Hello from Portugal

[Diana_S]

Hi! :D

My name is Diana, I'm 22 and I'm from Algarve, Portugal!

The reason I'm here, is because I have 2 chinese hamsters: a female and a male! I never had hamsters, but I'm loving it! They are young, and for now, they are together, but I don't know if I should separate them or not, what do you think? I read that they should be in pairs or small groups... but in other sites I also read that they should be one for cage, like a syrian hamster!

It will not be easy to me read everything you have here, because my english bad, and for the same reason, I hope you forgive me for any mistakes on my posts. :oops:

[haziebabie]

Hello Diana,

Welcome to the board.

You should definitely split up them straight away, else you may have inbred babies, fights to the death and/or all sorts of complications. As soon as they are old enough to be away from Mum they should be split up. Some hamsters can live in groups or pairs of the same sex but they are also fine on their own.

How old are there? Are they brother and sister? Where are they from?

[selkie]

hi diana!!!

im sure ure english is better than my portuguese! :mrgreen:

haziebabie is right u should split them. in chinese male and female pairings tend to have least problems except u end up with babies. dont have babies unless u want top breed and know a bit more about them

[Diana_S]

haziebabie and selkie, thank you for your answers! :D :D :D

I don't know their ages, only that they are young (it was told me in the pet shop)! And I only know that there were babies from 3 different litters... You are right, there is a possibility for inbred babies with them together.

In first place, I thought bring only one chinese hamster. But there are rare, and in a portuguese community where I'm studding a little more about hamsters, there aren't anyone who have a pair of them... Some people said to me that I should bring a couple... and I was already reading about breeding (but I don't know much yet)... so I should try breeding! And there are Dominant Spot, so it seems to have a possibility for have BEW! Other people said that chinese hamsters shouldn't be together, like syrians. But is not true, is it?

Well, but I came here, because I saw that you know chinese hamsters, and you can advice me better! It is very risky for my 2 hamsters to try breeding? I prefer don't have any babies and have my 2 hamsters good and safe!!!! But if the problems are only with the babies... I don't know if I want to try anyway... what are the risks?

Here are my babies:

http://img33.picoodle.com/img/img33/3/1/23/f_P1210032m_a150c98.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/3/1/23/f_P1210032m_a150c98.jpg&srv=img33)

And they have space!!! I haven't done yet, I have to do a topper to the aquarium, and then I will put some tubes for a cage that will link to the eggs! :D Was I clear? :oops: Here is a photo with the cage now:

http://img26.picoodle.com/img/img26/3/1/23/f_P1220020m_0ea09ff.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/3/1/23/f_P1220020m_0ea09ff.jpg&srv=img26)

[haziebabie]

Firstly I have never kept Chinese hamsters so I can only advise what I would do. I understand there are few Chinese hamsters in your area but why do you want to start breeding animals you don't know anything about? I think you need to do a lot more studying before you can make that decision. Also the tank you have looks very small, and I know you are planning to connect the others but babies are not going to manage in those connecting tubes.

I have tried looking for some information regarding breeding the Chinese hamsters for you. I found the following which may answer some of your more basic questions.
http://www.petplanet.co.uk/small_breed_ ... sp?sbid=15 (http://www.petplanet.co.uk/small_breed_profile.asp?sbid=15) At leats to give you some basic information on the animals you are keeping at least.

Good luck.

[suga]

welcome to the forum - don't worry about your english - its fine and I'm sure we will all manage to understand you and what you are saying. enjoy

[Diana_S]

understood!!!! I will split them!

Thank you all!!! :D

[souffle]

Hello Diana and welcome.
You have been giver some good advice. I will ask someone who is very experienced with Chinese to help you with your questions. He does not come on the forum much.

[Foreverhamsters]

Hi Diana,

Thanks for you PM souf

if the chinese arent fighting then dont seperate them, when i keep mine in pairs i tend to only seperate if i can see they are getting really aggressive with each other or they draw blood. if they do draw blood then definitely remove with out second thoughts.

i think what most people try to get across by saying chinese hamsters should be kept seperately is the fact that they often do fall out and therefor if someone looks to buy them as pets then they should rather by them singularly or be prepared to seperate them into single cages!

