Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Central Forum Topics > Behaviour

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 10-23-2017, 01:10 PM   #1
hammycookie
Hamster Pup
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 129
Default Do my robos need separating or is it just play fighting?

Hi all,
A couple of days ago I bought my first pair of robos, they have a big cage and two of everything. I have noticed that they sometimes have a little scrap and chase each other around also when one is on its wheel the other jumps on. Is this normal play fighting behaviour or should I move them apart?
It never lasts very long and they don't seem to hurt each other..
__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC owner of a very spoiled princess
hammycookie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-23-2017, 02:16 PM   #2
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: Do my robos need separating or is it just play fighting?

Hi there. Signs of fighting are worrying. If you've only had them a couple of days they will have been unsettled by the change. Are there any levels in the cage? Do you have two wheels? It is normal for them to try and run on a wheel at the same time but if you have two wheels they don't need to get territorial over it. Some people have one larger syrian sized wheel and one smaller dwarf wheel - the larger wheel is easier for them to run in together.

Levels will make them territorial and so will tubes. What cage do you have? Do you have a picture? Some slight changes might help if it's territorial behaviour.

It is very common for pairs to need separating. I would keep a very close eye on it over the next day or so and you may need to be prepared to separate them. If you don't have a spare cage, a large plastic storage bin would do as a cage temporarily.

Best not to do any cleaning or moving things around for at least two weeks now to give them chance to settle. But obviously if there is a level or some tubes that are causing an issue, removing them could help.
Pebbles82 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2017, 12:29 AM   #3
hammycookie
Hamster Pup
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 129
Default Re: Do my robos need separating or is it just play fighting?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
Hi there. Signs of fighting are worrying. If you've only had them a couple of days they will have been unsettled by the change. Are there any levels in the cage? Do you have two wheels? It is normal for them to try and run on a wheel at the same time but if you have two wheels they don't need to get territorial over it. Some people have one larger syrian sized wheel and one smaller dwarf wheel - the larger wheel is easier for them to run in together.

Levels will make them territorial and so will tubes. What cage do you have? Do you have a picture? Some slight changes might help if it's territorial behaviour.

It is very common for pairs to need separating. I would keep a very close eye on it over the next day or so and you may need to be prepared to separate them. If you don't have a spare cage, a large plastic storage bin would do as a cage temporarily.

Best not to do any cleaning or moving things around for at least two weeks now to give them chance to settle. But obviously if there is a level or some tubes that are causing an issue, removing them could help.
Thanks for the advice��The cage is a hamster heaven cage, it has no levels and I have two wheels for them. I am going to watch them today and tonight.
__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC owner of a very spoiled princess
hammycookie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2017, 02:06 AM   #4
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: Do my robos need separating or is it just play fighting?

The Hamster Heaven is a great cage and it all sounds fine if you don't have the levels in and two wheels. I have seen a lot of people recommending one larger open wheel and one smaller one - it's easier for them to run together in a larger wheel. What wheels have you got at the moment? I think the HH comes with a small wheel already. An 8.5" comfort wheel or even an 11" open wheel could be good as an extra. The 8.5" comfort wheel isn't expensive, but depends if you want a quiet wheel or not!

They might settle if they've just moved. You could try scatter feeding as well as or instead of having food bowls - that also helps reduce territorial behaviour.

Maybe add another house as well - even if you have two of everything, sometimes a third thing helps or a house that's big enough for them to both fit in and has more than one entrance (so one can get out if the other blocks the door). A shoe box or tissue box can make a good house and just cut entrance holes where you want - maybe one at the front, one at the side and one on top? If the two houses are quite small and they both want to get in the same one it could be an issue possibly?

I think it was Tammy the Robo breeder who mentioned sometimes having 3 things for a pair can help - more options
Pebbles82 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2017, 02:17 AM   #5
AmityvilleHams
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 4,545
Default Re: Do my robos need separating or is it just play fighting?

Comfort Wheels may not be as bad as Silent Spinners(which I think have a design flaw making them unsafe anyways since it can come apart where the two colors meet and cause a dangerous gap,although this is more well known in the hedgehog community),but they're a wheel I'd never recommend if you wish to keep your sanity!

Separating wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing,regardless of behavior.There's a lot more than can be done in terms of enrichment.Group living of same sex pairs in the wild likely wouldn't happen anyways

Last edited by velma; 10-24-2017 at 03:17 AM.
AmityvilleHams is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2017, 06:39 AM   #6
cypher
Dwarf whisperer
 
cypher's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Wales UK
Posts: 24,789
Default Re: Do my robos need separating or is it just play fighting?

It sounds as though you're doing everything right for them, the move will be a bit unsettling but hopefully they'll calm down & continue to live happily together once they've had a little time to adjust.
If there's any prolonged scuffles or louder squealing then they made need to be separated, just keep a close eye on them for now.
As Serendipity said scatter feeding rather than using bowls is best if you don't do that already.
__________________
Slave to Zak.
Always loved, never forgotten, forever in my heart
T'ycor, Ziggy, Zephyr, Flynt, Mickle, Little Whisp, Zen, Zeki, Tinwë, Zylvan, Míriel, Calyanwë, Gusto & Meri
❤️
cypher is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2017, 01:50 PM   #7
hammycookie
Hamster Pup
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 129
Default Re: Do my robos need separating or is it just play fighting?

Thank you everyone for the comments. Very helpful
__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC owner of a very spoiled princess
hammycookie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2017, 01:52 PM   #8
hammycookie
Hamster Pup
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 129
Default Re: Do my robos need separating or is it just play fighting?

I have noticed that one of the hamsters seem so to be out playing whilst the other one hides away more. Is this normal?
This is only what I am noticing whilst I'm awake, it may change later during the night
__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC owner of a very spoiled princess
hammycookie is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
fighting, play, robos, separating

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:42 AM.