Odd behavior for a syrian.

Pouches · 10-16-2013, 04:37 AM

As some of ya'll might remember, a few months ago one of my syrian hammies got out of her cage and escaped the house through the dryer vent.
Her and her twin sister had shared a cage since they were born. They never had any issues other than a tiff here and there. They both got out of their bin and I think Mindy had enough of her freedom and she came to me one night while I was in the living room, Mitzi is the one who never came back.
Now here's what's got me so puzzled, ever since Mitzi has not been around Mindy is a different hammie. Mind you Mitzi has been gone for a few months now, and yet Mindy is still not her old self. She doesn't beg for attention when I am in their room, and both her and Mitzi would try to climb up my hands if they were in their cage, she doesn't do that anymore. She still acts like a normal syrian, except it's almost like she is lonely.
I know that "typically" they are solitary, but I had her out last night and she just seemed to mope around so I brought out her other sister Oreo at first and Mindy seemed to perk up, Oreo can be a little aggressive at times so I put her away and got Snickers (their mother) out. Mindy perked up immediately and actually seemed like her old self, at one point her and Snickers actually settled down right next to each other, never did either one of their ears lower or did they make any kind of aggressive gestures towards each other. As soon as I put Snickers away, Mindy seemed to get depressed again.
I very confused and I'd love ya'll opinions on how to help Mindy.

caro317 · 10-16-2013, 11:10 AM

This is heart breaking

I have no experience of siblings in a shared cage and certainly not syrians however it must be quite a flat life suddenly being on her own after being used to having a friend. It sounds like playtime is going to be important for this little one.

Pouches · 10-17-2013, 04:52 AM

I have been thinking about getting her a dwarf cage mate. Now I know that some if ya'll are freaking out right now but I have done this once before and I wouldn't do it haphazardly. I would definitely keep a close eye on them and by all means give the dwarf a few places that only it could fit through in case she gave chase.
Simon was a Campbell's and he was up in age, but he shared a bin with Mocha and they actually got along really well. He even acted like a surrogate to her pups when she'd leave the nest.
Being that Snickers is 2 years old I worry that Mindy is going to get comfortable with Snickers and when she does leave for the bridge, it's going to bring Mindy right back to where she is now. I don't know what else to do? :'(

Stockannette · 10-17-2013, 07:54 AM

I have always read that 1. Adult Syrians should be housed alone and 2. Syrians and dwarfs should NEVER be together. If you think someone is "lonely" maybe you could just put their cages next to each other.

I found this quote from a Mod in another thread. Hope: PLEASE, PLEASE keep these two hamsters separate. They are from different parts of the world and would never come into contact with each other in the wild. They WILL kill or seriously injure each other. Syrian hamsters are solitary animals and MUST live alone.

Pouches · 10-17-2013, 09:27 AM

That's the general rule, but there have been exceptions, I've seen a few occasions where 2 syrians shared a cage for practically their whole lives and never had an issue, and as I said before Simon and Mocha shared a cage and never had a problem so yes, while it is generally accepted that syrians are solitary I have seen times that the rule doesn't apply.
I know it doesn't make sense and it might be hard for some people to understand, however I know my hamsters well, and in general I think I have a pretty good understanding of hamsters behavior in general. I'm not advocating that anyone put multiple syrians together, in fact I would highly advise against it. However when it comes to Mindy, she not typical. A solitary creature doesn't want nor need interaction from another creature, let alone something or someone who could be perceived as a predator. Yet, when Mindy is in her cage she walks around with her ears pinned down and just looks sad (not frowny sad) but just looks like she's not alive. When she has her playtime if she is by herself, say wandering around on my bed it's the same case. However when I bring her sister or mother out with her, she perks up and becomes a different hamster.
She was caged with Mitzi since they were born, and I keep saying it but she really is a different hamster since Mitzi has been gone. When she is with Snickers or Oreo she becomes her old self, I don't know how else to remedy the situation. I don't want to her to just waste away, which is what it feels and seems like to me.
As for when I had Mocha and Simon together, I never needed to have a "safe" area for Simon. They all got along like it was natural, I never caught them fighting, never found any sores or signs of injury on either of them.
So again, as with most things today there are asterisks and exceptions to every rule. If there was another way to help Mindy not feel so alone and help her be the hamster she used to be, I'd be up for it. But even with their cages less than a foot apart it doesn't make a difference. I can't have her out as much as I'd like to between work and everything else going on, so she gets an hour a day right now, and I don't think it's helping her.

**DrKMcK** · 10-17-2013, 09:18 PM

I wouldn't put a dwarf with a syrian ever. I think you are ascribing human feelings to a hamster. In your post you stated..."I'd love ya'll opinions on how to help Mindy." No one is advocating putting another hammy with Mindy. This could be a dangerous thing to do to the dwarf and the dwarf would pay the price. If you don't have more than enough time than an hour a day for her, how can you monitor her with another hammy? Believe me, Mindy will get used to being alone. It's the natural way for her species.

Pouches · 10-18-2013, 06:26 AM

I was just stating that I had caged a Syrian with a dwarf before and things worked out fine. My issue is that Mindy and Mitzi were inseparable and now that Mitzi is gone Mindy is a different hamster. It's not a question of her getting used to being alone it's that she hasn't and Mitzi has been gone for almost 3 months. She's just wasting away

Tam909 · 10-18-2013, 06:39 AM

Can you put the cages beside eachother? this might help or a mirror if its seeing another hamster that helps?

Goodluck! sorry i dont know more x

squishyhammy · 10-18-2013, 07:22 AM

The thing is. Just cos it's worked out fine before doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. They can fight at any time. I've heard stories of 2 Syrians being together for 18 months then suddenly the owner woke up to one hamster b one seriously injured hamster and one dead bleeding hamster form a fights. Having a Syrian together with anothe hamster is a ticking time bomb. I just wouldn't even chance it With any hamster spiciest

Pouches · 10-18-2013, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tam909

Can you put the cages beside eachother? this might help or a mirror if its seeing another hamster that helps?

Goodluck! sorry i dont know more x

Unfortunately it's physical contact that she seeks. Her remaining sister Oreo isn't really aggressive however she can only stand so much of another female. Their mother Snickers used to be very aggressive when she was younger, being that she's two years old she has mellowed considerably. That's why I bring her out with Mindy. As soon as Mindy senses her, her ears perk up and she actively searches for her. Most of the time Snickers will settle down and find a place to sit pretty quickly and Mindy will come right over to her and snuggle up next to her. She follows Snickers like a lost puppy, and it really is the only time he seems like she's comfortable and happy.