Do you think you will be able to post some more pics of your possible BEW?

for the time being if your hamsters are not fighting there is no need to seperate them, it would be a good idea for you to get another cage just in case they do fight.

EDIT: just read your thread in the chinese hamster section, if you dont want them to breed then i would advise you seperate them. if you can definitely provide enough cages and care for any pups and you are ready to take on that commitment then keep them together and go for it! i would advise doing a bit of research about caring for pups you might find this article interesting and useful. http://www.napak.com/chinese_hamster.html


if you have any more questions please just ask!

your english is much better than my portuguese!

Alex :D

[Diana_S]

Thank you, Foreverhamsters! :D

I understood the basic :oops: , that I can have them together (I'm very happy to know that, they are so cute together, I love to watch them) and because I didn't have time yesterday, they were together and after I read your post, I'll try to have them that way! :D

I have a dictionary here, next to me :oops: to try to understand all the information in this forum, but... it only works on separate words! :P

i think what most people try to get across by saying chinese hamsters should be kept seperately is the fact that they often do fall out and therefor if someone looks to buy them as pets then they should rather by them singularly or be prepared to seperate them into single cages!

I didn't understood this! :oops: Could you explain again, please? I buy them to became my pets, but also to try breeding!

And yes, I have more then one cage! :wink: There were not to separate them in first place, it was to put the future babies... :P I don't have experience in breeding, it's true, but I'm reading about that and I have many people who are expert in that, but not with chinese hamsters! There is some differences?

If there isn't any problem to show, this is my list of websites about chinese hamsters until now:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Gerbils-Hams ... ters-1.htm (http://en.allexperts.com/q/Gerbils-Hamsters-2005/chinese-hamsters-1.htm)
http://foreignadoption.brighterplanet.o ... used-alone (http://foreignadoption.brighterplanet.org/chinese-adoption/can-chinese-hamsters-be-housed-alone)
http://groups.msn.com/Hamsterhouse-/chinesehamster.msnw
http://www.afunk.com/mammals/hamster/
http://www.ask-the-vet.com/hamster-care.htm
http://www.bluecross.org.uk/web/site/Pa ... amster.asp (http://www.bluecross.org.uk/web/site/Pawprint/AllAboutPets/Caring_for_your_hamster.asp)
http://www.freewebs.com/worldofhamsters ... breeds.htm (http://www.freewebs.com/worldofhamsters/hamsterbreeds.htm)
http://www.pallypets.co.uk/page2.htm
http://www.hamsters-uk.org/index2.php?o ... df=1&id=32 (http://www.hamsters-uk.org/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=32)
http://www.pethealthinfo.org.uk/hamster ... mster.html (http://www.pethealthinfo.org.uk/hamsters/caringforahamster.html)
http://www.twilightshadows.net/dotnetha ... oosing.htm (http://www.twilightshadows.net/dotnethamsters/content/choosing.htm)
http://www.petplanet.co.uk/petplanet/br ... hinese.htm (http://www.petplanet.co.uk/petplanet/breeds/Hamster_-_Chinese.htm)
http://www.harry-hamster.co.uk/chinese-hamsters.html
http://www.napak.com/chinese_hamster.html
http://www.hamster-club.com/article.asp?ID=65
http://www.hamsters-uk.org/content/view/32/46/
http://members.shaw.ca/petitepaws/chdwf.html
http://www.hamsterific.com/ChineseHamster.cfm
http://exoticpets.about.com/od/hamsters ... sehams.htm (http://exoticpets.about.com/od/hamsters/p/chinesehams.htm)
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Chinese_hamster
http://www.clickpets.co.uk/hamster_bree ... s/chinese/ (http://www.clickpets.co.uk/hamster_breed_guides/chinese/)
http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/chin ... havior.htm (http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/chinese_hamsters_behavior.htm)
http://petwebsite.com/hamsters/breeding ... msters.htm (http://petwebsite.com/hamsters/breeding_chinese_hamsters.htm)
http://www.petsandproperty.co.uk/booklets/smpet05.pdf
http://www.repsnpets.co.uk/hamstercare.html
http://www.logsdail.com/info/chinapam.html
http://www.zannie.dk/hamster/dwarf.htm
http://www.saferpets.co.uk/CaringForHamsterGerbil.html
http://www.smallanimaladvice.com/hamsters.php

