fighting or play fighting helpp

[sarahlousieshay]

Hi i have 3 chinese hamsters nd im confused iv been told that males dnt tend to get on but my 3 seem to be fine during the day cuddke up all togever but at night they seem to fight but dont know if they are play figh5ing or if its time to seperate them they seem to jump on each other nd scream very loud but no signs of bite marks or missing fur they tend to once up from bing jumped on just run away them run bc to the same hamster hu jumped them atm i check all of them every morning nd night but they all r free from signs of real fighting any advise welcome thanks

[TraceyH]

If it were me I'd split them up. The chinese i adopted from pets@home was very injured from being attacked by his littermates. He had fur missing and infected bitemarks. He's fine now though.

[racinghamster]

Hi Sarah. From what I have learned, chinese hamsters are kept on their own these days and are seen much like the solitary syrian hamster is. They don`t tend to co-habit well and the squeaking and behaviour you are hearing and seeing could be the start of something, especially if you have a trio. A pair are hard enough to keep settled never mind a trio!

There are some rules to keeping dwarf hamsters in pairs/trios in general and you would need to say what cage they are kept in, what size the cage is and are there any levels in the cage?...

I wouldn`t leave them unattended for long periods because fights can happen at the drop of a hat and chinese hamsters can be particularly nasty to one another and the last thing you want is a badly injured hamster. If they are squabbling more often than not, it might be a good idea to seperate them into singles and make sure they all have decent space and enrichment. This is something anyone prepared to keep more than one dwarf hamster needs to be prepared for. But keeping more than one can be a stressful time for the owner aswell as the hamsters if all is not well.

[kyrilliondaemon]

Yeah, a lot of it depends on the cage (and contents) but you do need to be careful.

Hamsters being fine during the day doesn't mean much, they're not diurnal so aren't really active in the day. Basically - in the day they'd be too sleepy to bother fighting.

I'd keep a very close eye for now. Do they ever squeak at all? That can tell you a lot about the situation - we've never kept chinese together but we've learnt from experience with hybrid pairs and groups that hamsters have many different squeaks. There are some squeaks for squabbles which need to be watched but don't need separation, and different squeaks for fights - which do need major changes or separation when blood is drawn. There're also squeaks that mean other things, but those are the two relevant types here.

[sarahlousieshay]

They r in a 3 or 4 ft tank with no levels they have loads of houses but only sleep in two houses tht r identicul the noise they make is very loud but shortish sqeeks but more than one sqeek in one swabble they seem to hve good nd bad nights wen i first got them i was told they did it but they was in a small cage so though it was the cage so got the tank nd they stoped all togever but have started up again but seems to have come back worse on some nights it more than once others its onensqabble or none but i have seen then eat nd play in wheel togever with no fighting or troubble at all

[sarahlousieshay]

Also i cheek them every morning and night nd no cuts or missing fur

[kyrilliondaemon]

Can you post a pic of the cage? Things like number of wheels will affect things too

I'm afraid describing the squeaks doesn't help, it'll be down to you to learn what each squeak means. Firstly descriptions are deceptive, and secondly not many here will have experience of chinese pairs/groups so most of us can only really identify squeaks in other species (e.g I know hybrid ones well).

[racinghamster]

If they have many houses, make sure they and any other accessories are open ended as a hamster being bullied or chased could e cornered inside. I would recommend that their tank is also kept in the room you sleep in because any trouble will usually (but not always) happen during the night. And check on them numerous times during tha day also.

Giving them a large pile of paper based bedding to nest in would be better than allowing them to sleep in seperate places, although they may still choose to do so anyway.

Chinese hamsters will look very similar due to their coat colour, unless you have dominant spot and natural coat colours living together? Try to identify who is who in the group, when the noises happen the most and who seems to be the one causing the issues. Males in general are said to co-habit better than females, but males can and do fall out and most people don`t ke chinese in pairs or groups these days because they are just too volatile and most end up injured or seperated before any real damage can be done sadly.

Hopefully your three don`t get to that stage, but please, please do watch them for any signs of this because it can just happen without any warning signs.

[sarahlousieshay]

All the houses have two or more exits for them the tank is right next to my bed I sleep faceing them nd there near my head so need b I cn get it quickly nd any sqEekin wakes me up just watched two nd one was just sittin there and the other came over to the house nd went to get in but then closed its eyes nd raised its paws nd squeeked at the other one but nether one touched one enougher ? I'll get a pic of there house in the morning as too dark for phone to take a pic

[racinghamster]

That`s good that you can see and hear them during the night. The raising of the front paws and vocals are him saying I surrender! Dwarf hamsters mainly do this pawing and boxing, but chinese hamsters are a little different from Russian dwarfs. So their body laungauge could mean anything from submission to aggression.

[sarahlousieshay]

Just to let yu all know I have desided to seperate all of them into diffrent cages will the cages be alright next to each other ?

[Ellie]

The cages will be fine next to each other.

I do think you've made the right decision as it could turn nasty at any point.

Some people do keep them together, but I am a born-worrier and would constantly be over-analysing every situation! :D

[shiny]

I'm sure they will be ok next to each other, our Chinese is next to one of our Syrians & they don't pay each other the tiniest bit of attention at all.

See how it goes, they won't be able to get to each other at least but if one is seeming stressed by the others, you could try keeping him on the end of the row maybe.

Our Chinese Monty lives by himself & is perfectly happy so I'm sure your boys will be ok & at least then you won't have to worry about them potentially hurting each other. Have you got enough space for 3 cages? They will take up loads of room...
Best wishes to you & your hammies.

[racinghamster]

Yes, they will be fine next to each other, but if they are in barred cages, make sure they are not TOO close! A couple of inches apart would be better than an inch for example. It just prevents any grabbing or them feeling stressed by smelling the next door neghbours!

You have done the right thing because 99.9% of the time, chinese hamsters start to act like this and although some get along for a while, they can just turn nasty when you least expect it to happen. I`ve had this happen with two male roborovskis and a foursome of male gerbils.

Choosing to take on more than one hamster can be a persnal choice, or one that you are encouraged to do by the shop selling you the hamsters. Ths is wrong information and it happens all too often. It`s high time this particular `large` pet chain realised this and stopped the practice altogether to prevent these incidents from happening and placing stress on the owners aswell as the poor hamsters.

Enjoy your boys as individual characters because they will be much happier now, digging around and making their own nests. :)

Let us know how they are and how you are coping.

[sarahlousieshay]

The white one was straigt away happier the two brown ones seem to be happier to but not as much as the white one :) glad i seperated them as there fightin wasnt gettng any better happy hammys nd happy mummy she can sleep without worrieing now lol thank you for all your help