*WARNING* Hamsters together in a cage

Sunny · 11-23-2011, 05:16 AM

Watching few hammies in a cage seems to look funny unless they fight and bite each other.

I wouldn't like to find my hammie injured one day; that's why I decided to buy only one.

Do you keep your hammies together in a cage? Is it normal for hamsters to bite each other? Have your hammies ever fought/bitten each other?

emma and button · 11-23-2011, 05:22 AM

Syrians (and Chinese hammies i do believe) should be kept alone or else they will fight and can even kill each other, so if you have one of these then that is fine to have a single one.

In pet shops Syrians are normally housed together as babies but when they get older they will fight, no matter what!

Robo hams and Russians can be kept together but they might begin to fight when they get older.

Usually when hamsters start biting each other its not a good sign. I have a pair of robos that are currently going through a rough patch regarding wheels

lol

laurajane · 11-23-2011, 05:24 AM

good on you for getting just one

its only the dwarf species that can live in pairs or groups. Syrians like their own space and should never be kept together as fighting (possibly to the death) is inevitable. x

Luna · 11-23-2011, 06:12 AM

I have six syrian male siblings living together,they are rarely fight. But, this is not the case of females at all.

**kyrilliondaemon** · 11-23-2011, 06:17 AM

Our russians live together and do ok.
We keep a close eye on them but we know they miss each other when separated and while yes, Scruff and Dusty aren't always best friends, they get along well as a group and would be miserable in pairs, forget as single hamsters.
We just make sure we sleep in the same room, have a spare cage handy, and check on them whenever we hear unusual squeaking (including if this is in the middle of the night).
Oh and we make sure we choose cage contents carefully to minimise the risk of fights, as well as making sure we took time to plan a large one level cage (with the size being based on the closest we could get to twice the minimum requirement for pairs)

lisab · 11-23-2011, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luna

I have six syrian male siblings living together,they are rarely fight. But, this is not the case of females at all.

are they babys?

they can live together for a few weeks after leaving mum but they will need to be seperated so that fights dont break out.

Only robos, campbells and winter whites can live together.
In some cases they are better off living alone but normally pairs and groups work quite well.

**newham** · 11-23-2011, 07:52 AM

I have russians and they dont fight, it depends on the hamster but Syrians tend to be a dead certain.

kokolola · 11-23-2011, 08:02 AM

Hi, I'm new to the forum and to having Hamster's we have two in a Fun Area Leon Cage with a six ply board spilting the middle deck Koko is a long haired boy and very tame he was given to us by my daughters friend who turned out to be allergic so couldn't keep him however we already had Lola our shorted haired Syrian both our Hamsters are Syrians, they sniff each other and squeak when in their balls together but we keep them far apart Koko isn't a chewer so we aren't worried about them eating through the ply Lola is alittle annoyed her cage has got smaller but adapted well, when they are older all my friends have suggested two cages and we would get a second Fun Area Leon Cage no doubt about it, it's a great cage my second youngest can look down on the cage from her bunk bed with no problems.

Christmas_hamster · 11-24-2011, 05:23 PM

Syrians are strictly solitary animals, they live alone in the wild only coming together to mate. Once a females litter is old enough she pushes them out into the real world. Even if they aren't fighting (yet) the stress of being together as they mature can also have deadly consequences.

It is debated whether Chinese hamsters can be kept together. Some people have been very careful to make it clear to me that they cannot, yet I have talked with some breeders and Chinese ham owners that say it can be done, if done carefully.

Dwarf hamsters can be kept together however. Providing a suitable set up is key into ensuring that they don't have anything to fight over. Sometimes hamsters don't get along and they need to be separated. It happens, but if you are observant then you can usually intervene before it goes too far. I've had several pairs of dwarfs (RCs and one robo pair) that have gotten long quite well.

emilyweb · 11-24-2011, 11:49 PM

hmmm it is a tricky one this lots of people think differant things, But as said Syrians MUST be kept by themselves.
Chinese.....hmmm well I have one chinese, but I think I prefer it like that, I'd be so worried all the time.
as said, other dwarves can live together, eg: Robos, Winter White.
But you must be prepared for the fact that they might fight at any time.
KoKolola: Welcome to the forum

but if you have something to ask you can just start a new thread rather than using someone elses.
To start a new thread go to the topic it concerns, then look at the left hand side there's a button named 'create a thread' or something