Thank you for your help! :D

[selkie]

i think what most people try to get across by saying chinese hamsters should be kept seperately is the fact that they often do fall out and therefor if someone looks to buy them as pets then they should rather by them singularly or be prepared to seperate them into single cages!

this means people keep chinese apart because they usually fight so either they buy just one hamster or buy 2 or more and split them up :)

[Diana_S]

this means people keep chinese apart because they usually fight so either they buy just one hamster or buy 2 or more and split them up :)

Ok, understood! I'll be alert!! :D

I forgot to show you more photos of my babies:

First day at home! I put them in the aquarium:
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/6571/aquarium02nu0.th.jpg (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=aquarium02nu0.jpg) http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/9306/aquarium03nl9.th.jpg (http://img519.imageshack.us/my.php?image=aquarium03nl9.jpg) http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/1360/aquarium04pm7.th.jpg (http://img99.imageshack.us/my.php?image=aquarium04pm7.jpg) http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/6002/aquarium05kz8.th.jpg (http://img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=aquarium05kz8.jpg)

In Habitrail OVO
http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/6149/egg01vx4.th.jpg (http://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=egg01vx4.jpg) http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/2222/egg02ef1.th.jpg (http://img50.imageshack.us/my.php?image=egg02ef1.jpg) http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9099/egg03xz8.th.jpg (http://img204.imageshack.us/my.php?image=egg03xz8.jpg) http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/435/egg04jf2.th.jpg (http://img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=egg04jf2.jpg) http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/1273/egg05mk3.th.jpg (http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?image=egg05mk3.jpg) http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/1801/egg06bz1.th.jpg (http://img118.imageshack.us/my.php?image=egg06bz1.jpg)

In the playcenter (I don't know how to do the floor, do you have any suggestions?)
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/2359/pc01xe4.th.jpg (http://img178.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc01xe4.jpg) http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/4167/pc02pq0.th.jpg (http://img178.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc02pq0.jpg) http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/6130/pc04ey0.th.jpg (http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc04ey0.jpg) http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/4536/pc05wv5.th.jpg (http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc05wv5.jpg) http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/2378/pc06uv8.th.jpg (http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc06uv8.jpg) http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9153/pc03st2.th.jpg (http://img204.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc03st2.jpg) http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/3453/pc07vc0.th.jpg (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc07vc0.jpg) http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/7395/pc08ns1.th.jpg (http://img50.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc08ns1.jpg) http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4240/pc09gz4.th.jpg (http://img204.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc09gz4.jpg) http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/1910/pc10ol3.th.jpg (http://img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc10ol3.jpg) http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/482/pc11ou3.th.jpg (http://img519.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc11ou3.jpg) http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/4479/pc12kp5.th.jpg (http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc12kp5.jpg) http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/7010/pc13sc9.th.jpg (http://img265.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc13sc9.jpg) http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/7590/pc14sl3.th.jpg (http://img99.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc14sl3.jpg) http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/5828/pc15mx0.th.jpg (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc15mx0.jpg) http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/8528/pc16re7.th.jpg (http://img178.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc16re7.jpg) http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/5303/pc17pu2.th.jpg (http://img204.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc17pu2.jpg) http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/9780/pc18hs6.th.jpg (http://img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc18hs6.jpg) http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/2761/pc19qe1.th.jpg (http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pc19qe1.jpg) http://img26.picoodle.com/img/img26/3/1/25/t_pc20m_a8287c6.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/3/1/25/f_pc20m_a8287c6.jpg&srv=img26)

[Foreverhamsters]

i think what most people try to get across by saying chinese hamsters should be kept seperately is the fact that they often do fall out and therefor if someone looks to buy them as pets then they should rather by them singularly or be prepared to seperate them into single cages!

this means people keep chinese apart because they usually fight so either they buy just one hamster or buy 2 or more and split them up :)

what i meant by this was, that chinese hamsters do sometimes fight, and that if you buy 2 you should be ready to split them up. you dont HAVE to split them up straight away, just keep an eye out.

if you have any questions about breeding please feel free to email or private message me, although you have quite a large collection of website links there LOL

[selkie]

they are very cute :D