Housing for a pair of Campbells?

[Calypso]

Hi,

This is a question for those of you who keep Campbells in pairs.
In the next few days, I will be getting 2 female Campbells. They're rescues and roughly 7 months old.
I have an 80x50 cm cage for now and I'm wondering what to put in it.
I know I need plenty of houses and hideys, but do I really need 2 wheels right away or could they manage with one if it's a 20 cm wooden Karlie wheel? Does each house really need 2 or more exits?
Also, do I need 2 water bottles as well or is that overdoing it?
I'd appreciate it if someone could show me pictures of their pair cages for inspiration.

Thank you.

[racinghamster]

Hi Calypso, I will let other member`s give you tips and info on their set up`s. I just wanted to say that if they are already together (rescues?) it may be best to keep things the same as they are at the moment. Look at the cage they are in. Is it large or small? What accessories do they currently have? Keep their diet much the same but you can always improve it slowly if they are eating sugary food. This can be reduced.

Pairs will probably stress if they are taken out of what they are currently used to, so if you don`t want them stressed or squabbling, look at keeping their environment similar and change things slowly. x

[Calypso]

Thanks for the reply. They aren't mine yet, I didn't rescue them so I can't keep their cage. I'll be keeping them in an 80x50 cage with no levels for now and then gradually progress from there with adding new things, depending on how well they are getting along.

[racinghamster]

I`ve had a Mary rat cage so it`s nice and roomy. Hopefully the extra space won`t be too much of a trigger for them to squabble, but if you just put food, water ( two bottles or a bottle and a dish) and their open nest in their usual space, they should settle again. After a week or so if they are getting along fine, you can add in one accessory at a time, open ended tubes, a couple of wheels perhaps?

[kyrilliondaemon]

Do I really need 2 wheels right away or could they manage with one if it's a 20 cm wooden Karlie wheel? Two wheels right away would definetly be safer

Does each house really need 2 or more exits? Yes. Everything in the cage needs to have two exits - thats to prevent a hamster getting cornered and badly injured in something with only one exit.

Also, do I need 2 water bottles as well or is that overdoing it? They may be ok with one bottle, we tend to use two but thats partially incase one stops working

[Hekomi]

We found two bottles worked better for our dwarfs. If it's any consolation, my boys moved from a too tiny cage to a 40gal aquarium with no squabbles at all. They were very good about it, and are still happy now.

[Debi1987]

I have two dwarfs in this cage, it's a savic mickey 2xl which measures 80cm x 50cm x 39cm.

I am very lucky that my two are totally fine together, have never squabbled and love each other. I have two wheels so there is no fighting over wheels I also have a water bottle and a dish of water and only have one food bowl but I do scatter food too. It's really down to the individual hamsters though, I had two that would fight really badly no matter if they had two of everything or not, one of them was just very territorial where this pair neither of them seem territorial.

[Debi1987]

I always have lots of hidey places too just so they can have alone time if they need it. Sometimes I find my two sleeping together and other times they sleep apart.