# Dwarf Hamster behaviour, fighting



## Piisuke

Alright, first of all hello ^^.

Now, here is the problem. Me and my girlfriend have these 2 dwarf hamsters, when we bought them, they were about 9 weeks old or something.
We got this standard cage, which wasn't really something special, so we changed it to the Crittertrail X one, as that one seemed pretty and they would have some stuff to do, instead of the simple 1 wheel and 1 ladder thing they had previously. They are both female by the way, at least that is what the woman at the pet shop said.

Now, I think since last week, the dwarf hamsters are getting into fights. I mean, they usually squeeked every now and then, but now they seem to bite each other. Well, one does, but the other as well, I think. Also, when they fight, usually one is on her back and the other is on top, it includes squeeking, quite loud sometimes and usually the one on the bottom skitters off and the other one chases her.
Usually we try to take them apart, just in case, and it ended up in my girlfriend being bitten and bleeding from her finger. However, I believe, she bit, because she was afraid and being attacked by the other.

When I was inspecting them, I noticed that both have small red marks between their rear feet, which is probably where they are biting each other. It kinda looks like their hair being pulled out, or something like that.

Anyway, usually when one comes close to the other, one of them opens her mouth wide and sometimes stands on her rear feet and the other one doesn't really seem to care, or notice. Sometimes this results in them fighting, other times, this results in one of the two going a different direction.

They used to sleep together under the slide (for those who know the Crittertrail X cage, if not, google it), but never went elsewhere, for example the upper thing.
So, I removed some of sawdust from underneath the slide and put it elsewhere in the cage, as well as some bedding in the upper part and some food.
They both started sleeping over there, but we kinda wanted a small house, so we bought one of those nesting houses, because the pet store ran out of those standard ones. They seemed to like it, but never did they sleep in there together, whereas they used to do that all the time.

So, what should I do with this situation? Do I have to take them apart and give them their own cage? If that is the case, then I have a hamster for sale, because, even though we have a second cage, we don't really have a lot of space in our room.

Is there a way to go around this, is this supposed to happen? Or, are they simply become enemies, instead of sisters?

A question aside from that, they find their wheel (again, for those who know the crittertrail x, others, please google it) very comfortable for sleeping and usually clog it with bedding.
Considering I know that they need their running, to remain fit, as well as it being an instinctive activity of them, they need their wheel, so I always took out the bedding if they decided to use the wheel as a bed.
They also like to block each other, like constantly.
I have had several "fights" with them, trying to take one hamster out of the way, because the other one couldn't get past.
The things I am talking about are: the entrance to the wheel, the tube on the right side and the entrance to the upper part. They have been sleeping in all three places and it usually ended up in one trying to get past,squishing herself through.

Anyway, I know that hamsters tend to "mock" fight each other, but I have no idea what to picture their "mock" fighting as.
I mean, the marks aren't anything major, they aren't bleeding, it is just a red mark.

So, long post, but I think I could use the advice here.


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## Bexxx1989

Hiya,

This is exactly what happened with my 2 chinese hamster girls - PLEASE separate them asap as in my case one ATE the other one - my hamsters started to fight and bite each other but there were no marks and no blood - obviously until that happened, they had been fighting for a few weeks when this happened.they were sisters and brought up together from birth :confused5::frown2:

Becky xxx


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## ChrisTheGerbilGuy

I would split them up to be on the safe side. Unfortunately these things happen


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## cherrie_b

I have 2 female Russians, the same age. After a few days of having them they began to fight and I just kept an eye on them. After a few more days one attacked the other and caused her to bleed. I had to separate them and now they are both very happy!  

Probably best to separate them sooner rather than later!  Could you not get 2 standard cages and stand one on top of the other to save space?

Good Luck


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## u-look-like-a-hamster

ther is some cheap dwarf cages on ebay decent sized that stack on top of each other


Yh deffo seperate them 

all my hammies are now seperated for fighting ......(well dwarfs) 

xx


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## Debo

Hello all,

I found this post and great forum by googling 'fighting hamsters'! I am mummy to Fluffy and Max (Russian Dwarfs) who we have had for about 2 weeks. They are 10 weeks old and are brothers. Fluffy is really naughty and keeps attacking poor Max. Max is the bigger of the two but Fluffy definitely wears the trousers.
I am going to seperate them - well I already have; Fluffy's in a make-shift cage for tonight until I get to [email protected] in the morning. I feel really sad to seperate them but Max is getting attacked a lot and has a mark on his tummy.

