Ummmm, not sure who's right??!

[Colby and the Dwarfs]

I don't have two pairs. Zelda & Daisy are the only ones who live together. I was thinking to just try Rebel and Phoenix( like said in my last post I believe ), then I risk no pairs, right? Thoughts?

[hamsterhelper]

No, that is worse than pairs. Do not do it, your basically killing your hamsters, they will not get on and they will just fight and become stressed. It's not fair on them.

-HamsterHelper

[ThePipsqueakery]

I don't think I would put Rebel with another hamster based on your description of her behavior. Sometimes pairing adult dwarfs can work, but mostly it fails miserably. If you are going to do it then I strongly suggest that you spend at least 24-48 hours keeping constant watch. You might want to enlist a friend to help with that since it will mean little sleep for you, but doing something risky like that means you really need to supervise them very closely.

[Colby and the Dwarfs]

Oh! I'm so lost lol! I don't really know what to do. It escalated quickly from" it might to work" to " you're killing your hamsters!". I'm not trying to be rude, just curious, but how is separate hams worse then a group and two separates? I had no idea I'd get so many responses!

[Cricetinae]

There's simply not much hard evidence on the matter, so responses are largely speculation or opinion. You'd need someone to have attempted homing adult hybrids together a significant amount of times before drawing any conclusions. Some people have tried it with success, and others with failure (I fall into the latter category - and injuries were inflicted).

Given you wouldn't want to breed from hybrids, I personally can't imagine any circumstances where the risks of rehoming adult hybrids together would outweigh the benefits. Unlike some other animals, I've never observed any negative behaviour in hybrids/campbells/djungarian from being housed alone. Its nice from our perspective as owners to have a small colony, but the risks of injury or death (in addition to the worry you might find yourself feeling) are again just not worth it (in my opinion).

[Colby and the Dwarfs]

Ok, I understand everyone's thoughts completely and thank you again for responding, however, I think some well-meaning people are confused. So let me try to clear things up a bit.

- My hamsters that I'm thinking of introducing at this point don't currently live in pairs, it's two separate hamsters. I've taken the pair out of the equation.

-My hamsters aren't hybrid, they're Campbell's.

- This has nothing to do with hybrids or breeding, I saw hybrids in the pet store.

[souffle]

There is some useful information on Tammy's site on introducing. Perhaps you could try some of these techniques? I know it is talking about robos however the methods can be used for any species. Even with robos though Tammy does point out that adult females are the hardest to pair up. Good luck if you go ahead,
Oak Farm Roborovskis

[SyrianMomma7]

Good luck!
x SM7

[Colby and the Dwarfs]

I read this, I'm going to try it when I get my hammies back tomorrow( traveling ). Thank you so much everyone!

[racinghamster]

I don`t want to dissuade you any further as it seems you will be going ahead with the intro plan with your two adult campbells. Although you say you are `travelling`? Do you mean you alone, or with the hamsters?

I might also suggest that when one hamster passes on, you will be left with a single hamster again who may well mourn the death of it`s `friend`, so even if the intros did go okay (I`m sceptical still but what do I know...) is it really worth it if they are happy living as they are?

Remember, what you are about to attempt is for your benefit. The hamsters are probably perfectly happy the way they are and will suddenly find themselves plunged into a territorial tussle through no fault of theirs, so I will say it once again. The risk of injury is high. If you want to take that risk, you may well regret your actions.

Cage splitting (with a large enough tank and the proper equipment) is the safest way for rodent introductions. Putting them in a small space and hoping they will get on with just a few squeaks could turn into a vicious attack. The ball is in your court.