Fighting or Playing?

[OliverS]

Hi all,

Hope you can help.

Recently bought two Russian dwarf hamsters which were in the same cage at Pets at Home so I’d assume they’re related/have been together most of their lives (they’re currently approx 3 months old). I couldn’t bring myself to split them up seeing as they said they prefer to live in pairs/groups, I’ve read that’s debatable but I’m just way too trusting.

Anyway, they’ve got a couple of toilet roll holders in the cage but both seem to want the one the other’s in is one of the main issues. One seems to be chasing the other a bit and they climb over each other and look like they’re fighting. There’s a few squeaks but nothing like squealing like I used to hear when I had a couple when I was younger. Whenever they do this, they go to sleep in the same corner of the cage together and I can’t hear anything like when they’re ‘fighting’. I’ve seen online that they can groom others and it can look quite aggressive but I don’t think it’s that.

I don’t think the size of the cage is much of an issue, it’s quite a big cage, not huge but not small by a long shot (Pico XL if you want to find it on google).

Basically, long story short, is there any way to tell whether they’re fighting or play fighting?

Thanks,
Oliver

[Chilli]

The pico XL is not suitable for one dwarf let alone two. I would suggest moving them and separating them to a bin cage nearly 3x the size each.

Pets at home are only focused on profit and are misinformed. They will sell pairs knowing they end up fighting and the owners bringing one or both back so that they can re profit on the animals.

. I went there to look at roborovskis and spoke to the manager about Russian dwarf hybrids. Apparently the hamsters they sell aren’t “hybrids” but are “Russian hamsters”. If he was really knowledgable about Russian dwarfs he would know there are two species the “Campbell’s” and “Winter whites”.

They have sold you a pair of hybrids which tend to fall out when paired. I would separate them to save yourself and your hamsters stress.

[cypher]

It does sound like there are some dominance issues going on, they will often go back to sleeping together after fighting or falling out over something so that isn't necessarily a sign that everything is ok.
If one seems to be doing most of the chasing then it could be getting stressful for the less dominant one, you do need to consider quality of life for both of them as well as the potential for injuries & fighting can escalate very quickly so it would be best to separate them before that happens.

[OliverS]

Originally Posted by Chilli

The pico XL is not suitable for one dwarf let alone two. I would suggest moving them and separating them to a bin cage nearly 3x the size each.

Pet stores are only focused on profit and are misinformed. They will sell pairs knowing they end up fighting and the owners bringing one or both back so that they can re profit on the animals.

. I went there to look at roborovskis and spoke to the manager about Russian dwarf hybrids. Apparently the hamsters they sell aren’t “hybrids” but are “Russian hamsters”. If he was really knowledgable about Russian dwarfs he would know there are two species the “Campbell’s” and “Winter whites”.

They have sold you a pair of hybrids which tend to fall out when paired. I would separate them to save yourself and your hamsters stress.

Thank you Chilli, I’ll look at doing that this weekend. They do have a play pen which I bought from Amazon with different toys and stuff in it which they’re able to climb into and out of between sort of 7-11 every night so they do get more space regularly. I put their cage in it and allow them to get in and out as they please at least until they get used to it. I’m trying to convince my Mrs that we should separate them but she thinks they’re alright, I’ll keep trying.

Out of interest, if they’re playing and we do separate them, do you know if they’d get lonely?

Originally Posted by cypher

It does sound like there are some dominance issues going on, they will often go back to sleeping together after fighting or falling out over something so that isn't necessarily a sign that everything is ok.
If one seems to be doing most of the chasing then it could be getting stressful for the less dominant one, you do need to consider quality of life for both of them as well as the potential for injuries & fighting can escalate very quickly so it would be best to separate them before that happens.

Thank you Cypher, I’m not necessarily sure now though as it was just one doing the grooming and now the other is coming out of her shell, I’d say it’s 50/50, maybe even more so the other way.

There’s not much chasing to be fair. It’s only very infrequently and when they cross paths. There’s one or two little squeaks and then that’s it, they either walk off in opposite directions or both go to bed (usually the same one).

What do you think? I don’t want to split them up if I can avoid it (not enough space for two cages) but equally don’t want them getting stressed or hurt

[Thin Lizzy]

Pets at Home are terrible for giving advice about hamsters and all they see is profit not what's best for the hamsters. I would split them, they will be fine separated and with a cage each they will gain confidence.

[Ithuviel]

Hamsters are solitary, they don't get lonely.

[IBM]

Hamsters should not be together ever. Separate them in diffrent cages and save your hamsters from any more stress.

[Bubb]

Hi OliverS,

I know everyone's already covered this but you really should think about separating them, I also have Russian dwarfs (which by coincidence came to me in a pico XL) I separated them within 24 hours because I had seen dominance behaviour much like you are describing. It's always best to be on the side of caution. My vet (in med school) kept Russian dwarfs together and one morning he woke up to one suddenly having eaten the other. Now he always recommends housing them separately.
If you're looking at bigger suitable cages you might try the Alaska from Zooplus online it meets the min requirements for a single hamster and I think you could potentially stack them on top of each other to save space. I use two of them one each for my hammies and they're great though if you're hammies are still babies you might need to add some mouse proof mesh on the corners (you can find that at b&q or other hardware stores) and it's a good inexpensive solution to all your problems.

Hope that helps!

[OliverS]

Thank you all for all your helpful responses. I’m going to split them up when I’ve got enough money to source all the stuff and tools for bin cages. Just one last piece of advice that I’m looking for.

When I split them up, I’ll be putting them in pretty big storage boxes and there’s only one place for them both, on the coffee table. If the bin cages were next to each other, would the hamsters still potentially get aggressive or stressed if they can still see/smell the other?

If so, it looks like my dad’s getting a free hamster because we literally don’t have the space

[cypher]

Putting them in separate bins next to each other should be fine although I'm wondering which bins you'll be using as a coffee table sounds small for two.