Paired dwarfs - one gaining, one losing

spock74 · 03-25-2016, 11:13 AM

I have a pair of female dwarf hammies who get along very well most of the time (they sometimes squabble over the green wheel) and don't fight over food. I do feed them their chicken separately because one will basically push the other one over and take it, but other than that they are fine with treats, too. Trixie is the larger one and has pretty much always been that way. I got them around 5-6 weeks old and when they were growing they'd kind of go back and forth, but generally speaking Trixie has been bigger.

Lately, though, Trixie is getting even bigger and the smaller one, Tasha, is getting smaller. I haven't changed their food or environment, their teeth are fine, and I haven't noticed any excessive water drinking. I feed them a mix of Hazel Hamster and a Vita-Kraft mix with no added sugar and I pick the corn out of it before it goes in the cage. I'm not even sure what to try, or if I should just watch them for now. Trixie always has her cheeks full no matter what, but there are always stashes of food around the cage, and I feed them plenty with a millet chunk and a bit of chicken every day. Any ideas?

cypher · 03-27-2016, 09:33 PM

It does sound as though the larger ham is being very dominant over food & preventing the smaller one from eating, I'm no expert in keeping pairs but I would think that if it continues this way it might be better for the smaller one if you separate them.
You don't need to take corn out of the mix btw & chicken every day is too much, once or twice a week is plenty.

CMB · 03-28-2016, 12:33 AM

Erin's guide to feeding diabetic prone hamsters suggests taking corn and other items out of hamster mix as they are high in sugar. The sweet corn is taken out.

DIABETES IN HAMSTERS & *DIET - YouTube

Thin Lizzy · 03-28-2016, 01:12 AM

I think you should seperate them, usually when one of a pair is being bullied they are much smaller and the one doing the bullying is much larger.
Separating them now will benefit the smaller one and over time will grow with confidence.

cypher · 03-28-2016, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CMB

Erin's guide to feeding diabetic prone hamsters suggests taking corn and other items out of hamster mix as they are high in sugar. The sweet corn is taken out.

That idea really is very outdated, it's advisable to get a dwarf mix with no fruit or sugars in it but not to take anything out as this upsets the overall GA, it was also commonly thought peas should be taken out but both add to the overall protein, vitamins, minerals & fibre content of the mix & shouldn't be removed.

spock74 · 03-28-2016, 07:29 AM

I was kind of thinking separating was going to be necessary, but I am really sad to do it as they usually sleep together and get along very well almost all of the time.

As for the chicken, I see now that in my original post it does look like I give it to them every day, but it's actually much less regular than that, with three times a week probably being the max. The corn thing was something that I have read in multiple places and because dwarfs are more prone to diabetes it made logical sense in my brain. I just bought some Oxbow kibble and I think should probably get some dwarf-specific food, but I'm not sure what kind. I can get the Vitakraft Vita Prima Sunscription Dwarf Hamster Formula locally, but that's the only one.

I do have a few questions about separating them. They are currently in a diy double-decker bin cage, so is it okay to just put one in the extra, intact bin I have? If so, should I take away the second story of the original one? Do I need to ease them into it or just do it all at once? Should I have the cages near each other? Can they have play dates? Are these questions I should ask in a different forum?

Also with regards to the little one, should I do anything special about her food once I get them separated? The bigger one is REALLY big, so do I need to cut back on hers? Once their weight has evened out can they live together again? I guess I just really need a lot of guidance on the separation process. This is the first time I've had a pair and I'm starting to think it might not be the best idea in the future. I'm obviously keeping these two and taking care of them just the same as always, but I won't be seduced by a box full of babies again.

Thanks so much for the help, y'all are very friendly and polite.

cypher · 03-28-2016, 08:04 AM

Sorry I misunderstood about the chicken, three times a week max should be fine.

What are you feeding them now? I know it can be really hard to get a good dwarf mix in the US, the oxbow is good but they do enjoy small seeds to so it's nice if you can give a bit of a mix, the oxbow is a bit low in protein but with extras like the chicken that's not a problem.
The Vitakraft Vita Prima Sunscription Dwarf Hamster Formula isn't exactly ideal but probably as good as you'll get, some sugars but not that much so it should be fine.

Once you separate them that's it really, just do it in one go then best not to try to reintroduce them for play or anything like that, it won't hurt to have the cages close to each other but they will adjust to being alone & be quite happy, they don't actually need the company of another ham lovely though it is to see when they do sleep together!

As for cages as long as both have adequate space & everything they need in there just go with what you have.

The small one will most likely thrive alone, I wouldn't do anything extra with food unless she fails to gain weight, it should be a slow but steady gain once she has the chance to eat what she wants.

It's very easy to get seduced by a bunch of cute babies, luckily I rarely get to see baby hams but if I did I'm sure I'd be won over just as easily lol! Keeping pairs isn't easy & there's a lot of misleading info out there so I think you've been doing a great job with yours

spock74 · 03-28-2016, 10:44 PM

Thank you so much for all of your advice! Would they be better off with a higher quality regular hamster blend than the Vitakraft? I am currently feeding them a mixture of the Supreme Hazel Hamster and another one that I don't remember anything about except that the numbers are decent and it doesn't have any added sugar. I have them mixed together in a sealed container but I got rid of the bag. I do remember that the bag was mostly green.

I was also wondering if I should cut back on how much I'm feeding the big one, since at this point she is downright fat. She is having trouble squeezing through toilet paper tubes at this point.

cypher · 03-28-2016, 10:57 PM

If they eat the mix you currently have & the numbers are ok then maybe stick with that, at least for now as they are going to be going through enough of a change with the separation so perhaps not the right time to change diet as well.

You could cut back the greedy ones food a little, maybe once she's living alone & not feeling so competitive she'll regulate her own food intake better, I wouldn't cut back too much though.
Better to encourage plenty of exercise, a good size wheel, scatter feeding can help as they have to work for there food, keeps them busy & fit & they enjoy it too!

Nancy's Hamsters · 03-28-2016, 11:18 PM

This is a crazy question but how long have you had these two girls? IF it is less then 21 days is it at all possible the bigger one is pregnant, and the small one a male? Sexing super young Dwarf hamsters is not easy at 5 -6 weeks old. Are you absolutely positive you have two females?

A mating pair will tussle and bicker a bit and a pregnant female can get VERY bossy and bullying when close to her due date.