Success of housing Chinese Hamsters together

[Christmas_hamster]

I'm new to this forum to gather some information but I'd like to stick around too! As long as I can remember I've heard that Chinese hams often don't get along once they reach maturity and should be housed alone. Then I hear more and more that only females can't live together successfully. Other claim that they get along fine. There are a lot of mixed messages about this and I have to wonder for those that have tried what the mistake may have been. Perhaps the cage was too small or something or perhaps it is the species. I can't find Chinese hamsters here so I can't try myself (though it can be only a matter of time seeing as suddenly there are WWs and robos here when there never was before). So I would like to know whether generally if Chinese hams can be housing together.

So for those that have or had a pair or group of Chinese hamsters I would be very grateful if you could answer some questions for me. Even if you had them 'before you knew about hamsters', the info is still appreciated.

1. How many hamsters were in this group?
2. What was the gender of these hamsters?
3. What kind of cage were they in? (A brand/model name or dimensions)
4. How many wheels did they have?
5. Can you please describe their set up? (How many beds, what kind of toys, was it crowded, etc)
6. Did they need to be separated?
7. Were they siblings?

Thanks for anyone that can answer!

[mangoandmimi]

i had chineses ages ago but i luved them XD
1. i had 2.
2. girls :) males can fight, girl and boy will = babies
3. zoozone 2. was amazing. but i gave it away D: so need to get another for my robos lol. also it was massive, i mean ultra massive :)
4. 1 mini silent spinner. only one really used it though :)
5. ummm....a dust bath, little blue ferplast house, wheel...food and water...a little like arch tunnel wood multicoloured thing, those puzzle playing things are so cool connected to tunnels, a little like actual BED but it was pink and purple and plastic. i duno if you've seen my robos cage somewhere on this site but its similar lol :) same stuff etc but different cage :) and yeah loads more like little tunnels tubes loo roll tubes oh and a like level shelf thing...it was a ferplast plastic one. from the duna fun :) was a cool cage lol.
6. nope.
7. yep. fom pets at home :) regret it now, should have got them from a rescue centre :( but well no i dont regret it lol i loved them XD

[Christmas_hamster]

Thank you for the info! That's really great that they did end up getting along. Everywhere I've gone has suggested that females are the ones that don't get along. So now I wonder if it was having an adequate set up or if maybe only females do well together or if your girls were just one of a kind. I wish I could try out a pair for myself. One day. :P

[SarahJ]

1. How many hamsters were in this group? 2
2. What was the gender of these hamsters? Male
3. What kind of cage were they in? Mini Duna
4. How many wheels did they have? 2
5. Can you please describe their set up? There has two sleeping areas, two wheels, 1 water bottle and 1 food bowl (which i know now can course problems) they also had a tunnel.
6. Did they need to be separated? Yes after roughly 4 weeks
7. Were they siblings? yep

[Christmas_hamster]

Thank you! :)
Every little bit helps.

[LocoRocoPanda]

1. How many hamsters were in this group? 2
2. What was the gender of these hamsters? Males
3. What kind of cage were they in? (A brand/model name or dimensions) Zoo Zone 2
4. How many wheels did they have? 2
5. Can you please describe their set up? (How many beds, what kind of toys, was it crowded, etc) 2 beds, lots of wood to chew on and it wasn't crowded
6. Did they need to be separated? Yes they did
7. Were they siblings? Nopes.

Poor Aizen ended up in really bad shape because of Toshiro and nearly died. So in my experience it's males that don't get along but at the end of the day it just depends on the temperment of the hamster. After that I noticed Toshiro didn't get along with ANY hamsters but loved people. :) It's down to luck and time.

[Vectis Hamstery]

I have tried several different ways.

1. 2 male siblings in a savic rody with 2 of everything and scatter fed. Separated at 5.5 weeks old. One hamster needed surgery for injuries received.

2. Several unrelated male and female pairs for breeding purposes in a small perfecto tank without the shelf. Several areas of bedding and toilet roll tubes, also scatterfed. Managed a few hours to 4 days before wounds were noticed and separated. Some have needed vetinary attention, antiseptic creams and oral antibiotics. One male still has an area of fur loss resulting from an attack by a female.

3. I currently have a trio of male siblings aged 5 weeks in a savic rody with no wheel but plenty of hidey holes. No arguments yet. They will not be staying together forever.