Now I'm researching which cage to get tomorrow. They have been sharing this Spelos Dwarf Hamster Cage by Savic-Cages and stands-Pets at Home: Buy Pet Supplies from our Online UK Pet Shop and I am thinking of getting this Mickey Max Dwarf Hamster Cage by Savic-Cages and stands-Pets at Home: Buy Pet Supplies from our Online UK Pet Shop and periodically swapping the hamsters around to make it more exciting for them. Is that a good or bad idea? I am also worried that they will be to lonely on their own as a site I just found suggests that they don't like being on their own. WDYT?

Thanks

Debo


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## u-look-like-a-hamster

hey  well done you for seperating them, they'll be fine on their own, after about a week they wint even remember each other.

But cage swaping is a good ideabut not too often.

Go with the mickey max cage , i have 3 of those cages and they are so easy to clean and get to  
xxx


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## xgemma86x

Personally I would also seperate them. 

We had a similar problem with our 4 robo brothers. They were all kept in the same cage and were fine at first but then when we were cleaning them out 1 week we noticed a cut on 1 of the boys backs  We took him out and put him in a seperate cage where he seemed (and still does seem) much happier. A few more weeks after that my dad shouted me from upstairs because he had noticed a raw wound on 1 of the boys backs so yet again we had to seperate him leaving just 2 of the boys together. Now all the hamsters seem much happier being apart I think if we had left them together then they would have eventually ended up killing each other.


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## Thunderandwhisper

Hi 
We had two dwarf hamsters, and we saw them fighting but we only saw them doing it a couple of times, so thought it was mock fighting. Earlier this month we found one of them dead in the cage, and it was very upsetting, please separate them, I wouldn't want you to make the same mistake, and one of them ending up hurt or worse. They were brought together too.


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## Debo

Thank you so much for your advice.

Max is now settling into his new cage - I got the Mickey Max one and it's brilliant - much more room than the Spelos. I like it so much I will be getting rid of the Spelos and buying another Mickey Max for Fluffy! The Spelos seems *tiny* in comparison!

I think i'm going to attempt to make (or buy one if I can) a unit to house the cages as they are taking up a lot of room on both of my sons' chests of drawers.

Chat soon

Debo :thumbup1:


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## u-look-like-a-hamster

what spelos cage is it??

i need a one of those for my robo hammie, cheri. he had a fight with his bro and had to be seperated, he hates big cages so im looking for a cage like this lol 
??

i would be interesting to buy if from you lol 
xx


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## Debo

Hiya, it's this one Spelos Dwarf Hamster Cage by Savic-Cages and stands-Pets at Home: Buy Pet Supplies from our Online UK Pet Shop

Let me know if you're interested and you can have it.

Dx


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## Piisuke

Wow.....just wow.

Thanks for the response guys...9 months later.

Yes, they are separated and have their own cages.
They're both alive and, as you've probably guessed, almost a year old, one more month to go or so.


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## Debo

Lol, can't believe it took so long for you to get a reply - 9 months!!

Glad your babies are safe and happy now 

Dx


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## Piisuke

Yeah, though they are quite mischievous. One of them likes to nom on everything, apart from her chewing tools.
She has a dog biscuit, which she eats for food, she has a wooden house she can nom on, she has another wooden toy she can nom on, but insists on nomming on the tubes and the green slide that leads up to the wheel, as well as the edges of the wheel (crittertrail x cage).

Also, she doesn't want to run, unless she is in a ball.

The other one doesn't want to stop running...she will run herself a heart attack one day. I am confident she will pass away in her wheel. Doing what she loves most =D.


