Robo bully :(

[arikata]

I purchased four robo's a week ago from P@H and they all seemed fine together at first, a couple of fights but I had researched this and put it down to them organising their little hiarachy (as it were). Soon enough, however, Bruce started getting into really bad fights with Jaffa Cake. He fought with Milky and Biscuit but not nearly as bad. It came to the point where they were just running around squealing for quite some time so I took Bruce away and he now lives on his own.
I've tried a couple of times to put them together, but it always ended in tears.
My question is, although Bruce keeps tackling the other robos, would it be possible to at least give him a chance with just one of the others? He doesn't like being handled at all and I feel a bit cruel sticking him on his own. I don't want to take him back to P@H either, I don't trust them and just want the best for him, which I'm sure you will understand!
Please help?

[Bunsey]

yes, i'd put him in a bin cage with the least dominant of the others and see how that goes. 3s, or any odd number, doesn't tend to work out anyway. Also, as i mentioned in the other post, check the sexes cos p@h can't sex robos! i had 14 babies and another member of this forum had babies too.

[arikata]

Thanks for your help! P@H really are useless. I went to get sand 4 my lil hammies and they told me that chinchilla dust is just as good. It wasn't until I got home and checked it on tinternet I found out that it is bad for them.

They like sleeping in the clear hamster tubes on their cage so it shouldn't be too difficult to have a look. I'm sure that they're all male though, they all have a tendency to, well, show each other that they love one another in a physical way :oops: :lol:

[Bunsey]

lol! females can hump as well though. My poppy used to hump Lily all the time! i wouldn't believe she was female til they got to about a year old without a litter! they can have a litter all of a sudden at 4-6 months (mine did).

i also bought chinchilla dust and then found out it was bad. i just through it away cos we don't have an RSPCA round here that does more than dogs/cats.

[arikata]

I've tried to put Bruce with Biscuit and then Milky (individualy, of course) to no avail. I introduced them in the bath which is neutral terratory. Maybe little Brucey is meant to be alone?

Sorry about all the questions, but would it be wise to get another robo to keep make the 3 equal? They seem to get along well although Jaffa likes to sleep away from the other 2. But they have plenty of space to get away from eachother.

It's suprising, I had a neutured male rabbit live on his own for 2 years. I bought him a friend a few weeks ago and was ready for the bonding to take lots of ups and downs, however it was love at first sight. Shame it's not the same for hamsters!

Are you sure Bruce is definitely male??? I had exactly the same problem with two robos I got from P@H (funnily enough, one of them was called Bruce!) who fought with all my other robos (and each other). It turned out that they were both pregnant females (which explained why they were so aggressive)....I only found out when my Bruce have birth to 4 babies!! (and 10 days later, the other one gave birth to 7).

[souffle]

It seems Bruce may be a lady so the rest of this thread has been split down to the breeding section for appropriate input.
Souffle

Yes, try not to worry too much. I have no idea who the fathers of my two litters were (so it may or may not have been incest!). It sounds like Bruce may already have been pregnant when you bought her so it may not be incest either. You never know with robo single teenage mums these days! :wink:

All I can say is that, despite the initial shock and huge amount of worrying I did, my two unexpected litters were a huge source of pleasure for me. Both my mums did really well and I'm very proud of them and their beautiful babies. I kept them all and everyone is doing well (now aged 7 weeks and 5.5 weeks)...in fact all my "homegrown" babies are like little barrels compared to robos I've had from other sources. The rice pudding diet definitely did the trick! Its a marvellous experience seeing the babies develop from little pink blobs to handsome youngsters. Everyone here on HC was a great source of support so I didn't feel like I was going through it alone. I actually quite miss lying in bed at night listening to the chirping of robo babies. :)