Hamsters. My sister got two dwarf hamsters, a male and a female for her birthday - they were pretty chill for a while, but recently one of them (the male, I assume) started to become really aggressive. Whenever you try to touch him he tries to bite immediately, and I often hear them fighting and squeeking. The other one is already injured too, and they stopped sleeping together. What's wrong with him? Do we have to just separate them? Or is this their mating ritual?
I don't know shit about hamsters, and it's pretty obvious my sister doesn't either, but our rooms are next to each other and the constant squeeking is getting annoying.
Hamsters are not social creatures. Either those two will kill each other or breed and kill the babies and then kill each other.
>>2045177
hamsters are solitary animals, seperate them immediately
>>2045177
get a second cage and separate them or return the aggressive one to the store.
>>2045179
>>2045180
>doesn't know that Dwarf Hamsters are actually social and live in family units.
Anon, the hamster pair could be fighting for any number of reasons. You just need to do process of elimination. Are they in a small cage? As in one of those "cute" cages with the bubble top and the tubes? Look up diy cages. They could be fighting over food. Fighting over the water bottle. The wheel. General rule of thumb is one item for each hamster. 2 food dishes, 2 wheels, 2 water bottles. They need lots of space. You know one of those long totes? Bout that big. It could also be poor breeding or poor raising with the aggressive hamster. Take him out into a separate cage and socialize him. But you can never put him back in. Hamsters need a slow bonding process just like with mice or rats.
Syrian hamsters DO NOT work this way though.
>>2045198
So it's probably because there's only one of everything then (1 dish, 1 wheel, 1 bottle, 1 little house)? The cage itself seems big enough, nothing fancy like tubes either. It's just strange because my sister had them for months now and they were fine until a week or so ago. So we should buy another set of stuff, separate them, and occasionally put them together for a while so they start getting along again? Or by bonding did you mean with humans only and keep the two separated for good? I doubt my sister would do that, to her it's more about them looking cute, occasionally taking them out going 'aw, they're so cute and fluffy'. She's 11 and I personally wouldn't have trusted her with pets too much desu.
webm related
>>2045179
How do they reproduce in wild then? Does stress of male being around the mother and her babies cause her to eat them in captivity?
>>2045224
In the wild? These things wouldn't even exist if we didn't make them.
>>2045224
Wild hamsters occupy large territories and only meet each other when they want to fuck.
>>2045254
You're kidding me right? Russian Dwarf Hamsters DO come from the wild. Dude, fucking look this shit up. Humans didn't "create" them. We picked them up, put them in cages and bred them. Russian dwarfs are called RUSSIAN dwarfs because they come from Russia.
>>2045219
The hamster in the webm looks agitated and stressed out. Yeah, definitely put him in another cage. The cage has to be a certain square in for him to feel secure. Measure the cage length by width and multiply each measure. I'll look up the spacing just to be sure. But look up DIY cages. Some cages are big enough. It's not clear to me by the webm how big it is. He could be stressed due to any number of things. Here's a good tell tale sign to see if he feels cramped up. Does he chew on the bars? If so, then yes.
I bought a bin/tote and literally just cut a rectangle on the lid and screwed in some fencing wire and threw in some bedding, toys, levels that they can climb and such.
First you must relocate him into a different cage. Then leave him alone for a good week or so. After you let him adjust, hand feed him some hamster treats like yogurt bites. Honestly, I don't think he will bite if he's presented yummy food but if he does or if you're scared, wear some gloves.
Give him lots to chew on. Wooden blocks, toilet paper rolls, there are lots of things for chewing in stores. Give him lots of attention.
Then, you may reintroduce them. Did you know Russian Cambells Dwarf fathers help take care of their young? Just a small tidbit of information. Don't try it though. Unless you really know what you're doing.
But anyway, yeah, he's stressed. And be forewarned that they may never be able to live together again.
>>2045263
Yeah. Syrian hamsters. These are Russian dwarfs. Either Cambell Russian Dwarfs or Winter White Russian Dwarfs. Both live in a family unit, much like mice.
>>2045280
288 sq in or more. Double that for a pair.
http://russiandwarfhamster.org/russiandwarfhamsterfacts/
Cambell - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campbell%27s_dwarf_hamster
Winter White - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djungarian_hamster
My hamster does not like me, I can't even imagine the hell that would come from him (her? I don't know) living with another hamster
>>2045320
What time are you handling it?
Does it get enough stimulation in its enclosure?
Does it get time outside the cage to roam and get used to the room?
Are you reaching overhead to grab it, or waiting for it to crawl into your hands?
How many times a week are you handling it?
Are you washing your hands before touching it so you don't smell like food/strangers?
What species is your hamster, and is it male or female? (Look up how to sex them.)
How long have you had it, and where did you get it from?
There are a lot of things that could contribute to a displeased hammie.
>>2045180
That's only for Syrian hamsters
>>2045280
Okay, thanks for the insight and the tips, I'll try to do something with them when I get some free time. By the way, apparently it's the female that turned aggressive.
Likely they aren't being handled correctly and are on edge all the time now
fyi, you cant just reach in and pick them up. You have to get them to trust the hand.
Imagine you're just chillin and a giant hand falls out of the sky and picks you up. It'd freak you the fuck out.
I want to get a Hamster but I'm kind of worried about the summer heat. It can get up to ~80f inside while I'm playing vidya cuz my computer generates a bunch of heat.
Is there anything I can do to keep the hamster cool during the hot days?
I'm thinking of getting a single Syrian
>>2048408
My syrian went through the summer time just fine. Plenty of air ventilation + readily available clean water source = cool hammy.
>>2048408
They're pretty hardy. I've been keeping this little nigga at about 60° this winter. Bought him a wooden house he likes to cozy up in.
>>2048408
A hamster is kind of a big responsibility. You usually have to tame them, or else they'll bite.
