Co-housing dwarfs

[Almi]

Oh my goodness! I love all the pictures! Those two are adorables.

I've kept quite a few Campbell's pairs and groups in the past (no mixed sexes). I've had successful introductions, successful pairs, and successful groups, but it was fairly common for the groups and pairs to fall out eventually. In a group, adding just one hamster could upset the dynamic, and with pairs, the hamsters either really had to like each other, or else be able to get away from each other.

I think there are several things to consider when pairing up hamsters: the size of the cage, the cage setup, the sex of the hamsters, the age of the hamsters, and the individual personality of each hamster. In other words, things become much more complicated. I think it's a good idea to keep a close eye on them and be ready for anything, like others have said. I'm interested to see how things go!

[Whisky]

Almi, do you find males or females make more successful pairs? I've heard it both ways. Fortunately I don't plan on introducing any more hamsters!

They had their first squabble (that I've seen) a few nights ago - my fault! I cleaned their tank, leaving a little of the old bedding scattered around. They went in the playpen and shared everything nicely. I then put them both back in the tank, and tossed in their dinner as well. Of course, they weren't done exploring the "new" tank, and Anchovy found the food before Peanut Butter did, and brought some into the window nest to eat while Peanut Butter was still checking things out. Peanut Butter wanted to share, Anchovy said no. It ended up being just a little squawking and a little slapping with the front paws before they seemed to forget what they were doing, and walked away amicably. Lasted no longer than 10 seconds, including sitting up and staring at each other after the slapping. More of a disagreement than a fight. I've kept a close eye on them since, but almost immediately afterward, they made a nest together and have been sleeping in it peaceably.

I sometimes see Peanut Butter grooming Anchovy, but Anchovy never returns the favour. Is that a social thing?

Anyway, they're still doing well. After the squabble I worried I was being selfish and forcing them into an unnatural situation. But I do think there is benefit to them living together, especially when I see them curled up together snugly in the window nest. I haven't seen either of them harassing the other. They seem to live a no more stressful life than Tinker, my single dwarf. I know that if my gut says one is not as happy as he could be, I'll separate them. But I think they like each other and I often see them doing the same things together. I just wish they were more obvious about liking their friends, the way rats are!

They're still in the 24" x 18" space. I'm paranoid about opening it up to the full 36" x 18"... hearing about people housing pairs in Detolfs is encouraging though. And obviously I want them to have as much space as I can provide! Any tips? I'll spread out their old bedding and try to spread out their shared furniture, too, so that neither end seems "up for grabs".

And one final question... Would it be unfair to separate them if they DON'T ever start fighting? Could they ever be attached to each other? I know that Tinker has quite happily lived the single life, and Koosh did as well, but these two have never been apart. I'm just thinking that if Tinker (who is getting on in months)... vacates his tank at some point, these boys could each have a 40 gal to themselves. But if they still don't fight by then, is it necessarily fair to them? Or would they be quite happy, or perhaps not even notice the loss? It's so hard to read these little guys.

[AmityvilleHams]

They'd probably be happy alone regardless It is as mentioned more natural to have a single dwarf than pairs and groups,unless in a breeding situation where genders would be mixed.

If it fails in a Detolf you could always put one hamster in a 40 gallon tank and keep the other in the Detolf,unless you'd want to attempt making some sort of Detolf rack for dwarf hams and then have a Detolf per dwarf.

[Almi]

Yeah, gender didn't seem to matter a whole lot. From what I could see, it mostly depended on the hamster's personality and hormones. All in all, I think I had more female Campbell's get on than males, but it could have been coincidence. I might also add that I had a lot of hamsters at once at the time, so sometimes I'd have a pair or group fall out, but I'd be able to pair them up with someone else. Then there were those hamsters who just preferred to live by themselves.

I think the best thing you can do is observe them as closely as possible, and if you don't feel safe leaving them together, separate them. Keeping animals together is often like keeping people together: they're not always compatible. I think this is especially true for same sex pairs, but it can happen even with male/female pairs. I don't think it would hurt anything to separate them, but you never know. Just do what you think is best.

[Whisky]

Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams

If it fails in a Detolf you could always put one hamster in a 40 gallon tank and keep the other in the Detolf,unless you'd want to attempt making some sort of Detolf rack for dwarf hams and then have a Detolf per dwarf.

I have two 40 gal tanks, one which Tinker is living in and one the boys are in, and my 20 gal high on standby just in case (if I need to separate, I'll upgrade that tank). I'd love a Detolf but the two 40's take up enough space in my room as it is!

I've opened up the tank fully so the boys have the run of it. I'll attach pics. Bottom left corner is where the "window nest" hide is. Turns out it's hard finding hides with multiple entrances... so, aside from the square hay house which does have two doors, I tried to pick hides with wide openings. The exception is the igloo, which only one of them would fit in anyway (they don't use it much though). There's room in the willow tunnel for them to pass side by side.

Of course, with all that extra space, the first thing they did was start eating the new hay hide and then pass out together. Once they woke up again they really liked the driftwood!

[CMB]

Bendy bridges could work for nesting under. They could enter or leave from either side.

Or a hole/archway could be cut in a wood house to make an extra exit/entrance.

[Whisky]

I lied. They can fit in the igloo together. Brats!



But I went to another pet store yesterday with a much better selection of hamster furniture and picked out some nice stuff. Hope they like it when they wake up! (The sea grass thing is one long connected hide, not three small ones!)

[CMB]

Hope the enjoy the new items. The Sea grass tunnel is good with more holes. Haven't seen them like that in the UK.