# Hamster disaster



## hamster boy (Nov 21, 2008)

A few months ago, I bought a litter of 4 Roborovski hamsters (all boys) from the pet shop, thinking that I could keep them all in the same cage (it's a big cage) and they'd all get along really well.

But then one of them started picking on another one, viciously biting it until it's bum was red and bald and covered in scabs. So I separated the bully from the others and put it in it's own cage.

But then, a few weeks later, another one of the remaining hamsters started picking on the same one that was being bullied before. So I put that bully in with the first bully.

The first and second bullies actually got on fine for a few weeks, until the first bully started to pick on the second bully. So I had to separate those. 

So I'm left with 4 hamsters in 3 cages. Hardly the hamster utopia I had envisaged!

But at least 2 of them were getting on well. 

A little too well, in fact. I'd been hearing a weird squeaking noise coming from their cage for over a week. It didn't sound like the typical fighting squeak, and neither of them was showing signs of being bitten, so I didn't worry about it. But when I went to check on them this morning, I noticed... lots of little hamster babies:

What the heck am I supposed to do? I don't know anything about rearing hamsters. I'm worried that they'll get eaten if I leave them in there for too long. What should I do? I think the dad is the one that was being bullied by the other hamsters (it would make sense, looking back) - should I take him out?


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## squashynose (Nov 21, 2008)

Oh dear, pet shop sexing is never right!! You need to take the male out from the female asap. Once he's gone, just leave her alone, just feed and water, no messing around in there.
As for the other 3... You need to get them sexed, by a Vet or someone in the know. If they are all male, you might be able to put them all back in together, now there isn't a female to fight over, but you might find that they'll never get on again. So you'll be stuck with 4 very lonely hamsters


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Yeah, I agree with *squashynose*, from what I've read you will probably not be able to house those males together, and especially not with the female. Hamsters get along fine when they are you, but in all the literature I've read about them, once they are mature you have to keep them seperated, it's very difficult to get them to live peacefully.

I think they trick people in the petstore by having like 7-10 in a tank together living peacefully, sleeping in heaps and playing with each other. Hamsters aren't female mice which you can house in big groups with the proper space. My friend is a mouse breeder and has a tank with 12! But hammies are solitary animals for the most part...


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## squashynose (Nov 21, 2008)

Actually it's the syrian hamsters who have to be kept alone. Robos can be kept in same sex groups, but it has to be siblings, or put together when very very young.
I think here it was because of the female that the males were fighting.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

I have a Syrian, and I used to have a Robo. My friend who breeds hamsters and mice had sibling Robos that he kept together from birth, all four boys, and they were never apart for a second. But after two months one-by-one they all turned on each other and had to be housed seperate, just like my Mia...


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## shortbackandsides (Aug 28, 2008)

hamsters are best housed singly.


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## hamster boy (Nov 21, 2008)

There's been a sharp reduction in both the frequency and the volume squeaking coming from their cage. I'm worried that the mother might have eaten some of the babies because I disturbed the nest yesterday. How likely is this? I didn't pick them up or anything. I just moved a little bit of their nest slightly. Do you think they've maybe stopped squeaking as much because they're growing? I've heard the squeaking for about a week, so they must be about a week old. I'm scared that I'll find loads of hamster body parts in there, and I don't want to disturb the nest anymore to find out if she has eaten them, because that might cause her to eat them if she hasn't already. 

I haven't really got a suitable cage for the dad, and I'm reluctant to separate them anyway because they're the only two that get on. And I worry that they won't cope with being separated. The first bully ("Bad Bob") runs up and down his cage for hours every day. He seems quite disturbed. It's a big cage, and there's loads of stuff in there for him, but he just cant seem to handle life by himself. But he's too vicious to be kept with any of the other hamsters. But the second bully ("Mr Darcy") seems fine by himself.

I've checked, and Bad Bob is definitely a male - he's got rather prominent gonads and I think I saw him masturbating once. It was pretty gross. And I'm pretty sure that Mr Darcy is a male, too - I've checked the sexing diagrams and it all looks just like it should. All the males hate each other - I put Mr Darcy and Bad Bob in together, and they immediately sprang for each other, rolled into a ball and basically tried to kill each other. When I separated them, Mr Darcy had a really bad cut just underneath his eye.

What should I do?


