I'm buying a new friend for a hamster my friend gave me, need help pls!

[d4nnysf]

So as I said, I'm buying a new friend for a hamster my friend gave me, now, the problem is that neither of us knows exactly what breed is the hamster he gave me, so I would kindly ask for any of you to help me out, so I won't do any horrible mistakes. Thank You

Photos -> https://imgur.com/a/cVllVku

[Fluffagrams]

Hello and welcome to Hamster Central.

Unfortunately I couldn't get your photos to load so couldn't see what species your hamster is but I would advise against getting another hamster as a companion for the one your friend gave you. Unlike rats and gerbils, hamsters do very well living on their own and in the case of Syrian Hamsters, they must be kept alone.

Although some species of dwarf 'can' live in pairs or groups, it is best that they have grown up with their cage-mate and even then there is no guarantee that they will stay friends for ever. Pairs of dwarfs will need a cage setting up very carefully to avoid anything they're likely to squabble over so cages with levels or compartments are unsuitable and sometimes a cage that is too big can also cause issues, as is a cage that is too small.

[cypher]

From your photos it looks as though you have a Russian, most likely a hybrid.
Sometimes this species can live in pairs but only if they are same sex siblings & have never been apart, even then most fall out & fight when they become mature so they are best kept alone.
You cannot introduce another ham to the one you have, it doesn't need a friend & you would be causing your ham a lot of stress & risking serious injury if you tried.
The only company your ham needs is you, they are territorial so your ham will be more than happy to have it's home all to itself.

[Pixel Hamstery]

Hello! Welcome to the forum.

You have a 'Russian Dwarf' a hybrid of the Campbell's and Winter White species.

Hybrids can cohabitate without issue on occasion, though this is usually best acheived when youngsters. However, their willingness to cohabitate shouldn't be confused with needing a friend. Unlike guinea pigs or sugar gliders, there's little observable detriment to housing them alone. Indeed often cohabitation can lead to stress or even violence. I think the benefit of housing dwarfs together is often for the benefit of the owner, rather than the Hamsters.

We often anthropomorphise or instead observe that in the wild the respective species live in colonies, but in captivity, there's no particular need for this. If you were to want a further hamster, it may be easier and in their interest to have a seperate cage

[Pebbles82]

Hi. Don't get your hammy a friend Unless you plan to keep them in completely separate cages and never let them meet out of the cage. They are likely to fight to the death or one bully the other so it ends up not getting any food and having a lot of stress.

It is only very experienced owners who can sometimes introduce a new dwarf hamster to an existing one - and that is not common. The rule of thumb is that if they have always been together - eg two sisters or two brothers, or a Father/son, Mother/daughter - then they can live together. But even then they often end up fighting and needing separating so you would always need a spare cage then.

Hamsters are naturally territorial and even dwarf hamsters that have lived together happily since birth can fall out when their hormones start to kick in and they're no longer babies.

As the others say, your hamster doesn't need a friend They bond well with a human though. Your hamster will be happy if you do the following:

1) Give them enough space in a cage with lots of substrate to dig in and bury hoards in - at least 4" deep - 6" is ideal or more if you have a tank.
2) Give them plenty of enrichment in the cage - that includes enough substrate but also includes variety - toys, hidey places, a house big enough to build a good sized nest in (especially for winter) that is dark inside, a shelf or platform they can sit under or climb onto for somewhere else to go. House that is open underneath and sat on top of the substrate is best so they can burrow down and bury hoards under their nest.
3) A good hamster mix and a bit of fresh veg daily
4) Out of cage time in a safe area a few times a week.
5) Don't do big cleanouts weekly. Spot cleaning is best and only then change the substrate after 8 weeks or more - replacing some of the old so it still smells familiar.
6) Don't remove their hoard or nest - it's the most important thing to them and best left well alone. If either are pee'd in you may have to remove most of it when spot cleaning, but always replace any hoard with new food in exactly the same place and put new nesting material out so they can rebuild the nest (plain white toilet paper torn into strips is best).

All of those allow the hamster to have normal behaviours so they're happier and don't get stressed. They need a place to retreat that's dark (the house) and tend to bury hoards under their nest in the house and also like to forage for food and nesting materials. So paper nesting material can just be left in a pile in the cage somewhere and the hammy will take it back to the nest and build a nest. Scattering a bit of food as well as putting it in the food bowl goes down well as then they can forage for that.

Also giving them a sand bath or litter tray with sand in in the cage is a good idea - they will often use that as a toilet which helps keep the cage clean - you just scoop out the wet sand or change the sand now and then (needs to be Chinchilla bathing sand).

When setting up the cage with toys etc it's important it isn't too open and exposed from above - some kind of overhead cover helps them feel more secure - hence a shelf or platform is a good idea or things like plastic sputniks that hang from the roof - also larger tunnels on the floor and hidey places like little cardboard boxes (eg tissue box) etc to dive into.

[Oobee35]

From the looks of it you have a russian dwarf, possibly hybrid. From my past experiences, getting a friend for your ham is probably not the best idea. If it’s a Male they will probably not get along. Even if they are brothers and they’ve been with each other from birth, I’ve seen a lot of hams fighting. Females are a bit more easy going. I still would not recommend it. Hamsters are not usually social animals like rats. They aren’t usually kept together unless under specific circumstances. If you are going to get them a friend and they are friendly towards each other I still would not recommend keeping them together, because one day they could just turn on each other and it could result in injury or even death.