HELP! Please help. Im freaking out

[Beba85]

I have three male hamsters in one cage and they never fight. Two of them suddenly freaks out, they did not fight but i think something attacked them or in pain. They suddenly kept on crying and running amok the cage as if they are frightened. When i try to pick them up, they freak out and bites me. Pls help, i dont know what to do. They kept on squeaking every minute. Help!

[Thin Lizzy]

Are they dwarf hamsters?
Syrians can't be kept together!
Something has spooked them! Have you checked them for any injuries?
Them squeaking means their scared/nervous.
You might have to seperate them if they have started fighting. I've never heard or come across 3 hamsters sharing the same cage.
Usually it's in pairs and that's only for the dwarf hamster, and they require one of everything each in the cage to prevent fighting.

[NiceCrocs]

Trios should never be kept together, often two will band together against the third. And if they are Syrians, they should never be kept with other hams at all.

It sounds like your hamsters are all quite stressed, and I would strongly suggest separating them all as soon as possible. Fighting can quickly result in terrible injury or death with little to no warning, and I would be very concerned that one or more of these hams will get hurt.

[cypher]

Unless there's something outside the cage which could have really frightened them which you would probably have noticed it sounds as though there's some bullying if not actual fighting going on, you can't watch them all the time & they often sleep or play together after fighting or bullying so it's not always immediately obvious unless one or more is injured by which point it's a bit late so I think you probably need to separate them.

[Candra_Faulkner]

I would definitely just separate them like the others mentioned, if you can't afford new fancy homes for each, go and get some big bins and make some bin cages for 2 of them so that you can be sure no one gets hurt.

[Beba85]

They never fought like they grew together since birth and got used to each other. I just found out that it was the wild mice running around our house bullied them. I transfered them to an aquarium since the mice can get in their previous cage and so far, they've calmed down. They're in peace now and plays around. Thanks for the advices though. )) im just happy they're fine now.

[Teddy001]

If they are Syrian hamsters, they really should live solitary. They could fight at anytime, even if they seem to not be fighting right now. It's a risk, I wouldn't chance, as having them together, is really a risk, you are taking, of your hamsters, fighting, and or, the stress of having to live in a group, is not normal for Syrian's, nature. They live alone in the wild, except when they mate. After 5 weeks old, they should be separated to live by themselves. How old are they?

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/hamst...syrianhams.htm

Characteristics:

Syrian hamsters are solitary and territorial. They should always be housed alone. They may tolerate other hamsters when they are young, but by the time they reach 8-10 weeks old, territorial fighting usually starts and may be fatal.

[cypher]

If you've had wild mice getting into the cage I'd keep a very close eye on your hams health in case they've brought any diseases in & give anything the mice may have touched a really good clean!

[Teddy001]

There is a member on HC, that had her baby hamster pass, due to it was diagnosed with an disease, that was transferred to the hamster, from mice droppings. Mice carry quite a list of diseases, that can be transferred to another rodent, through, droppings, urine and bites. I'd clean out your hamster's cage, and sanitize toys, water bottle, food bowl, everything you can.

[Thin Lizzy]

Beba85,
Are the syrians or dwarf hamsters?
They might be fine now but, this can't be ignored. They really should be seperated.
I would take notice of what Cypher and Teddy have said about mice carrying diseases.