Do male and female Syrian hamsters ever get on?

geohamster · 07-31-2021, 12:56 AM

Do male and female Syrian hamsters ever get on? I have read countless countless accounts of reasons why hamsters cannot get on together. I have a male and a female hamster that I have religiously kept apart. However, yesterday the female hamster, poppy, escaped when I was out and found its way into the cage of dusty Dusty is much younger, and still actually almost a baby, at about nine weeks. Having read the doom and gloom about hamsters being together I had assumed that Poppy will have attacked or eaten dusty. However, I found them quite happily cohabitating. I immediately removed poppy. She was not on heat at the time. I’m sure we have all seen natural enemies such as cats and dogs get on wonderfully well, is there a chance that these two animals could happily cohabitate? I am quite keen for poppy to have one litter, although of course I understand that if I keep them together in an ongoing wayI will end up with many litters which is not what I want. Even though they managed to get on okay for a few hours I am guessing that that may be short lived. Does anyone have any reflections?

Ria P · 07-31-2021, 03:18 AM

With all due respect, i think that you need to do more research into Syrian hamsters otherwise you wouldn't even consider this idea.

I'm also opposed to backyard breeding because there are enough hamsters in this world needing good homes.

Syrians are solitary and just because your hamsters didn't kill each other this time doesn't mean that they could live together.

I do apologise for my direct tone but i'm quite passionate about hamster welfare.

In fact, i'm going to collect a hamster right now that ate its cage mate. The hamster is no longer wanted by the current owners.

AmityvilleHams · 07-31-2021, 04:20 AM

The harsh reality of breeding is that any number of things could go horribly wrong. It's honestly careless and highly irresponsible to breed without extremely careful planning, knowing the genetic background of each hamster, etc - all things best left to those who really know what they're doing and not just the average hamster owner.

I completely understand that baby animals are adorable but for the welfare of both hamsters you really shouldn't breed them. They could easily kill each other or at the very least severely injure each other, not to mention you probably have no idea what kind of genetic background either hamster has so you could be breeding lethal genes together. Keep them apart permanently and do not ever let them get in contact again - doing so would be risking both hamsters' lives.

Hamsters are nothing like having dogs and cats together. They are naturally incredibly territorial and highly solitary animals, so you really should feel lucky nothing horrible happened and never let it happen again.

Ria P · 07-31-2021, 06:02 AM

Just to add. I know someone who runs a little hamster rescue. She took in a male and a female Syrian then soon realized that the female was pregnant.

The female and her 14 pups died after post birth complications.

Hamsters do escape if we are not conscientious enough. I know because two of ours escaped through small gaps where the doors weren't securely closed. We were lucky they came to no harm but i could never forgive myself if one of our hamsters got hurt, killed or lost because of my own negligance.

They are in our care and trust us to keep them save.

LunaTheHamster1 · 07-31-2021, 07:41 AM

If you haven't already, I Strongly recommend watching this video

Why You SHOULDN'T Breed Your hamster - YouTube

geohamster · 08-01-2021, 01:20 AM

Dear respondents. Thank you for your comments and for trying to remain respectful, which is always important in forum environments.

One thing about the animal kingdom is that despite the instincts of animals there are always exceptions to instinctual behaviour, and it is useful to canvas experience. These are well documented, and I am sure you will have encountered some.

I am well aware of the natural solitary nature of the hamster, but I was interested to find out whether in the experience base of the users here, there have been any known exceptions. I have no intention of cohabitating these animals as I will not put them at risk, but it would be interesting to know if there have been any examples of this having been successful.

As for breeding the hamsters, I have no intention of taking the matter lightly, and have resources at hand, but thank you for your reflections on this. Your comments are duly noted.