Is this normal for Russian Dwarf hamsters? (New owner)

[ilovegunsnroses]

Hi there guys, I am new on this site and any help would be very much appreciated!

Me and my bf were bought two Russian Dwarf baby boys a week ago named Deane and Ros (after my old housemates haha). Ros is smaller of the two and is friendlier and inquisitive, where Deane is bigger, more aggressive and bites a lot! We started off putting our hand on the floor of the cage for them to get used to our scent - Ros responded well but Deane just kept on biting us.
Firstly, they sleep A LOT. I mean, they are not active until midnight at the earliest, and the other day not until 3am! They sleep usually around 6/ 7am again and are rarely active during the day. Is this normal behaviour for babies?
Also, we have noticed that they seem to be fighting a little bit? Ros tried to go through the same tunnel Deane was in and Deane tried to bite him. They used to both sleep in the same house, yet today before work I noticed Ros had kicked up a lot of the sawdust by the tunnel on the second floor and was shaking, trying to cover himself in it. I put their other house with fresh bedding by the tunnel and Ros went straight into it and didnt come out. I am worried that they are fighting with each other, or that Deane has become territorial and kicked Ros out? Do they always sleep together or is this a warning sign that something is wrong? :/

Thanks once again for any help, I just want to make sure that my little ones are safe and happy!

[RedSky]

I have 3 dwarf girls, they unfortunately all had to be separated because of fighting. Do you hear them squeak at all? Mine did and one would be on the floor on it's back while the other one would be pushing it around.
I watched them carefully and made sure I did all the things possible to keep them together, such a single level cage, a wheel each, houses dotted around with multiple exits, water bottle each, scattered the food ect. Didn't help us but maybe you will have better luck.
Also if you are worried about them fighting it might be better to just separate them sooner rather than waiting for injuries to happen as they might kill each other. The first one I took out of my trio LOVES being on her own. The other two it doesn't seem to have made much of a difference to, but they are less stressed about having to fight/defend themselves living on their own and were never depressed about it.

[kyrilliondaemon]

I definetly think it looks like signs of trouble, I'd take the steps RedSky has suggested and make sure you have a second cage ready if you can.

[Hekomi]

Dwarfs tend to bite more frequently than Syrians and get more cage aggressive. I'd be more worried about the fighting, as RedSky says. While it's nice to give them a chance to live together, sometimes they are just not suitable to living in a pair. Fighting is not only stressful for you and them, it's also very dangerous.

Even if they're sleeping together, they could still be fighting during the night time. If the behaviour looks that bad, I'd take steps to either eliminate the trouble or set up another cage to move Ros into.

Among the suggestions RedSky gives, I'd also say to not give them treats inside the cage. I have paired dwarfs and once we stopped with treats in the cage they didn't bug each other and treat snatch. I can see you say second level; you may want to rethink your cage for the paired dwarfs. I keep mine in a 40gal breeder which leaves enough room for them to have two of everything and there is plenty of room for them. No levels.

Check them over, especially Ros, for bites, cuts, etc. The instant you notice blood you need to separate them, but it might be worth separating them earlier if they're already fighting. It's normal for them to scrap a bit if they're still young; they're establishing heirarchy in their new place. But these fights should not lead to any injuries or loud squeaks.

While my boys are almost seven months, they don't really sleep together. They will sometimes, but usually Caramel is off sleeping in a tube, and Mocha... well, sleeps wherever he wants. Sometimes they'll cuddle but it's on and off. We have two of everything, no levels, and we scatter feed. Their main hut has two entrances.

As for their awake levels, my boys are awake a lot during the day actually. If you're at work or school you may not notice it, but when I'm home during the day one of them will wake up for some food, then drink a bit, then maybe go for a little run. They're most active in the morning and evening, though Caramel will sometimes be up around 3am. I wouldn't be too worried about their sleeping habits, though do keep in mind they're not as strictly nocturnal as Syrians are.