Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Central Forum Topics > Hamster Chat

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 04-09-2019, 05:15 PM   #1
frodo
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 27
Unhappy Can hamsters be housed in the same room?

Hello,

Recently adopted a 1 year old female dwarf, who currently lives in her own cage in the same room as my 3 month old male dwarf with his own cage. They are approximately 1m apart and cannot see each other

However, I've discovered that my male dwarf is showing signs of stress. He has started to bar climb and be overly active (usually he's very relaxed and quite lazy really). Sometimes he'll just stand near the cage exit and remove food from his cheeks - even when there is no food left! I'm assuming he is very nervous. On top of that he has started to smell like popcorn constantly - which I've heard is from his scent gland. (His pee does not smell usually smell like popcorn - and he does not have diabetes)

I'm wondering if it's because he has discovered that there is a female in the same room as him? There have been NO changes in his cage and his daily routine.

It's really heartbreaking to see him being so stressed.

Last edited by frodo; 04-09-2019 at 05:45 PM.
frodo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-09-2019, 05:41 PM   #2
frodo
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 27
Default Re: Can hamsters be housed in the same room?

I think I fixed the problem. I just threw a blanket with my smell over the female's cage in attempt to reduce any smells from her reaching my male.

1 hour after TOTAL MADNESS my male dwarf is totally fine, relaxed and takes treats again. WHAT.

It would be nice if anyone could still clarify my question though
frodo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-10-2019, 12:15 AM   #3
Shannonmcn
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
Shannonmcn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Posts: 3,192
Default Re: Can hamsters be housed in the same room?

Well I think you've worked it out for yourself! Scent is how they would find eachother in the wild to find mates from different territories so if your female ham was in heat (or maybe even if she wasn't) on the other side of the room it makes sense that he would notice.

I recently took in a male syrian and my female has been climbing the walls the past few days, scenting everything, frantic to get out of her cage in the evening. He's not even in the same room as he's still under quarantine!

I know there are plenty of ham keepers here with more experience keeping mixed sexed hams than me who can give advice on how to manage his stress levels but if the blanket trick works I think you've found at least one viable solution.
Shannonmcn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-10-2019, 04:58 PM   #4
frodo
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 27
Default Re: Can hamsters be housed in the same room?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shannonmcn View Post
Well I think you've worked it out for yourself! Scent is how they would find eachother in the wild to find mates from different territories so if your female ham was in heat (or maybe even if she wasn't) on the other side of the room it makes sense that he would notice.

I recently took in a male syrian and my female has been climbing the walls the past few days, scenting everything, frantic to get out of her cage in the evening. He's not even in the same room as he's still under quarantine!

I know there are plenty of ham keepers here with more experience keeping mixed sexed hams than me who can give advice on how to manage his stress levels but if the blanket trick works I think you've found at least one viable solution.
Oh my, sounds just like how my experience was the couple of days with my male dwarf. I guess I'm just very surprised over how good their sense of smell is! Have you experienced that your female Syrian hamster has become more affectionate towards to you too? My dwarf isn't much of a cuddler, but he has been cleaning my hands whenever he cleans himself too.

I have another question though. I've noticed my new dwarf has a wet nose. I discovered it when she gave me a little kiss on the nose. I'm wondering if it is because of her water bowl, which has caused her catching a cold. I don't have any experience with treating colds in hamsters, but I've provided a bunch of toilet paper in her cage. Are colds in hamsters something that should be treated at an exotic vet? Or is it just like human colds - something their immune system has to fight on their own?
frodo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2019, 12:08 AM   #5
Shannonmcn
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
Shannonmcn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Posts: 3,192
Default Re: Can hamsters be housed in the same room?

Oh yeah, smell is their primary sense since their eyes aren't that great. Their territories in the wild could cover miles so they would use scent trails to find eachother. Having a lady across a room is going to be right up in your little man's face lol

My girl is not affectionate in the first place but she's even less interested in me now there's a boy about haha I have to break it to her she's never going to actually meet him. What a lucky side effect for you that it's made him more cuddly!

I would post another thread about a possible cold or do a quick search for other threads. I don't think a water dish would cause that (they don't have water bottles in the wild!) but they can catch colds. Unfortunately I am not the person to advise on treatment!
Shannonmcn is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
cage, dwarf, room, male, food, female, discovered, cheeks, exit, hell, stand, remove, nervous, heartbreaking, routine, daily, stressed, lazy, assuming, left, wondering, hamsters, climb, month, approximately

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 10:53 PM.