Chinese Dwarf Hamsters

[mattwebber1992]

Hi everyone, how many chinese dwarf hamsters can live together safely without them fighting. I dont mean a family, just one sex. And what cage would people advise for keeping them in?

[Tammy22]

Hi Matt,

I dont really know much about Chinese Hamsters at all, and i hope someone comes along soon who has more experience with them, but i am pretty sure that experienced chinese breeders have problems with the males and females staying together long enough to mate! I know that both the males and the females can be very aggressive towards other hamsters, and i think the general rule is for them to be kept alone once they reach adult age and size - unless they are being bred.

If you ae looking for hamsters to keep together in pairs or small groups then you should be looking at Robos or Russian Dwarfs

Tammy x

[souffle]

I have had a look on Forever Hamsters website and he is a very experienced breeder of Chinese. He says that Chinese should be treated in a similar way to Syrian hamsters in that they are basically solitary except for breeding.
Here is a link
http://foreverhamsters.webs.com/chinesehamstercare.htm

[Bunsey]

i've had 2 female chinese hamsters in the past and they were most definately solitary and exhibited very solitary behaviour, much more like Syrians than dwarfs. Techinically, Chinese aren't dwarfs and i think some pet shops get confused and think they are dwarfs and therefore can live together.

[mattwebber1992]

Oh right cause my girlfriend has 2 males and they are happy together.
How many robos and russian dwarfs can live together?
Also whats the difference between the above hamsters cause i thought they were the same?

[Tammy22]

Hiya,

Robos, Russian Campbells and Russian Winter Whites are all dwarf hamsters, but Chinese hamsters are actually classed as rat like hamsters.

The dwarf species, especially robos can live in pairs and small groups of the same sex - obviously they need to be monitored for squabbles, fights or wounds etc. - and you must always be prepared to split them into single cages required.

Tammy x

[Bunsey]

robos are the very small fast ones (shown in Tammy's avatar). "Russian dwarf" covers 2 species - winter white and Campbell. Campbells are much better at living together than winter whites, but the problem is that in pet shops you can't buy pure bred campbells or winter whites. They sell hybrids of the 2 species and just call them "russian". Therefore, you don't know if they are greater % campbell or winter white and have no real way to know which behaviour they will exhibit. Personally, i wouldn't touch them with a barge poll as i am strongly against supporting the breeding of these hybrids (they also have many health issues).

[KitKat]

Originally Posted by mattwebber1992

Hi everyone, how many chinese dwarf hamsters can live together safely without them fighting. I dont mean a family, just one sex. And what cage would people advise for keeping them in?

hi. i am getting some chinese hamsters therefore know alot about them. you can keep them in pairs or groups up to 4. females are better because males always fight. so you CAN keep them in groups because they need other chinese hamsters to help them clean and wash, therefore not just for breeding. thankyou for reading my information and i hope you have learned something

[racinghamster]

From my own limited knowledge, I would tend to agree with the people who have said that the female of this species are solitary. I say this because most of the literature I have read on chinese hamsters will say this and they are the more dominant of the genders. Two males will probably live together for a while, but they too usually end up fighting. Chinese hamsters can inflict terrible injuries on one another, which is why keeping more than one needs constant monitoring for signs of bullying.

Pets At Home only sell chinese hamsters in singles for this reason, so unless you are a breeder, or someone who is prepared to seperate two chinese hamsters at any time, I would always stick to keeping one. There will be exceptions to these rules because you do hear of people keeping and breeding chinese hamsters successfully, but they don`t tell you what issues they have had before or after these matings, so if the hamsters hav`nt already been attacked, the chances are they will be at some stage.

[louisbs]

My 2 males were fine until maturity.
Was such a shame, but i saw my now scared to death one get bitten on the leg and not been the same since