Shall I separate my robo hamsters?

DebiT · 08-27-2015, 05:01 PM

Hello! I am looking for some advice on my robo hamsters. I've kept a lot of Syrians before but never any dwarfs. On Tuesday evening (it is now Thursday evening) I got 2 male robos who are approximately 10 weeks old. I have set up a 1.6 metre glass tank for them with 2 of everything; huts, exercise wheels, food bowls, water bottles and plenty of tubes and toys. I'm hoping to avoid them having to fight over anything! After the first night it was obvious that one robo, Boo, seems a lot more confident than his brother Pip who is quite timid. I have noticed that Pip seems to be scared of Boo. He'll run away if he sees him and will certainly not approach him. I haven't seen Boo approach Pip either and haven't seen any fights or scuffles between them but obviously I can't watch them all night! They don't interact with each other at all that I've seen. Anyway, I was wondering whether I should split the tank as Pip is scared for some reason. They've only been in there for a couple of nights and they seem comfortable in the tank already but not with each other! I'd rather not have to separate them if it's not necessary because they've got so much space but I certainly don't want Pip to be frightened of anything. As I write they are both on their own exercise wheel so I really don't know what to do. Any advice would be really appreciated.

virtualkeith · 08-27-2015, 05:40 PM

Hi DebiT,

I don't personally own Robos, but I've bought an 82cm x 50cm cage because I would like to get 2 males as you have. I asked around the forum if I could house them together knowing that I'd have to have 2 of everything for them, and no shelves for different levels. Most of the people here dissuaded me from doing it, telling me that I would probably have to separate them eventually.
You have asked a good question though, because I've read that robos of the same sex who were raised together can be put in pairs. There seems to be differing opinions, except when they actually fight, everyone will tell you to separate them.
I'm sure others on the forum here will be happy to answer your question. There's a wealth of information to be had here.
Good luck!!

Thin Lizzy · 08-27-2015, 07:09 PM

I think you've answered your own question DebiT, I would separate them. Once you've separated them, you can't put them together again.
It's a shame you're having to do this so soon but you'll notice Pip will be less stressed in the coming days.

Piebald · 08-27-2015, 11:35 PM

It doesn't sound very nice for Pip; however, it's early days and if they're not fighting you might want to see if Pip settles more. I know some people will disagree with me, and it's a risk and a judgment call only you can make.

cypher · 08-28-2015, 12:01 AM

It is very early days so it's possible Pip is just taking longer to adjust to a new home & is more nervous by nature so it could well be worth leaving separation for a bit longer if you can stand the stress of being ever watchful in case any bullying or fighting starts!
It's not an easy decision but I do tend to agree with Piebald & think it worth giving them a chance but if you are concerned they could both live quite happily alone even though it will mean them having less space.
I'd watch them as much as you can for a little longer & see how it goes but at the end of the day you have to do what you're most comfortable with & if you are stressed it is possible they could pick up on that which won't help.

DebiT · 08-28-2015, 02:21 AM

Thank you all. I was undecided whether to separate them as I've not seen any interaction between them let alone any fighting. When I first put them in the tank they sat in a hide together and had a wash and a nap but apart from that nothing that I've seen. I've seen Pip sleep in the house that Boo prefers. Would he do this if he were so frightened? If I did separate them they would have about 0.8 X 0.3 metres each which I've read is larger than the recommended for a pair? I would also add a low platform with wide ladder to add space for them x

DebiT · 08-28-2015, 02:40 AM

Sorry I should point out that although I've seen Pip use Boo's preferred house it's while he's on the wheel and not in it!

Gemma_xo · 08-28-2015, 02:42 AM

My personal preference is to separate them. Everyone I've known off these forums with hamsters has always had to separate regardless of them being from the same litter, half for the hamsters sanity and health and half for the owners sanity and peace of mind. In my opinion of they're separated there is no room for fights or issues and that way they know what's theirs and will claim it as their own, there wont be any opportunities for them to fight or intimidate one another, I'd rather know they're alone and have no chance of a falling out then being together and always having the potential of fighting.

Pixie was in a small P@H cage when I got her, now she's in a bin cage and she is insanely territorial with ANY hand that goes into her cage, and she hasn't got any layers in it at all, what's to say one of your hamsters wont try claim the entire cage as their own? Especially when you have one very timid one, you might not even realise the dramas when you're around because the confident one might just wait till no ones around, I've known that to be done before too!

I personally could never house hamsters together because I'd forever worry and probably never sleep, but ultimately the choice is yours, this is just my opinion.

racinghamster · 08-28-2015, 03:36 AM

It`s never easy wondering what to do and although this pair are not physically fighting, one does seem to be exhibiting flight behaviour. Having said that, your tank is big, so they possibly have more than enough room to set up territories, which might happen, or the more confident robo will end up being the dominant force of the pair. That still isn`t a problem, but it could be if the subordinate robo ends up nervous and doesn`t have the same freedom to explore if Mr dominant decides he can`t be near the food dish or the wheel or the water. It`s all about watching their behaviours, which you are already doing. But I`m with Gemma_xo regarding keeping pairs. I just feel they are too volatile in the end unless you get lucky and all they ever do is have a few in house squabbles but tolerate one another.

The good thing is you can split the tank if needed so if you have a plan for that, you can put it into action at any time. The divider has to be solid and fully secured in place though. Maybe look at how you would do that now rather than be faced with an emergency later on. x

cypher · 08-28-2015, 03:41 AM

If there was any aggression or bullying going on I think Pip would probably have been chased out of that house straight away & probably be afraid to go in again!
If you do divide the tank it wouldn't be a bad space for them probably fairly close to the RSPCA recommended minimum & with an added platform for more space perfectly adequate so I wouldn't worry about that if you do end up having to separate them.
It does sound as though they are a bit indifferent to each other really but they have both been through a big change as any ham does when we bring them home so maybe worth a bit more watching & waiting to see how things develop between them.

Gemma we do see a fair few posts from people with pairs that are fighting but bear in mind we mostly get posts when there are problems to solve, there are people on here who keep pairs quite happily but we don't hear much from because they're doing fine.