Are my dwarf hamsters fighting?

[MidgetGem]

Hello, I recently bought two female dwarf hamsters which I have had for a few days.
Today I realised that there was a lot of squeaking coming from their cage and when I went to check one of them had rolled over onto her back so her stomach was showing and the other hamster was next to her- neither of them had been scratched or hurt.
I researched this but I've been getting mixed results with some saying that they are only play fighting or deciding who is more dominant?

They both still sleep together and live in an 80 x 50cm cage so shouldn't be cramped. What should I do?

[AmityvilleHams]

Honestly I can't see it going in a good direction.These type of fights can be extremely stressful to the less dominant hamster,so separation would be a great idea.If you don't have much money,a double Ikea Lack table could be a good spare cage with minimal DIY involved(just meshing sides,a wood and mesh lid and or optional doors,and cardboard substrate borders).

[Bec]

Hi MidgetGem...welcome to the forum.

It sounds as if one is being bullied. Are they similar in size or is one smaller? Even though they seem OK if blood is drawn it is advised you separate them. Fighting can escalate and their hormones will be kicking in as they mature.

Personally I would separate. They can be a little sulky for about 10 days but then they settle and are just fine on their own and you feel much safer knowing that they are okay.

Do you have a spare cage ready?

[MidgetGem]

Thank you so much for the advice.
If they continue or either of them is hurt I will separate them with my spare cage

[Pebbles82]

I wouldn't wait until one gets hurt to be honest. Keep a close eye on them and any sign of bickering continuing (which it probably will) then separate them quickly. There are stories of badly maimed hamsters or fights to the death once bickering starts. Having said that, someone on here (Kyrilliondemon? Can't remember who) says there are ways of trying to adjust their set up and other methods that sometimes help them continue living together. Maybe she will post with suggestions. But it sounds to me like bullying has started and they may need separating soon. As you've only had them a few days, they have had a change of environment which will have caused some minor stress. Avoid doing a lot of cleaning as hammies also find that stressful, You don't need to do weekly cleans like they say in pet shops. For the first two weeks just do a bit of spot cleaning if absolutely necessary (ie a pee corner). Just take out a handful of we substrate and replace with a handful of new and mix it in a bit. Try not to keep changing things around too much in the cage while they settle in as well. After two weeks you could do a partial clean if necessary. I only ever do partial cleans now - about every 2 to 3 months. If you have plenty of substrate the bottom half tends to stay dry and you can re-use half of it and add a new half and mix it in - that way it still smells familiar. And clean the toys a different week to doing the substrate. ie don't clean everything at the same time Potty litter trays help reducing cleaning as well.

If you have any levels in the cage then take those out as that leads to territorial behaviour and fighting, and ideally they need two of everything so there is nothing to fight over - eg two food bowls, water bottles, houses and wheels.

[Bethyboo11]

Honestly, don't worry about it! My friend has 2 Russian dwarfs which fought a lot, and she realised that one of them was acting as a 'dominant hamster' which may be the problem with your girls! To reduce the dominance/bullying, buy 2 of everything that the hamster is controlling- for example, if the dominant hamster isn't letting the submissive hamster eat, buy 2 food bowls. If you can't see any of this happening in the cage, I would highly reccomend buying 2 food bowls, 2 wheels, and provide more than one hideaway/nesting area to give them chance to 'cool off' by themselves!
Since they're new hamsters, just think of it as teenage sisters fighting! Hope this helped!

[MidgetGem]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

I wouldn't wait until one gets hurt to be honest. Keep a close eye on them and any sign of bickering continuing (which it probably will) then separate them quickly. There are stories of badly maimed hamsters or fights to the death once bickering starts. Having said that, someone on here (Kyrilliondemon? Can't remember who) says there are ways of trying to adjust their set up and other methods that sometimes help them continue living together. Maybe she will post with suggestions. But it sounds to me like bullying has started and they may need separating soon. As you've only had them a few days, they have had a change of environment which will have caused some minor stress. Avoid doing a lot of cleaning as hammies also find that stressful, You don't need to do weekly cleans like they say in pet shops. For the first two weeks just do a bit of spot cleaning if absolutely necessary (ie a pee corner). Just take out a handful of we substrate and replace with a handful of new and mix it in a bit. Try not to keep changing things around too much in the cage while they settle in as well. After two weeks you could do a partial clean if necessary. I only ever do partial cleans now - about every 2 to 3 months. If you have plenty of substrate the bottom half tends to stay dry and you can re-use half of it and add a new half and mix it in - that way it still smells familiar. And clean the toys a different week to doing the substrate. ie don't clean everything at the same time Potty litter trays help reducing cleaning as well.

If you have any levels in the cage then take those out as that leads to territorial behaviour and fighting, and ideally they need two of everything so there is nothing to fight over - eg two food bowls, water bottles, houses and wheels.

Thank you, I have read about levelled cages so have made sure that there are no levels in my cage. I also plan to clean their cage out around every month and, as you said, only change half the substrate as it is very deep to allow them to burrow. This doesn't include spot cleaning their litter tray/ sand bath which i do every 1-2 days.
I have made sure that they have two water bottles, food dishes, wheels etc. but I will try changing the set up of the cage slightly to see if their behaviour improves.
Thank you again, you've been a great help

[MidgetGem]

Originally Posted by Bethyboo11

Honestly, don't worry about it! My friend has 2 Russian dwarfs which fought a lot, and she realised that one of them was acting as a 'dominant hamster' which may be the problem with your girls! To reduce the dominance/bullying, buy 2 of everything that the hamster is controlling- for example, if the dominant hamster isn't letting the submissive hamster eat, buy 2 food bowls. If you can't see any of this happening in the cage, I would highly reccomend buying 2 food bowls, 2 wheels, and provide more than one hideaway/nesting area to give them chance to 'cool off' by themselves!
Since they're new hamsters, just think of it as teenage sisters fighting! Hope this helped!

Thank you so much, you've definitely put some of my worries to rest! I've made sure they have two food bowls, water bottles, wheels and many hideaways so I hope they do just need to cool off. I'll still keep a very close eye on them to make sure it doesn't get any worse or continue happening, thanks again

[CMB]

Houses/nests with more than one entrance are advised. That way one can't trap the other inside and attack.

Bendy bridges or cardboard box hides can be set up for two entrances.

[MidgetGem]

Originally Posted by CMB

Houses/nests with more than one entrance are advised. That way one can't trap the other inside and attack.

Bendy bridges or cardboard box hides can be set up for two entrances.

I'll try that, thank you