have you ever?

ilovemyhammies · 05-21-2008, 11:11 PM

have you ever had 2 syrains live together?
when i mated honey up to benny, i was told to put them together for 1/2hour only as after that they would of fought.
well they lived together for 2 days in benny,s cage, no fighting what so ever and maybe would of stayed longer together quite happy.
has anyone tried keeping mum and daughters together over 6 weeks from birth?

**Spuds Mum** · 05-22-2008, 12:00 AM

I've never even considered this one, although I have had Mums that Ive had to take from the litter at over 4 weeks as they were still happily feeding them.

Butterbean is going to have to be separated from her litter today as she has just started showing frustration at the pups, at 3 1/2 weeks, and this seems to be much more the experience Ive normally had. Because of this I would not even consider keeping Mum with daughters - if they did turn nasty then they could easily kill the pups in an instant.

Even keeping two littermates together is likely to be only successful until they are nearing maturity. Mine already have little scuffles, which tend to get more serious over the course of the weeks.

If you put a mating pair together, you take the risk that one will turn on another (usually the female). Even if they seem to be happy together for some time, and I'm surprised that they lasted for two days together, there are other concerns I would have.

If the female did suddenly turn, in a cage the male would have no chance of escaping. Also, if by any chance they did stay together, obviously animal instincts would kick in and if they are not fighting they could very well be mating for the whole of each females season.

Just my view but that would be risky due to increased risk of litters, and womb infections etc. for the females.

I just wouldnt want to risk it at all. I think you were lucky!

Holly · 05-22-2008, 12:07 AM

I would never even consider it either.

Yes, there are documented/anecdotal incidences of adult Syrians living together "peacefully" (probably with a few chunks missing though, poor things).....there are also many instances of these "cagemates" turning on each other suddenly and one killing and eating the other. This might be soon - or it might be months down the line.

Unpalatable as it is, much of what we know about Syrian hamster habits comes from laboratories where they were studied extensively when they were first kept in captivity. From this it has been concluded that Syrians are solitary in the wild and most especially in captivity where they are confined to a cage with no way to get away from each other. I should imagine many had to die at the hands of a cagemate to establish this fact.

I've already had to split my boys at not yet 7 weeks - they suddenly started fighting and the fights quickly became nasty so I separated. They can injure and kill each other very quickly and it's just not worth stressing them out trying to make thembe something they most definitely are not..

Bunsey · 05-22-2008, 12:09 AM

i wouldn't even try it. it would be too irrespinsible. i'd separate at 8, or 10 weeks at most, even if they weren't fighting. prevension is better than dead ham!

BVMARK · 05-22-2008, 01:19 AM

We managed this only once. We had a three legged little black boy who lived with his brother (another black) for 4.5 months. The only reason we split them up was that my parents had lost their hamster and wanted another so they had the four legged variety and we kept stumpy.
All the time they were together they would sleep together, eat together and play together. This was before we had the outdoor hamstery and the dinning room was full of little critters which meant we could hear anything that was going on.
Both hamsters went on to live a long and health life, reaching over 2.5 years before passing on.
I would still be very careful if anybody was thinking of trying this as they would damage each other very quickly with disasterous results.

Basia · 05-22-2008, 04:32 PM

I wouldn't dare try it. I always take the mums away before she has a chance to get tired of the babies. As soon as she has no milk she comes out.
I had my satin female and Bunsey's Ruby together after the rest of the litter had gone to their new homes and they appeared to be quite happy, then one evening they just started fighting and the fur was really flying. It happened in an instant with no warning scuffles beforehand.
When I mate my males and females, the minute she starts to get restless I hoik my males out.

Matty Day · 05-22-2008, 11:30 PM

with syrians mum and pups id leave them togther until four weeks then mum comes out whatever if she gets annoyed with them earlier she comes out then.

mating if the female is on season ill leave em togther
under my close and personal supervisoin armed with gloves etc for all night if needs be. and wont seperate unless they fight. of course when matings finshed ill split.

pups intresting one i would split if they fight and absolutly by twelve weeks however ther behaving towards there cage mates

ilovemyhammies · 05-23-2008, 12:52 AM

[quote="Spud's Mum"]
Just my view but that would be risky due to increased risk of litters, and womb infections etc. for the females.

quote]

omg i would never over mate a hammie and would leave generous time in between matings.
i was just intridged with anyone that had any experience with 2 syrians living together HAPPY.

**Spuds Mum** · 05-23-2008, 01:22 AM

Oh ILMH - Im sure you wouldnt - I was actually thinking about a story on another forum of someone who left a pair of syrian hamsters together and the girl died after about 4 months, apparently with blood etc. pouring from her back end - obviously an infection of some sort. It was so upsetting to hear about, and so obviously preventable. This person didnt seem to have a clue why it wasn't a good idea to keep her hams together 'for company'

Spacemonkey · 05-23-2008, 04:13 AM

I must have had quite an unusual experience with one female and her daughter, they lived together happily until baby was about 12/13 weeks. I removed her to her own cage because I was concerned the harmony wouldn't last and mother was so distraught she squeaked the house down for 2 nights. Only time I have tried it, she was an exceptionally devoted mother and was still trying to pack baby back in the igloo when she was almost as big as her