Play fighting or real fighting?

[Squidge]

Hi,

3 days ago I bought 2 female Russian hamsters from a pet shop. Biscuit seemed really confident in the shop by coming right up to the front when the glass was opened, and Snowflake was quieter but an absolutely stunning color.
When I got them home I put them into my multi layer Rotastak cage which has multiple compartments, 2 food bowls and two homes so that they have their own space.

The first day they slept in the same home, snuggled up together, but since then they have slept in separate homes and this morning I watched biscuit walk into snowflakes home, then squeak and come back out, and then do the same thing again. This evening biscuit tried the same thing, but snowflake came out after here and they balled up together and squeaking, I separated them as I wasn't sure if they were fighting or not, not blood was drawn, but it spooked me, and I thought i would ask for advice.

Is it just early days and they are bickering for dominance? is it teething trouble? Should I separate them now or wait to see if they settle down and start sleeping in the same home again? I would appreciate any advice


I have previously owned a Russian dwarf called Squishy who lived to 2 and a half years, she was the best.

[Fluffagrams]

Hello and welcome to Hamster Central,

It's quite likely that they're fighting over territory within the cage and unfortunately cages with multiple levels or sections such as Rotastak seem to encourage this as both could claim a particular area as their own and then become defensive over it.

Given that blood was drawn, it sounds to me like it was more than just a squabble and I think that the best thing to do in this case is to separate them. You'll need a second cage but this can be made quite cheaply out of a storage bin and some mesh. Given that they're Russians, a 1cm mesh should be fine. There are tutorials in the housing section on how to make these. If it'll take a while to get a second permanent cage, I think it'll still be safer to separate them sooner rather than later and pop one of them in a carrier, a storage box, a small tank (at this point size doesn't matter as much as keeping them from fighting again) anything that will keep them safe and from escaping whilst you sort out a permanent cage.

[Squidge]

Thank you for replying.

There was no blood drawn, just a bit of squeaking (mainly from biscuit) and rolling around.

I have just separated them regardless, thank you again for your response.

[Cinnamon Bear]

Can you get houses that have 2 exits? That would be ideal, then they can easily leave the hidey hut if they are losing this space due to the other hamster.

Squeaking is normal but aggressive chasing around the cage and dominant fighting that is increasing in frequency and dominance, then I'd separate

Better safe than sorry! Use best judgment on the situation!

Edit: oops! Didn't see that you have already posted that you separated them

[flowerfairy]

A good cheap cage is the alaska from zooplus. I have a roborovski in one and it is a brilliant space.

Hope they both settle happily in their new cages. Definitely think yo are right to separate them.

[BluerayDarkes]

Rotastak cages are far too small for any hamster! As mentioned above you can make ideal cages from storage bins such as ones found in IKEA, or if you got space you can do a cage from a IKEA detolf. Its long enough to have glass in the middle to make two cages, or as mentioned there is the Alaska.

Since your two hammies were in the small cage and started to fight, its best now that you got them separated that they stay in their own cages.

[Pebbles82]

Well done for separating them. As the others have said, sorry to say but a rotostak isn't a good environment for a hamster - however many units! They can't have normal behaviours in there - they need at least 3 to 4" depth of substrate and space to dig and forage and bury hoards. It's tricky if you already have a lot of units as they are expensive, but the best solution might be to make a bin cage and attach the rotostaks to that via the tubes - that way they have a suitable "home" cage - the more substrate you put in it the more they can dig their own tunnels. Or you could get something like one of these cages, which is a suitable size (I wouldn't go any smaller) which has tube attachments already on the cage - the tubes may be a slightly different size but you can probably make them fit.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferplast-57011811W2-Completely-Equipped-Dimensions/dp/B00P164I4C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480331023&sr=8-1&keywords=ferplast+criceti+15

Savic Hamster Heaven Metro Cage | Great deals at zooplus! (http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/hutches_cages/hamster_cages/hamster_cages/197362)

Having said that - external tubes aren't popular for hamsters really - they are an escape route (they can come apart) and encourage nesting and peeing in tubes. With one cage with larger floorspace you can have tubes and tunnels as internal floor toys and they still get the benefit of the whole cage, with more space to move around in and forage in, and lots of hidey places and a shelf to sit on :-)

So I would be tempted to forget the rotostaks. Maybe sell them (I believe they are sometimes suitable for mice, but really they're not that suitable for any species of rodent!). I started out with one - 3 weeks later we upgraded our hamster to a cage the size of the hamster heaven and he was much happier (once settled in).

There are cheaper good cages available which don't have tube adapters. I think once you've had them in a standard cage you will think the Rotostak units were awful! The ventilation is bad with them too.

The standard duna multy is a good size for a single dwarf hamster (although some people go much larger than this) It costs about £33 and has good access for cleaning and narrow bar spacing so they can't escape, plus plenty of depth for 4 to 6" of substrate. You actually end up using less substrate (floor bedding) when you have it deeper because you just need to spot clean the soiled areas mainly and the rest stays dry.

Cage Duna Multy (http://www.portonaquapet.co.uk/-M36261?gclid=CjwKEAiAyO_BBRDOgM-K8MGWpmYSJACePQ9CrBwYpxZOTY7-IRqkRp_k5VaRDl6j-Qq8BfxuNdcHXhoCcFXw_wcB)

Two of those would cost about the same as the Ferplast criceti with the tube holes. Or a bin cage made from an Ikea Samla bin (costs about £10) is a popular option if you don't mind a bit of diy.

Here are some examples of dwarf hamster set ups in a duna multy

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=duna+multy&biw=1252&bih=557&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwiGmc7qqMvQAhUFJsAKHVkOCwIQ_AUIBygC

Hammies also need a good sized house or hide that is dark inside, to build a nest in and that is difficult to fit in a rotostak. You can even get labyrinth houses which have separate rooms for nesting, hoarding and weeing (which fit a potty inside).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trixie-6201-Natural-Living-Labyrinth/dp/B000OLZIWU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480331682&sr=8-1&keywords=Trixie+leif+labyrinth+house

Rodipet make good hamster houses with lift off roofs so you can spot clean inside without the nest falling apart.

https://www.rodipet.de/shop/haeuser/rodipet-granit/

Or you can make a good dark house/hide out of a shoe box with a hole cut in for a door and a bendy bridge tunnel over the door.

This cage is also popular and not expensive and a good size for a dwarf hamster and not too high

http://www.littlepetwarehouse.co.uk/products/the-grosvenor-large-rat-and-hamster-cage-with-shelf-grey.html

Depending on how big the dwarf hamster is they usually need a 6.5" to 8" wheel as well so they can run properly.

It's hard if you have a big set up and are attached to it, but it would be better at least if they had a main cage that has continuous floorspace and a good depth of substrate, even if you attach the rotostak to it.

I went through all this with our Rotostak unit wondering if I could add the rotostak cage to it it - but that is still too small (and expensive for what it is). So I just bit the bullet and bought an 80cm by 50cm cage :-)