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Pebbles82 · 11-09-2019, 05:35 PM

I don't entirely agree with Dessi. If they are living together happily then there is no need to separate them but it they often do need separating at some point as they can fall out and it lead to serious injury or death so the slightest sign of squabbling or fighting and it is best to separate them. This can often start when their hormones kick in when they're a bit older. Having said that only sibling pairs of the same sex should be kept together - you can't introduce unrelated hamsters. Bullying is another issue - one may end up a lot smaller (because the other one is getting all the food) so that needs keeping an eye on too.

In terms of a cage - the Grosvenor would be fine. The Hamster Heaven is a good option if you remove all the tubes and penthouse and shelves. For a pair the cage set up is important and there shouldn't be any shelves or levels (this can cause them to get territorial and start fighting). You also need two of everything - two houses, two wheels, two food bowls and water bottles. Houses need to have more than one entrance so if one blocks the entrance the other can still get out.

They may live together in one house but always need the option of a house each and a wheel each - again to prevent territorial behaviour.

Having said all that, something like a cage move can lead to them falling out - it's stress and a change, so you'd need to keep a careful eye on them after you move them over.

You could just separate them now and them have a cage each - but if you want to try keeping them together then just keep an eye on them when you upgrade the cage.

You would need to be prepared though and have a spare cage in case they need separating quickly. The mini duna would do as a stop gap spare cage but really you'd then need two 70 to 80cm cages.

11-09-2019, 05:35 PM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: best cage for a pair of hybrids I don't entirely agree with Dessi. If they are living together happily then there is no need to separate them but it they often do need separating at some point as they can fall out and it lead to serious injury or death so the slightest sign of squabbling or fighting and it is best to separate them. This can often start when their hormones kick in when they're a bit older. Having said that only sibling pairs of the same sex should be kept together - you can't introduce unrelated hamsters. Bullying is another issue - one may end up a lot smaller (because the other one is getting all the food) so that needs keeping an eye on too. In terms of a cage - the Grosvenor would be fine. The Hamster Heaven is a good option if you remove all the tubes and penthouse and shelves. For a pair the cage set up is important and there shouldn't be any shelves or levels (this can cause them to get territorial and start fighting). You also need two of everything - two houses, two wheels, two food bowls and water bottles. Houses need to have more than one entrance so if one blocks the entrance the other can still get out. They may live together in one house but always need the option of a house each and a wheel each - again to prevent territorial behaviour. Having said all that, something like a cage move can lead to them falling out - it's stress and a change, so you'd need to keep a careful eye on them after you move them over. You could just separate them now and them have a cage each - but if you want to try keeping them together then just keep an eye on them when you upgrade the cage. You would need to be prepared though and have a spare cage in case they need separating quickly. The mini duna would do as a stop gap spare cage but really you'd then need two 70 to 80cm cages.