please help!! advice needed asap

[stellanova1]

woke up to find the smallest one of my three robos living together has been bitten on by his tail and is bleeding and really not looking to good! :cry: the biggest one aslso had a bite on his face which is bleeding but not to bad, i immediately took the biggest one out(assuming the biggest had been fighting with the smallest) and put in a plastic storage box for now, leaving the smallest, injured robo with the middle one.

is this the right thing to do seperation wise or would it be best to leave the injured one alone and put the other two together? i didnt do this because i was worried the biggest one would then start fighting the middle one? and as i have only ever seen squabbles between the biggest and smallest i thought this was best but not sure now. :? :(

Also should i try clean the wounds?

advice would be very much apperciated!

[internet_nobody]

Always remove the bully - I would guess this is what you have managed to do as the big probably bit the little's bum and the little turned around and bit the big in the face. Its far more tempting to remove the injured one so they can recover alone but the bully normally decides to pick on the other too as you've guessed.

If the wounds are still bleeding then they're worth cleaning, however if they've scabbed over I tend not to clean a wound as it will dissolve the scab and the hamster will loose more blood. If the cuts look deep you're probably best going to the vets to get some antibiotic in case of infection.

[stellanova1]

thank you so much for quick reply!

i checked over the small injured robo again and the blood has dried up now and the wound doesnt appear to be deep.

yes big is on his own now, was wondering if thats how it should stay now? not sure if there would be any possibilies of re uniting them? i think they at that age were they fight but have heard that this can pass and can live happily again? im not sure what to do, wouldnt want to risk small being attcked like that again! but at same time if its possible there wont be one alone i'd prefer that! or would making a barrier in cage be a good idea?

And if the two little ones stay together, is it possible to introduce a new robo to Big so he wouldnt be alone? or is that a nono because he could do this all over again?

Thanks very much for your help

[stellanova1]

small robo had to be put to sleep, his health suddenly declined even tho i took him to vet asap,he didnt have much hope at all of getting any better :( now atleast he will be at peace sleeping, he will be very much missed!! :( :cry:

[Pompompoms]

Awwww the poor little thing, that is so sad. I'm sorry :( :(

[babyboos]

oh no that is so sad have you tried putting them back together? it isn't too late to try to pair them up

[Bunsey]

i'd say it IS too late, personally, as it's now 3 weeks since they were separated...plus, if the big one picked on the little one, then the middle one could well be picked on next. I'd leave them alone and maybe try again when they're over a 18m old. I found with mine that i could put any of them together at that age with no objections, even a chap who was a bully in his youth!

[stellanova1]

after small was pts, and the other two were on their own i noticed they were both very subdued and not their usual bouncy selves on their own, these were the two that always did EVERYTHING together before, completely inseperable! and small had been more on his own. so i put big in to the tank with medi on strictly supervised meetings at first, they seemed very happy to have company again, the occasional squabble at first but they always seemed to sort it out themselves and not need to be intervened, now it has been a couple of weeks theyve been togther and seems to be no trouble, always keeping a very close eye on them tho just incase! but hopfeully they will stay together happy :)

Will try to upload a link of the two of them all cuddled up together! :)

here we go - http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/q261 ... 0471-1.flv (http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/q261/sashaaah/?action=view&current=MOV00471-1.flv)

[babyboos]

best to try ASAP otherwise they can get very set in ways or only accept a much younger cagemate which can mean many weeks or even months of solitude and studies have shown reduced lifespan in solo living social species :cry:

I get a lot of single hams swapped for a pair and have the job of resocialising and pairing the solo hamster up and have had an excellent success rate - touch wood - but you do need a good level of stock available to pick new cagemates from and be able to do a few trial partnerships sometimes to get to the ultimate pairing

I am so so pleased it is working out for you and your little ones :D