Hamster attack with injuries.

[Vonni911]

Hey all, I am not sure if this is in the right place and I apologize in advance if it is not; however, I have a problem. I had the hamsters out to play this afternoon and Simon crawled into the box with my two girls. Him and Precious had a disagreement and Simon bit her on the cheek. Precious has a laceration about a quarter on an inch on her left cheek. It didn't bleed but it is definitely a cut. It doesn't appear to be large enough for a stitch and she isn't crying or acting like she is injured; I just observed the laceration because her pouches were full and it was pretty prominent.
I am wondering if I should do anything about it. I am a medic; so I know how to deal with people injuries and animal injuries behave in about the same manner. I know I need to watch for signs of infection and stuff like that; I am just wondering if there is anything else that I can do. Like I said, she isn't 'complaining' about it, it is just there.
Please don't fuss about the hamsters being able to get in each other's space, it isn't a common occurrence and I keep them separated when they are out, it was just an accident. I just want to know if anyone has ever had a n issue like this and if there is anything additional that I can do to make sure she doesn't get ill. Thank you all!
Vonni

[DrKMcK]

I think you just need to monitor it and if it looks like it may be getting inflamed or infected, or she does start messing with it...get her to the vet. Hammies can give pretty wicked bites. She might need an antibiotic. I accidentally put a black bear hammy in the same cage with his dad...I was tired and he was identical to his dad..just the wrong cage. Dad ripped open his son's back. That needed a vet asap. Yup. Accidents can happen. Hope Precious is okay.

[Vonni911]

Thank you so much for your quick reply! I have so much anxiety over what happened; I just can't stop kissing and stroking Precious. I feel so bad, I hope I haven't given her a nervous disorder by not being attentive when I had them all out. :-(
I will definitely keep an eye on it to make sure that she doesn't contract an infection. Simon is not very social and she may have frightened him and got the response of a bite. He is not a wicked hammie, just a bit skittish. I am new to Syrian hamsters as I have just received Simon. My two girls are Russian Dwarfs an they tolerate one another but don't really appear to care for Simon that much. Regardless, I would NEVER put them together intentionally. I hope she heals fast and can forgive me for my oversight.

[DrKMcK]

Syrians are solitary guys and unless he's around a lady Syrian, he's not going to be nice to any other hammie. That's who he is. Bad and good don't enter into this. Your little Precious should be okay psychologically, hams have spats, it's in their nature. Just calm down and let Precious rest and see how she does. Beating yourself up helps no one. :-)

[slatted]

I have used diluted pure tea tree oil on open wounds with no ill effects. It does not sting either so if a cotton bud is used it should help keep the wound clean. Ted, my Robo, had a small cut that bled and I used this without him being upset by it so it should be okay for your hammy.

Sorry to hear of the trauma. Accidents happen and all we can do is do what we can with the outcome and not do it again.

Hope all goes well.

[Vonni911]

Great advice, Slatted! I will pick up some Tea Tree oil if it doesn't seem to be healing on it's own. I will be sure to watch them more carefully in the future. I have no idea why he decided to crawl into their box to begin with. I guess he was feeling evil that day!

[kyrilliondaemon]

I have no idea why he decided to crawl into their box to begin with. I guess he was feeling evil that day!

Maybe he recognised the smell from when you introduced him to your dwarf girls before? (I remembered reading about it in this (http://www.hamstercentral.com/community/syrian-hamster/44780-taming-simon.html) thread)

I decided to see how he would interact with my two dwarf girls; Niblet and Precious. They all sniffed one another cautiously and went about their own business for a while. About five minutes into their meeting; him and Niblet had a disagreement bout something, I am not sure what they were fussing about; but it resulted in Simon nipping Niblet on the back. I blew a puff of air into Simon's face and then separated him from the girls. No one was injured and Niblet didn't show any signs of anxiety after the fact.

[Jessie]

Great advice, Slatted! I will pick up some Tea Tree oil if it doesn't seem to be healing on it's own. I will be sure to watch them more carefully in the future. I have no idea why he decided to crawl into their box to begin with. I guess he was feeling evil that day!


Sorry if I'm wrong but it sounds as if your girls are housed together. Syrians are cpmpletely solitary and will fight to the death very quickly. everything may be fine right now but it can change quick. you should really seperate them if they're in the same cage..

[Vonni911]

Sorry if I'm wrong but it sounds as if your girls are housed together. Syrians are cpmpletely solitary and will fight to the death very quickly. everything may be fine right now but it can change quick. you should really seperate them if they're in the same cage..
No, my girls are Russian Dwarf hamsters and they have their own cages. I just put them together from time to time to let them play. As long as they are not in one another's cages, they can tolerate each one another for short periods of time. I don't let Simon interact with them any more after he attacked Precious. I could put them all together, supervised when Simon first came home.

[DrKMcK]

Hello again Vonnie911. You absolutely must not allow your Syrian to interact, or play with, the Russian dwarfs for any length of time. It's instinctive for Simon to go on the attack. It's not his fault, he isn't being "evil", he's just being a Syrian hamster. I'd be extra careful that he cannot get to them. I hope the little dwarf heals soon.