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## ChrisNI

Female hamsters are usually very aggressive and should not be kept together. I had a similar problem with my chinese dwarf hamsters, i was told by the pet shop that they were 2 males but it actually turned out that one was female and she had become very aggressive with the male to the point where she had badly injured his eye. My advice would be to make sure that they are both females as it can somethimes be difficult to sex dwarf hamsters and seperate them. Hamsters don't get lonely the way humans do so they will probably be a lot happier on their own. Good luck xx


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## laurenkirk

:confused1::confused1:


Piisuke said:


> Alright, first of all hello ^^.
> 
> Now, here is the problem. Me and my girlfriend have these 2 dwarf hamsters, when we bought them, they were about 9 weeks old or something.
> We got this standard cage, which wasn't really something special, so we changed it to the Crittertrail X one, as that one seemed pretty and they would have some stuff to do, instead of the simple 1 wheel and 1 ladder thing they had previously. They are both female by the way, at least that is what the woman at the pet shop said.
> 
> Now, I think since last week, the dwarf hamsters are getting into fights. I mean, they usually squeeked every now and then, but now they seem to bite each other. Well, one does, but the other as well, I think. Also, when they fight, usually one is on her back and the other is on top, it includes squeeking, quite loud sometimes and usually the one on the bottom skitters off and the other one chases her.
> Usually we try to take them apart, just in case, and it ended up in my girlfriend being bitten and bleeding from her finger. However, I believe, she bit, because she was afraid and being attacked by the other.
> 
> When I was inspecting them, I noticed that both have small red marks between their rear feet, which is probably where they are biting each other. It kinda looks like their hair being pulled out, or something like that.
> 
> Anyway, usually when one comes close to the other, one of them opens her mouth wide and sometimes stands on her rear feet and the other one doesn't really seem to care, or notice. Sometimes this results in them fighting, other times, this results in one of the two going a different direction.
> 
> They used to sleep together under the slide (for those who know the Crittertrail X cage, if not, google it), but never went elsewhere, for example the upper thing.
> So, I removed some of sawdust from underneath the slide and put it elsewhere in the cage, as well as some bedding in the upper part and some food.
> They both started sleeping over there, but we kinda wanted a small house, so we bought one of those nesting houses, because the pet store ran out of those standard ones. They seemed to like it, but never did they sleep in there together, whereas they used to do that all the time.
> 
> So, what should I do with this situation? Do I have to take them apart and give them their own cage? If that is the case, then I have a hamster for sale, because, even though we have a second cage, we don't really have a lot of space in our room.
> 
> Is there a way to go around this, is this supposed to happen? Or, are they simply become enemies, instead of sisters?
> 
> A question aside from that, they find their wheel (again, for those who know the crittertrail x, others, please google it) very comfortable for sleeping and usually clog it with bedding.
> Considering I know that they need their running, to remain fit, as well as it being an instinctive activity of them, they need their wheel, so I always took out the bedding if they decided to use the wheel as a bed.
> They also like to block each other, like constantly.
> I have had several "fights" with them, trying to take one hamster out of the way, because the other one couldn't get past.
> The things I am talking about are: the entrance to the wheel, the tube on the right side and the entrance to the upper part. They have been sleeping in all three places and it usually ended up in one trying to get past,squishing herself through.
> 
> Anyway, I know that hamsters tend to "mock" fight each other, but I have no idea what to picture their "mock" fighting as.
> I mean, the marks aren't anything major, they aren't bleeding, it is just a red mark.
> 
> So, long post, but I think I could use the advice here.


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## Craig_gerbils

My brother bought 2 dwarf hamsters about 2-3 months ago. The woman in the pet store told us that they were both female, but it appears to us that they are both male!!

They were fine for a month, but the past month they appear to be fighting a lot and its always the same hamster starting the fights!! 

One of the hamsters has got a very sore and large wound on its back above its tail and it looks like its foot is sore.

Do you think it would be better to separate them because I do have a spare cage.


Males get terrotorial very easily and i think this is why

Anyone got any advice? 

Thanks
Craig


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## Jazzy

Yes definitely seperate them because if you don't one of them will end up dead.  I would never ever keep any hamsters together again after bad experiences with dwarf hamsters fighting. I have five hamsters, 2 Russians, 2 Syrians and one Roborovski and they all live happily in separate cages.


