etc)
Pets@home
When were they introduced? Or were they together from birth?
From birth
If they weren't together when you got them, how were they introduced? (eg. vanilla method, split cage method etc)
....
How big was their cage?
4ft fish tank
How many wheels did they have?
2
Did you use a food bowl, or did you scatter food?
Both, mainly scatter though
How many water bottles did they have?
1
How many "houses" / "hideouts" did they have?
2
What other stimulative items (eg. toys, sand bath etc) did they have in their home, and how many of each?
It changed all the time, mainly tubes etc more than 1!
How long did they live together before one/both/all passed away?
18months
Did they ever have to be temporarily separated for any reason? (eg. illness)
nope
How often did they play fight, and did it ever look serious?
They would squeek quite a lot as they seemed to over clean each other, it was quite cute, never serious! I've had hams with bullying and it was nothing like that. No chasing or anything!
Do you think they got along well?
Very well, Skinny wasn't the same when Tubs died :(
Would you every house a pair/group again? Why/why not?
Yes! I have another two now who get on well aswell! It's such a joy seeing them interact with each other, especially when they snuggle up sleeping :)

I also had a pair who didn't get on, although I don't think they were related and were just put together in the petshop. I think one was more campbell's and one was more WW.

[genevieve]

Thanks so much to both of you! :)

[genevieve]

BUMP just in case anyone else has some experiences to share :)

[Christmas_hamster]

1. How many did you house together? I have had two pairs of RC dwarfs that successfully got along.

2. Where did you get them from? (eg. pet shop, breeder, shelter etc) Pet stores, I didn't know much about pet stores back then.

3. When were they introduced? Or were they together from birth? As far as I know both pairs were together form birth.

4. If they weren't together when you got them, how were they introduced? (eg. vanilla method, split cage method etc) N/A

5. How big was their cage? Both cages had a floorspace of 360 square inches.

6. How many wheels did they have? One per hamster, so two wheels. I found with my first pair (the pair that had to be separated) that they often fought of the wheel, so since then I have always had a wheel per hamster.

7. Did you use a food bowl, or did you scatter food? I used a food bowl, big enough that they could both sit in it and have access to the food. With my first pair they often fought over the food so I wanted them to have easy access to it.

8. How many water bottles did they have? Just one per pair, had the argued over that another one would have been added.

9. How many "houses" / "hideouts" did they have? They had at least three or four per pair. That way they could sleep a part if they wanted, or to have a spot for some personal space.

10. What other stimulative items (eg. toys, sand bath etc) did they have in their home, and how many of each? They had various tubes, CT Puzzle toys, cardboard boxes, or other store bought toys to play in. I tried to put in at least 2-3. Though they had them switched around for variety every now and then.

11. How long did they live together before one/both/all passed away?Krista and Trixie (sisters) lived together until Krista passed away. Trixie was devastated and I had to 'take over' as her honourary sister. From 'grooming' her back, to waking her for feeding time (Krista always did this for her) and just letting her sleep in my hands. At first when Krista passed she wasn't eating or playing, but as I started to do these things with her she started to act normally again. Yve and Noel (bothers) both passed away together in their sleep.

12. Did they ever have to be temporarily separated for any reason? (eg. illness)
Nope.

13. How often did they play fight, and did it ever look serious? They sometimes had squabbles over treats, but nothing serious. What siblings don't argue a little? They play fought more when they were younger, but I would say a couple of times a week. It never looked serious. A serious fight is usually the hams rolling around together in a ball-shape.

14. Do you think they got along well? Very much so. I think that dwarfs can be ok alone, but if they were willing, then they do much better in social groups or pairs.

15. Would you every house a pair/group again? Why/why not? Without a doubt. Having a proper set up with enough supplies, toys and space and the time to watch them for any issues makes a lot of difference. Not every hamster will be suited for social living, but those that are seem to benefit greatly from it.

[genevieve]

Thanks Christmas! :)

[Gizmodo ^_^]

Enjoyed reading through this thread
its very interesting :3
I have 2 winter white sisters, but they have never lived together apart from when they were in the pet store xD

[valerie]

I would like to get a friend for Glitter but another female because I have read that they live together in pairs, but don't want any babies, but I'm scared they fight

[kristinaskritters]

How many did you house together?
I have successfully had two pairs together.

Where did you get them from? (eg. pet shop, breeder, shelter etc)
One pair from a friend (unsure where they got them), and another pair from a pet shop.

When were they introduced? Or were they together from birth?
Both pairs were siblings

If they weren't together when you got them, how were they introduced? (eg. vanilla method, split cage method etc)
N/A

How big was their cage?
2FT Perfecto Tank, I know levels can cause fights but neither of mine have had this problem, in a bigger space I have found they try to live separately (don't sleep together, or play etc).

How many wheels did they have?
One wheel, one flying saucer or two wheels.

Did you use a food bowl, or did you scatter food?
I use a large food dish (so they can both sit in it together) and put some food somewhere else in the cage (on top of a house which they like to sit on)

How many water bottles did they have?
One, until I found out one of the pair who was given to me was diabetic and drunk so much water I decided to give them another water bottle so they were never without water.

How many "houses" / "hideouts" did they have?
One each, my first pair always slept together, my current pair either sleep in a house together, in an open nest together or separately, some hamsters just prefer open nests to houses so one always takes all the bedding into a corner and makes a nest there.

What other stimulative items (eg. toys, sand bath etc) did they have in their home, and how many of each?
This varies every time i change their cage around.

How long did they live together before one/both/all passed away?
Current pair are still together, my pair before the first one diet after a year and four months, her life shorted due to really really bad diabetes, and the other of that pair lives 7 months longer than her.

Did they ever have to be temporarily separated for any reason? (eg. illness)
Nope, when I took them to the vet or anything I always made sure they went together

How often did they play fight, and did it ever look serious?
Never seen them fight.

Do you think they got along well?
My first pair never left each others side, and I believe they got on very well. My current pair don't sleep as close etc but they never argue and seem to get on well.

Would you every house a pair/group again? Why/why not?
Yep, I've not had a problem with Campbell's, I do keep a space cage just in case, but they seem a lot happier in a pair :)