How To Tame 2 Russian Dwarf Hamsters?

[hayleyandpedro]

Sorry if this is in the wrong thread, I'm also not too sure whether my hamsters are Campbell ones so I'll be sure to post a picture. But after the heartbreaking loss of my hamster Pedro I decided I wanted to get dwarf hamsters and I learnt that they could live together but I am unsure how to tame them both? Do you have to tame them at the same time or can you tame them separately even if they live together? Any advice would be appreciated 😊

[cypher]

Did you get them from a pet shop? If you did then they are more than likely russian hybrids rather than pure bred Campbells.
You will need to tame them together, if you split them up & then put them back together, even after a short time the change in scent could cause them to fall out & fight.
Best to tame them in a playpen or safe play area, let them run around together & just gradually introduce your hand to them & once they're used to them you should be able to handle them.

To stand the best chance of them living together happily you will need a set up with no levels that they can get territorial over, two of everything, preferably houses with more than one exit & scatter feeding is best to avoid fighting over bowls, even if you have more than one.
Sorry if you already knew that bit!

[hayleyandpedro]

Originally Posted by cypher

Did you get them from a pet shop? If you did then they are more than likely russian hybrids rather than pure bred Campbells.
You will need to tame them together, if you split them up & then put them back together, even after a short time the change in scent could cause them to fall out & fight.
Best to tame them in a playpen or safe play area, let them run around together & just gradually introduce your hand to them & once they're used to them you should be able to handle them.

To stand the best chance of them living together happily you will need a set up with no levels that they can get territorial over, two of everything, preferably houses with more than one exit & scatter feeding is best to avoid fighting over bowls, even if you have more than one.
Sorry if you already knew that bit!

Okay then, I'm thinking of getting a big clear box and using it as a playpen for them so they can play together and that way I can hold them too yeah I was told I was best to get two of everything so that they wouldn't get territorial over the things but I wasn't told that you weren't supposed to have no layers so I've taken that away but I may need to get a new bigger cage.

I was wondering if it was normal for them to have little spats of fights too? I read online that it could be them trying to decide who is the dominant one and if they go back to their normal routines then they should be okay and they're sleeping together so I'm assuming that's also a good sign? Sorry for so many questions I did a lot of research but I don't think I did enough on taming them because I've only ever had Syrian hamsters.

[hayleyandpedro]

Originally Posted by cypher

Did you get them from a pet shop? If you did then they are more than likely russian hybrids rather than pure bred Campbells.
You will need to tame them together, if you split them up & then put them back together, even after a short time the change in scent could cause them to fall out & fight.
Best to tame them in a playpen or safe play area, let them run around together & just gradually introduce your hand to them & once they're used to them you should be able to handle them.

To stand the best chance of them living together happily you will need a set up with no levels that they can get territorial over, two of everything, preferably houses with more than one exit & scatter feeding is best to avoid fighting over bowls, even if you have more than one.
Sorry if you already knew that bit!

EDIT: Yes I got them from Pets at Home and they were titled "Russian Dwarf Hamsters"

Okay then, I'm thinking of getting a big clear box and using it as a playpen for them so they can play together and that way I can hold them too yeah I was told I was best to get two of everything so that they wouldn't get territorial over the things but I wasn't told that you weren't supposed to have no layers so I've taken that away but I may need to get a new bigger cage.

I was wondering if it was normal for them to have little spats of fights too? I read online that it could be them trying to decide who is the dominant one and if they go back to their normal routines then they should be okay and they're sleeping together so I'm assuming that's also a good sign? Sorry for so many questions I did a lot of research but I don't think I did enough on taming them because I've only ever had Syrian hamsters.

[cypher]

They will be hybrids then, that's fine, all my russian hams have been hybrids & really lovely little things, you do need to be a bit careful with diet though as they are prone to diabetes so no sweet foods.

They probably will have little squabbles now & then but they can go back to sleeping together even after fighting so you just have to keep a close eye on their behaviour, if one becomes really dominant then the other may end up getting bullied.
Do you have a spare cage just in case?
What cage do you have them in now? They are small but still need plenty of space, just not too much open space, you can use things like egg boxes with a hole cut into each end to make good hideouts/toys & other simple things like that so they don't feel too exposed in a good size cage.

The principles are the same as syrians for taming really, russians are just a lot smaller & faster!
A lot depends on the individual ham, I've had two that barely needed taming at all & two that took a fair bit of patience, so just go at their pace, don't try to rush them & you should be fine.

[hayleyandpedro]

Originally Posted by cypher

They will be hybrids then, that's fine, all my russian hams have been hybrids & really lovely little things, you do need to be a bit careful with diet though as they are prone to diabetes so no sweet foods.

They probably will have little squabbles now & then but they can go back to sleeping together even after fighting so you just have to keep a close eye on their behaviour, if one becomes really dominant then the other may end up getting bullied.
Do you have a spare cage just in case?
What cage do you have them in now? They are small but still need plenty of space, just not too much open space, you can use things like egg boxes with a hole cut into each end to make good hideouts/toys & other simple things like that so they don't feel too exposed in a good size cage.

The principles are the same as syrians for taming really, russians are just a lot smaller & faster!
A lot depends on the individual ham, I've had two that barely needed taming at all & two that took a fair bit of patience, so just go at their pace, don't try to rush them & you should be fine.

Oh I was a bit worried then about them being hybrids I thought that would be a bad thing haha. Okay, are they allowed kiwi then? Or is that too sweet? Just cause they had them in the pet shop so I just thought I'd double check.

I'm buying another cage tomorrow to put them into permanently but until then they're in quite a biggish cage but because it has a later I don't want that to become a problem where they have territorial issues. I do need to get them some more toys that they can play with because so far they have wheels, some wood and some toilet rolls that are of course bare

I bought a under bed storage box that I'm going to turn into a playpen so I can hold them and tame them in that and add some toys into that too

[cypher]

Pet shops seem to have a bit of a thing for kiwi at the moment & I have no idea why?! Personally I think, apart from being sweet it's really quite acidic & so something I would only give in very tiny rare amounts if at all. The only fruit mine get are a blueberry (or half if it's a big one!) or the tiniest piece of apple maybe once a week, other days they get a variety of veg.

The plans for the cage & play pen sound good, hope we get to meet them & see some photos when they've settled

[racinghamster]

Congrats on your new little ones Hayley. They will both be hybrid Russian dwarfs but ideally, you just need to cut out the rubbish like syrup/honey covered cereal bars, yoghurt/choc drops and anything artificially sweet. I have a Russian male who will be turning two shortly and he adored fresh, raw veggies and a small piece of apple every few days. Apple is probably better than citrus fruits like kiwi to be honest. Stick to basic things really like broccoli, cauliflower, garden peas, sweet corn nibblets (it`s a natural starch so a few pieces won`t harm) and little pieces of various leaves like basil, lettuce, kale etc.... these are far healthier than sweets or anything pet shop bought.

Give them a good variety of mixes, millet/millet spray and they will enjoy that. Be awre too though that pairs don`t like change, so try and keep everything familiar for them. Where their bed area is, their wheels, scatter feed etc...

Ideally, you want to have them in a single tier cage like a Zoozone to prevent levels and territorial behaviours, although even a one level cage won`t prevent them falling out if they want to! A pair will be contented to have one another as company, so handling them should be done on their terms, inside their cage preferably at least until you know they are settled as removing them into a play bin too often could result in stressors. Always keep that in mind. If they are happy in themselves, try not to be too keen to get them out to begin with. Allowing them plenty of time to settle, get used to their new home and also to you.

Let us know how they are getting on. x