I prefer to keep them separately due to the serious injuries that can result in a short space of time.If you do decide to get a pair (of any dwarf species) you must be prepared to house both individually at any point in their lives. Too many animals are in rescue centres as they needed to be separated and the owner was not willing to have 2 cages.

From my experience and speaking to other Chinese breeders, chinese hamster pairs get on better in smaller simpler setups as there is less opportunity for them to become territorial which can lead to fights.

[mangoandmimi]

Lol i really dont know christmas :)
hey i love your name! Christmas_Hamster! sounds happy :)
hmm i wouldnt try chinese hamsters again though - i think robos arelike in a way eisier as they get on all the time. ooh or winter whites!!

[KutButLykee]

My two male Chinese Hamsters (Salt and Pepper):p Lived together all there lives succesfully.:D

[Christmas_hamster]

KutButLykee: What kind of set up did they have?

Thank you guys for all the info! I've kept several pairs of RCs and currently a pair of robos together before, all successful except for one pair (though I didn't know much at the time). I would never consider rehoming my hamsters, I don't even consider getting them a pet stores or breeders I do my best to adopt my pets - even my fish. ;)

Thanks again guys!

[KutButLykee]

They were in a Duna Multy;) But i made sure they had:
2 Wheels
2 Bowls
About 3-4 hiding spots/houses/beds.
good luck! And i hope this helps:-Dx

[Christmas_hamster]

Thank it does help a lot! :D

[Christmas_hamster]

Ok here's what I've got so far. I'll update it as long as I keep getting responses--- Keep in mind that so far the number of participants is small and so it may make the results a little skewed. (August 26, 2010)

Only 31% never had to be separated.
Only 38% were given what I would consider adequate set ups. *
If you look at just the hamsters given adequate setups than 80% of hams never had to be separated.
If you look at just the hamsters given less than adequate setups than 100% had to be separated
If only looking at female pairs than 50% never had to be separated.
If only looking at male pairs than 22% never had to be separated.
If only looking at females in adequate setups than 0% had to be separated.
If only looking at males in adequate setups than 34% had to be separated.
If looking at females in less than adequate setups than 100% had to be separated.
If looking at males in less than adequate setups than 100% had to be separated.
Chinese hams that weren't siblings and were introduced (both same sex and opposite sex) had to be separated in all cases.

*Adequate setups would include a large enough cage, multiple wheels, multiple beds and things that would decrease chances of arguments and fighting. This is based on a general standard and what has worked for myself and others when housing multiple hamsters.

So what you can gather from that is that if given a large enough cage, multiple wheels, a large food dish, multiple beds, etc than these hamsters can get a long just fine. Gender seems to make little difference though many have mentioned that it is the males that don't get along and that females are the ones that do better in pair or group settings. It can also be noted that if introducing Chinese hamsters it should be done with the utmost caution, as it seems to never work out.

[fluffymunchkins]

I always thought it was males that were supposed to do better?
And that females are very risky to be put together?

The research is very interesting to see though :)

[SnickersTheFirst]

Yeah, I agree with FM it is males that do better together as females are more territorial. And also chinese are the worst dwarves to try to keep together, I'd say all other species have a higher success rate of living in pairs. :D

[mangoandmimi]

hmm, idunno...
i thought it was better with femailes...??
well actually iguess males r less territorial, but with robos it seems the other way round :L
robos are easy to keep together lol though, chineses sometmies haveto be separated.
i'd get 1 chinese to be on the safe side!

[Christmas_hamster]

That's why I started collecting this data because everyone has different ideas as to which should be housed together. Based on this females do better together than males but I had less female pairings to look at compared to males so it may have skewed the results. Overtime I hope to get some more accurate results as I collect more information but for now that's what they state.

[KutButLykee]

I must 1 of those lucky 31% who didn't have to seperate them...:-D:rolleyes:

[Christmas_hamster]

You certainly are!

If anyone hasn't posted yet and has or had a pair of Chinese hamsters please do post - the more samples I can get the more accurate the results can be.

[fluffymunchkins]

IF i get a chinese off Rachel and put it in a Zoozone 2 would consider trying a pair (making sure i have a spare cage of course)
Would be interesting :)

[Vectis Hamstery]

It is a good idea to find out as much as you can before getting a new hamster. I would however use these results with caution, Christmas Hamster. The design of your study is not scientifically robust: there is a large selection bias in your data collection and all 'data' comes from anecdotal reports.
The results are the opposite of the advice I have recieved by experienced UK breeders and exhibitors of chinese hamsters, some of whom have over 20 years experience.