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## beany221

my 3 chinese dwarf hampsters are fighting i want to separate them but they dont like living on there own :confused1: :confused1: :confused1: :confused1: what should i do:confused1::confused1::confused1::confused1::mad2::mad2::::: thanks


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## peter0

If they're fighting then you should separate them before any serious injury is done or even death. They are seen more as solitary animals now and are best kept alone, i'm sure they will be fine alone if you give them plenty to do.


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## elmthesofties

beany221 said:


> my 3 chinese dwarf hampsters are fighting i want to separate them but they dont like living on there own :confused1: :confused1: :confused1: :confused1: what should i do:confused1::confused1::confused1::confused1::mad2::mad2::::: thanks


This thread is years old. Please don't bump it up because this isn't really relevant to your situation and people may be getting alerts from this.
Chinese hamsters are usually better off living alone. Seperate them if they're fighting. You can't compare animals to people - they do not have the same needs. Your hamsters will NOT get lonely if kept alone.


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## polishrose

What's with all the old threads getting bumped up lately??


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## peter0

I think what happens is people type in a question on Google and they find the forum but usually the question they asked comes up with an old thread and they just reply looking for some advice.

I found the forum in the same way, i found an old thread but i realised it was older so didn't comment but i ended up joining up and reading the new threads


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## HamsterLover69

Hi,

I got a pair of male russian dwarf hamster for Christmas and one has become quite aggressive to the other. It's reached the stage that if he encounters the other hamster out of his bedding he will initiate a fight until the other hamster flees to the bedding. I can't spot any scratches or sores on either hamster, but the weaker hamster now seems to rarely leave the bedding and is very fearful of his cage mate.

Is separating them permanently the only solution? I have read that removing the dominant hamster for 24 hours to let the less dominant hamsters smell become more dominant in the cage could make a difference?

Let me know fast as I want them to be OK!

Thanks


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## picaresque

I would separate them permanently, and asap. Now they've fallen out chances are they will continue fighting and they could do each other a lot of damage. They'll be fine on their own.


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## Amelia66

HamsterLover69 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I got a pair of male russian dwarf hamster for Christmas and one has become quite aggressive to the other. It's reached the stage that if he encounters the other hamster out of his bedding he will initiate a fight until the other hamster flees to the bedding. I can't spot any scratches or sores on either hamster, but the weaker hamster now seems to rarely leave the bedding and is very fearful of his cage mate.
> 
> Is separating them permanently the only solution? I have read that removing the dominant hamster for 24 hours to let the less dominant hamsters smell become more dominant in the cage could make a difference?
> 
> Let me know fast as I want them to be OK!
> 
> Thanks


you need to separate them permanently it is not fair to stress out the other hamster so much by leaving them together. you need to separate them asap. Otherwise you will end up with one dead hamster.
please do not put them back together after they have been apart as they will not know each other and fighting is likely to be even worse.

Also there was no need to revive a nearly 6 year old thread! you get more answers making a new one.


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## colecross10

Hi, 

I just need a bit of advice really. Today I went too the pet shop and brought 3 dwarf hamsters as they were the only ones left and couldnt face leaving one on there own. They were fine together the whole time as the pet shop but since having them home. They are fighting only a few times tho as they are mostly grooming each other. I'm just wondering if any one could let me know what the best thing to do is..

Tia x


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## Amelia66

please make a new post this one is old and not likely to be replied to.

Best thing to do is separate them into 3 separate cages as hamster very rarely get along forever most end in fights or tragedy.


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## Alicej123

Hello, 
I brought 2 female Russian dwarf hamsters called nibbles and frankie on Saturday the lady in the pet shop told us that she didn't want to split them up because they've been together since birth and in the space of 3 days nibbles has been picking on frankie fighting it so much that frankie is terrified to be around nibbles when ever she comes near frankie she squeakes and runs away. I tried putting a different house to sleep in into the cage and nibbles would come in there and fight frankie out of it to the point she'd sleep outside next to his wheel cos shes to scared to sleep in the houses. He also has a little cut / scratch on his foot that has appeared, today has been the worst day for it whenever nibbles see's frankie he starts a fight. Should I defiantly split them up for good?


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## bowwowwoof

^Yes, definitely, definitely split them up for good. Nibbles doesn't want Frankie there and wants to make Frankie leave but then there's nowhere for Frankie to go. You need to split them up as it'll be awful and stressful for both of them.


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