Newly adopted hams

[kyrilliondaemon]

Most hams are usually fully grown around the six month mark but it varies depending on the individual.
And chinese should be easily sexed by that age so if they all look the same theres a good chance they are

[racinghamster]

This should help:

Sexing Chinese Hamsters - Vectis Hamstery

Male Chinese have ehem....obvious ends! The females are not as prominent. If you are sure it is Chinese hamsters you have, this guide will tell you what you have in terms of males/females. But if they have always lived together in the shop, I imagine they are all the same gender.

Make sure they are all getting along even when you remove the shelf from their Duna. If any behavioural changes are noticed like stand-offs or any continual chasing or attempts to bite the others, then I would definitely separate them if you see this happening as Chinese hamsters can fight usually when you least expect it. The Duna will only have one gap for one water bottle, so when keeping a group like this, it`s better to have two water bottles and scatter feed. More than one wheel is also a good idea as they might squabble over just one wheel.

It`s a fine balance really. If they are happy with what they have, then introduce other things slowly in case adding too many new things causes bickering.

Let us know how they are doing.

[isabeloola]

After seeing the picture of boy hamsters I can safely say at least one of my Chinese "boys" is a lady. The other two are still far too wriggly for me to tell, but I would assume they are girls too as I don't have any signs of even littler hammies on the way. Such a pickle though!

[racinghamster]

If they are females then the chances are they will need careful watching as female Chinese are notorious for falling out big time. Your girls are still young but I would definitely have a few spare Duna tanks handy just in case you need to get one out fast. Signs are not always there, but watch for signs of chasing, biting the others, squeaking or basic bullying within the ranks. This won`t just be little arguments over something, it will be a continual bullying which if spotted, I would separate.

Keep their nest open and make sure they have multiple wheels and scatter feed. If you read through most of this section on Chinese hamsters, many of your questions will be answered already regarding most things.

[isabeloola]

Ah, I spoke to you in another thread, they have all already been separated. I spoke to a manager at my local Pets at Home and she was quite alarmed that one of her staff hadn't been able to tell the sex of a Chinese hamster. Hopefully this will lead to better training at least in that store!

[WendyAnne]

Congrats on your new additions! I'm no expert for sure, but my little Chinese girl (RIP little Princess Snowflake) had visible nipples on her underside. We could easily see them when she climbed the bars of her cage.