I think I separated them for too long

[alpacassei]

I've just separated them. Stephano's in the bin cage and Francisco's in the Duna. Franny's asleep and hasn't noticed Stephy's gone but Stephano's looking for Franny and trying to burrow and climb out of his new cage

[AmityvilleHams]

Give it time and he should settle.It's going to be different for them and they'll need time to adjust,as with any major change

[alpacassei]

It's been about an hour and he's still frantically trying to get out the new cage

[AmityvilleHams]

An hour is not much time at all.It might take a few days,up to a week or so,but the point is adjustment takes far more than an hour.

[cypher]

It can take anything up to a couple of weeks to settle but usually a few days will do it, just leave him be to settle in on his own, don't be tempted to move him or change things around in his cage as interfering can just prolong the process.

[Fluffagrams]

Don't worry, after a separation it can take a while for them to adjust just as they would with any change to their living environment.

A couple of years ago I had to separate a pair of Chinese and the more dominant one seemed to be out of sorts for a week or two but he got used to it and both went on to live long and happy lives.

People are often reluctant to split a pair up as they worry that one hamster will miss the other but in the long run have found it less stressful as they've not got the worry that they'll inflict worse injury on each other.

[alpacassei]

He's sleeping now and hopefully when he wakes up he'll be more settled. I've got to buy him a bigger bin though since I only had a mini duna sized bin free. Should I leave it a few weeks for him to settle to being alone or just change the bin tomorrow so it's done and he won't get stressed by another change later on?

Francisco hasn't reacted to Stephano being gone. Maybe it's common that the dominant hamster is the one that's most affected?
Francisco's ear is looking a little better since I cleaned it but it's still pretty red. Now that I've cleaned off all the fur and bedding that got stuck to it, I can see it's the entire thinner top half of his ear that's missing Really hoping it doesn't get infected

[cypher]

If he's used to a bigger space then putting him into a bigger bin straight away & then letting him settle once & for all rather than just getting him settled then moving him may work better, if he really didn't settle in the bigger bin you may need to move him back to the smaller one but that probably won't happen if you give him enough time.

Hope Francisco's ear heals up ok.

[Pebbles82]

He's probably more bothered by the cage change than about being separated. As Cypher said if you get him a bigger bin he should settle into that easier. The Ikea Samla might be a good one if you have an Ikea nearby and it only costs £10. When you get the new bin try and get it all set up before moving him in - re-use the substrate from the small bin (it'll smell a bit familiar by now) and spread it out on top of the new substrate (you'll need more than you have in the little bin). Maybe try and set it up so house, wheel, toys, food bowl and water are in the same or very similar locations to where they were in his old bin when he shared, so it feels more familiar. If you can get a couple of tasty chew sticks that should help distract him too. Whimzees mini crocodiles and toothbrushes are popular (but not always easily available except online). Then don't change anything for a while and give him two weeks to settle in without disturbing anything. Spot clean if you find it gets a bit stinking - you can just take a handful of pee'd on substrate out and replace it and mix the new in with the old a bit, but if he pees in a sandbath you might not even need to spot clean. Personally I'd give it longer than two weeks before doing a clean and just spot clean for a while, or wipe the wheel now and then if it gets pee'd in. Or replace some of the sand now and then (you can just scoop out the wet bits) - rather than a big clean where you do everything at once.

I'm sure they'll both be happier once the one that has moved has settled in. Adding a new toy might be nice too - somethig he couldn't have as a pair maybe. A tube or something. And he could have a platform now as well as no territorial issues. Although I know all these things add up. Some people make platforms out of ikea knuff magazine racks.

[flowerfairy]

When I separated my two roborovski sisters Fairy, the more dominant one found it harder to adjust. Flower was delighted! Fairy settled in a couple of days. They are now next to each other.