[Vonni911]

Hello again Vonnie911. You absolutely must not allow your Syrian to interact, or play with, the Russian dwarfs for any length of time. It's instinctive for Simon to go on the attack. It's not his fault, he isn't being "evil", he's just being a Syrian hamster. I'd be extra careful that he cannot get to them. I hope the little dwarf heals soon. I will be much more careful in the future about allowing them to be together. Simon just seemed so docile. that despite all of the warnings, I thought they would all get along for short periods of time.
I will ensure that when they are all playing in the boxes, that Simon does not get any opportunity to get at the girls. I definitely don't want anyhammie to get injured.
Precious seems fine. She is not worrying that spot on her cheek and it is certainly not preventing her from pouching anything, as the contents of her food dish is now residing in her cheeks!
Thanks for all of the advice and the concern! I see that I made the perfect selection when I decided to join a hamster forum!

[Jessie]

No, my girls are Russian Dwarf hamsters and they have their own cages. I just put them together from time to time to let them play. As long as they are not in one another's cages, they can tolerate each one another for short periods of time. I don't let Simon interact with them any more after he attacked Precious. I could put them all together, supervised when Simon first came home.

I totally missed that part sorry!

[racinghamster]

You don`t want your hamsters hurt but you were happy to allow a Syrian play with two Russian dwarfs? Is it not common sense that something like this would happen? Please don`t put human emotions where hamsters are concerned. These animals should never meet, full stop. Your two Russians should never meet either. They are housed separately and should stay that way. Only animals who live together should play together. Bites and cuts can kill a small animal if they become infected so unless you have funds to see a vet, this sort of activity should be avoided.

I`m not lecturing, I`m just stating fact. Hope you learned a valuable lesson and that your little Russian dwarf is okay after what happened. I would definitely look at her wound and make sure she is okay.

[Vonni911]

You don`t want your hamsters hurt but you were happy to allow a Syrian play with two Russian dwarfs? Is it not common sense that something like this would happen? Please don`t put human emotions where hamsters are concerned. These animals should never meet, full stop. Your two Russians should never meet either. They are housed separately and should stay that way. Only animals who live together should play together. Bites and cuts can kill a small animal if they become infected so unless you have funds to see a vet, this sort of activity should be avoided.

I`m not lecturing, I`m just stating fact. Hope you learned a valuable lesson and that your little Russian dwarf is okay after what happened. I would definitely look at her wound and make sure she is okay.
Thank you for your 'lesson'. I will be sure to keep this in mind. As new hamster owners, we all make mistakes and errors. When I out the three of them together initially; they didn't fuss or argue at all. They all did a bit of sniffing and them went about their business. The attack occurred when I had them in separate boxes for free range play time. Simon crawled out of his box and into theirs when I was cleaning out the cages. I removed him as soon as I noticed he was in there; but it was a little too late as he and Precious had already had a spat.
I do not put them together now and when they are having playtime, I make sure that I am not doing anything other than watching them. I can clean the cages at a another time.
I am still in the process of learning how to deal with a Syrian. I did not purchase him as he was a last minute 'gift' from a friend. (I took him to tame him and my girlfriend decided she didn't want him back.) I know Dwarfs rather well and that is all I have had up until now; but I am slowly doing research to learn how to get along with Syrians because he has some of behavior.
Like I said initially: new pet owners make mistake and learn from them. It would be foolish of me to try and put them together again after their last encounter. I am not a fool and I am not a sadist; I would never want any harm to come to my hamsters. Your post came off a little harsh and condescending. I am sure you would take offense to something like that if someone had sent it to you. No harm done, I am just stating how I received your message.
In the meantime, Simon stays alone and so do Niblet and Precious. Only the two girls get playtime together as they seem to enjoy one another's company for short periods of time. I just keep a closer eye on all of them if they are out at the same time.

[Vonni911]

By the way, Precious has healed just fine and is still carrying on with her hamster adventures. Thank you all for your support and advice while I was dealing with my very first hamster injury! I hope nothing else like that ever happens again and all of the hammies can stay happy and injury free! :-)

[racinghamster]

I understand that you may not know Syrians and that you may be a new hamster owner, but isn`t that cause enough to be wary in the first place? I don`t think I was being `harsh` at all, I was stating what any person might realise the consequences of. If your Syrian escaped it`s `box` while cleaning out, it may have been wiser to do the cages separately. But at least you now know what can happen when different species and unrelated hamsters mix, whether intentional or un-intentional.

And neat tea tree oil is dangerous so I would avoid that as well. If a hamster ingests it it could upset it`s stomach. Saline (salt water) is a safer solution. I`m pleased that your dwarf hamsters is healing and seems fine now after the ordeal.

[kyrilliondaemon]

Just for the record, I dont think racinghamster was harsh either. I think her post had merit and to be honest its something I've wanted to say since I first saw your post about putting the hams together, but unlike racinghamster I couldn't word it well enough for the forum.

I also feel that you should either introduce the girls completely and let them live together or let them live apart without interaction. There's a real risk they'll either find the playtimes stressful or turn on either other without warning - and then you'll be back with another injured ham.