[souffle]

I would agree with Vectis.
The sample size if far too small to have any real meaning and it has not been conducted under controlled situations. There are way too many other factors which could affect the stability of any pairings.
Again through talking to many breeders at shows if would seem that a pair of Chinese staying together is by far the exception to the rule.
It would seem their behavior in the wild and in captivity is more akin to that of the Syrian hamster.

[louisbs]

1. How many hamsters were in this group? 2
2. What was the gender of these hamsters? male
3. What kind of cage were they in? (A brand/model name or dimensions) Leon 3 story cage http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/rodents/cages/hamster_mouse_cages/hamster_cages/40878
4. How many wheels did they have? 2
5. Can you please describe their set up? (How many beds, what kind of toys, was it crowded, etc) Not crowded, very large cage. 4 beds, deep wood shavings to dig in, 7 hidey holes, hanging cushy tunnel (would find both in there snuggled together), 2 bottles. Bonio, Whats left of the edible bowl, chew sticks, toilet roll tunnels. a trainer after an escape i found one in there, so popped that in there cage lol
6. Did they need to be separated? Not yet
7. Were they siblings? Yes

Had them since april

[Christmas_hamster]

Oh I completely understand that, I'm not saying what people have experienced is the rule and I know that the sample size is too small which is why I am continuing to collect more. It won't be perfect unless I or someone else can attempt this in a controlled setting, probably over many years. Right now collecting samples and such doesn't hurt anybody and it may open a window into understanding the sociability of Chinese hamsters or perhaps the lack thereof or it may just ask more questions then it will leave answers but as I said it doesn't hurt.

I have been talking to a lot of breeders who have worked with hamsters for 20+ years. Some of them were explaining to me how no species of hamsters in domestic set-ups could get along and how they have little or no luck housing multiple hamsters of any species. Then they told me how to house multiple hamster successfully -without having any success at it themselves. So while I value their experience and their advice (and I know that this isn't the case for every person) I will also be collecting experience from everybody to try and get some sort of answer.

[nomnomnom<3]

2
Super Pet CritterTrail Discovery Deluxe Habitat
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3135687#RatingsDetail
they make nests for them selfs eyery night umm log, balls
no
surprisingly no

[louisbs]

Now 3 months on.. not one squabble.
When they squeak (saying hello hehe) to each other I wake up so if anything bad happens.. ill be awake in a flash.
I have a large bin cage "spare" at the moment.. contemplating getting another ham ham :)

[RobeyOs]

Before I answer the questions, I'd like to say I have a female Chinese who has gotten along with any hamster that comes her way. When she was a baby, her cage mate was a female Robo and they lived together until I read they shouldn't (no fighting whatsoever). She has had two Campbells roommates, even when she was older and they were younger, and another Chinese female. Remi got alog with everyone, and has always been the other that either passed or beat her up..

I'll answer these questions thinking of when Remi (Chinese) and Rodey (Campbells) were together. Then when Remi and Baby (both Chinese) were together.

1. How many hamsters were in this group? Two. Remi:Chinese & Rodey:Campbells
2. What was the gender of these hamsters? Both female.
3. What kind of cage were they in? (A brand/model name or dimensions) 50 gallon tank.
4. How many wheels did they have? Two.
5. Can you please describe their set up? (How many beds, what kind of toys, was it crowded, etc) two wheels on opposite sides of the tank, huge food bowl centered, water bottle centered, much much room for them.*
6. Did they need to be separated? Rodey passed away so.. Separation came anyway, but I wouldn't have separated them unless fights broke out.*
7. Were they siblings? Nope!

1. How many hamsters were in this group? Two, Remi:Chinese & Baby:Chinese
2. What was the gender of these hamsters? Both female
3. What kind of cage were they in? (A brand/model name or dimensions) 50 gallon tank.
4. How many wheels did they have? Two.
5. Can you please describe their set up? (How many beds, what kind of toys, was it crowded, etc) same as above.
6. Did they need to be separated? Yes, Remi started showing up with cuts on her face, and sleeping outside (not burrowed)
7. Were they siblings? Nope.
*:-)

[Christmas_hamster]

Thank you for the information!

I'm surprised that hamsters of different species got a long, usually it doesn't end well! It is interesting though! :)