Why do my hamsters stink??

[Vectis Hamstery]

I think you made a good call and it's what I would have done with a female pair that started squeaking The repeated squeaking you describe often can lead to fighting and biting if one of the pair can't get away in time or is trapped in a corner. You may find they are a little quiet for a day or two, but they will soon settle into being spoiled singletons

[racinghamster]

Abi, at the end of the day, you really did make the right decision here for their sakes. The consensus is, that Chinese hamsters are very much solitary hamsters much like Syrians are, but pet shops keep selling them in pairs which is criminal. I would go as far as saying NO hamsters should be sold in pairs unless the person keeping them is a breeder and knows what they are doing and has a learned knowledge of the species, like Vectis does.

Female Chinese are even more unpredictable than the males! You can enjoy them now for their individual characters and don`t worry they won`t be worried about having their own space. The crappy cage will have a valuable use now, with or without the smelly tubes!!!! And no, nothing you did was wrong. Changing cages can be enough to tip the balance with pairs a even if it didn`t happen now, I would bet on it that you would have had to separate them at some stage, so it`s best it happen now while they are young and can now enjoy being individuals. x

[kyrilliondaemon]

I'd not say the consensus is quite that chinese are solitary but they're definetly best not taken lightly. We were always going to split the boys at the first sign of trouble - leaving chinese is really risky, if you hadn't separated theres a good chance you'd have found a seriously injured ham by now.

[AbiJ]

I was getting a bit worried as the hamster who was being picked on has hidden away ever since the split so I lifted up her house to check on her...she's fine but so docile! I was able to stroke her gently for ages, she just sat there and didnt move. I took my hand away and after a little while she moved off and went down her ramp, and I noticed that she has a split in her right ear, I could see light through it. It doesn't look sore or anything, maybe it was always like that or maybe it's a result of the fighting, I don't know. She is quite a bit smaller and less energetic than the other one though, but she is so sweet! I was talking to her and she seemed to be paying attention, she seems very timid but not skittish, I hope I will be able to tame her but going to give her a few days to settle down.