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## hamster boy (Nov 21, 2008)

Should I maybe have the dad hamster neutered? Is that even possible? Basically, I feel like I'm in over my head. Can anybody recommend a good Roborovski resource?


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## StolenkissGerbils (Aug 8, 2008)

If they won't tolerate each other's company you'll have to keep them in separate cages, simple as that. Sucks doesn't it?  But if you don't separate mum and dad she will become pregnant again immediately. In fact they probably already have mated again.

As for the reduction in squeaking, hamsters and other small animals do sometimes cull their litters. They often have larger litters than they feel they can cope with and eating the babies is just nature's way of recycling the resources it takes to make them in the first place. It isn't pleasant but with an animal like a hamster that has a lot of pups at once you are most likely going to get some that won't survive. Don't touch the mother or babies until you see them walking around with their eyes open. If you do touch them she might decide she's in danger and it's not worth the risk to raise the litter. Then she can and will kill and eat them.

I'm sorry I can't give you any more specific advice because I keep gerbils, not hammies. But I hope that what I have written helps you.

Edit: As to neutering, they're very small, it would be a huge risk to put dad under anaesthetic. I personally wouldn't feel comfortable taking the risk but if you have a small animal specialist vet that is confident and experienced then you could take advice from him/her.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Yeah, I too would not recommend neutering any of the males. The cost would be high, and you've got three of the males, unless you mean just neuter the father, and that's not exactly fair. It's like you are punishing him for mating. Not trying to argue, just only saying. And *StolenkissGerbil* is correct, there is a high risk of death with neutering a small animal like a robo. I'd say house them all seperately, though I know. I can't tell you whether you should rehome some or all, that's your call, and I don't know your situation. I feel bad for the mess you are in now...

Small animal mom's do cull their litters, especially if they are under stress. I've taken in mice as rescues who turned out to be pregnant more then once, and I had a mom consume her entire litter; it's just what happens sometimes. And I've had mice who were fantastic moms, and even a mouse who took in five pups on top of her own six babies, after another of my rescued moms died, and it all worked out.

Your pups are still too young for weaning, so sadly if your hammie mom has decided to cull them all there is little you can do. All you can do is wait and see if any survive...


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## u-look-like-a-hamster (Aug 17, 2008)

robos can be kept happily alone or in small groups 


dont attept to touch the babies 

put some bread chunks in milk and then put it in the cage for the mum
and mabey cheese.


xx


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## hamster boy (Nov 21, 2008)

Thanks for the replies everybody. Well, a few months have passed since my last post. The babies are all grown-up now. She had 5 altogether, all healthy. I've been keeping the whole family in a split cage based on their probable sex. The split cage is basically a big fish tank with some vertical bars in the middle.

I didn't want to separate them completely in case I sexed one of them wrong and had to put them in with the others - I know from experience that they can't be put back together once they've been separated.

They've been getting on fine in this split cage setup for over 2 months. Recently, however, I've noticed a lot of bickering in the male side. There's no bald or bleeding bums (like before), so I'm not _that _worried about it yet. Still, I'd like to nip it in the bud before it becomes a problem.

I think it's the dad that's causing all the trouble (he used to be such a nice dad ) He seems to be lashing-out at all the boys, probably sexually frustrated because of all the females on the other side of the partition. So I think it's time to separate the sexes properly now.

But before I do, I want to make absolutely sure that I'm not sexing them wrong. So I've took some photos. As I say, I'm _pretty _sure that I know which ones are which, I just want to see if you all agree.


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## hamster boy (Nov 21, 2008)

I can only attach 5 photos at once. Here are the rest. I'd really appreciate your input, everybody. Just say what you see, like Catchphrase.


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## u-look-like-a-hamster (Aug 17, 2008)

i am not sure 100% 
but 

Im preti sure 

Boy,boy,boy,boy,girl,Boy/girl,girl

xx


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## hamster boy (Nov 21, 2008)

Thanks. That's pretty much what I thought. Except I think the 6th one is definitely a girl and I have doubts about the 3rd and 5th ones.



















The top one is in with the boys and the bottom one is in with the girls, but there's not much difference between them

Could it just be that they're slow developers? Should I wait a bit longer before separating them properly?


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## u-look-like-a-hamster (Aug 17, 2008)

hmm you could but, i wouldnt risk having aload of robo babies lol 

i would say boy, girl lol yh they look similar but the boys should produce some balls lol see if ther is a sorta bulge when they are sitting....
xx


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