Buying 2 sibling Dwarf Hamsters - good or bad?

Question

My dwarf hamster just died recently, and I am planning on buying a new one soon. I've been searching around Yahoo Answers and other websites for a couple hours and am confused on whether or not 2 Dwarfs would work together in a cage? Everyone says extremely different things.

I have a homemade bin cage, so there's plenty of room (and if not, I can make another one to connect for a little extra room). I really don't want to if there's a high chance I'd have to keep 2 separate cages for each hamster.

Basically, I'm asking if 2 sibling Dwarf Hamsters would work in a single cage and not violently fight. If they do, male or female (I don't want different sexes if I can avoid it...)? A specific kind of Dwarf works best? Is it a 50/50 shot? Any other specifics would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Answer 1

It doesn't matter where you get the hamsters as long as you treat them right. Um . . . I had (my friends hamsters had babies and he just gave me two) two before and they got along fine, they were a male and female though. If you get two of the same gender like you say you will need a lot of room for them because hamsters are very territrial even if they are sibs, plus, unless they are mating (no matter how gross it sounds to have siblings mate. They will, mine did and that is how they died. The female bit the male the bite got infected then she died giving birth.) don't put them in a small incloser give them room to claime as their own. They should do fine.

Answer 2

Yeah, dwarf hamsters are friendlier than teddy bear hamsters so I'm sure they would be all right together, unless you actually see them fighting or if you see scratch marks  on either of your hamsters

I'm also quite sure that Petsmarts' hamsters are better, your explanation sounded reasonable.

I have a teddy bear hamster from Petco and it's perfectly fine and healthy (and sort of plump too) so that could be good too. Oh, and some of the hamsters from Petco don't have the best temperaments, so that's something you might want to look out for...

Which ever seems best, Dwarf hamsters are the best breeds in my opinion

Good luck:)

Answer 3

ok my 2 teddy bear hamsters were sisters and the fought some times  but they love to be with each other and so a  bin cage would be ok but like one of those fish tank looking cage is better because it stinks less...lol  

Answer 4

It should work out and i suggest getting them from petsmart...it's probably a better store ( i think anyways) and besides i've heard that petco hamsters don't last as long as petsmart do

Answer 5

Two dwarf hamsters that grew up together can live together successfully.  It's harder to introduce two hamsters that don't know each other.  You might be reading different answers because some have had success with dwarf hamsters staying together while others have not.

It is possible for them to live their whole lives together with no problems.  What you need to realize is every hamster has a different personality and sometimes that personality changes whether it's from age or one hamster decides to be more dominant.  

In my experience with hamster families there have been many who lived their whole lives together but there were some that had to be separated after a time because of fighting.  

They could be fine together their whole life but I would have a spare cage available just in case.  Dwarfs are known to live together in pairs or groups.  It's the Syrian hamster that should always remain on their own as they are solitary creatures.

I don't think there is any difference where you get them from.  As long as they are active, has shiny coats, have an overall healthy appearance and bright eyes they will be fine.  Don't rule out adoption though!

Answer 6

It is completely possible for dwarf hamsters to live together and not fight.

This is my experience with them:

I bought my first hamster, Zim, when he was four weeks old.  Then a couple weeks later decided I wanted two more and so I selected two that were about the same size as Zim and returned with Timothy and Presho.  After carefully introducing them to each other the three began to get along just fine.  Now they lived together fine in one cage for quite awhile with occasional fights, but no blood was drawn so I never worried about it.  Just recently however Zim was wounded in a fight and his nose was bitten/scratched and bleeding.  It healed quickly with out any aid but I have given him is own cage now just in case.  Timothy and Presho still live together and now that it's just them I hear a lot less fighting.

Basically it depends on the individual hamster.  I have heard that girls often get along better than boys but I think you can go either way.  I'd suggest you go to the pet store and observe them and maybe see if there are two that look like they get along particularly well.  Some fighting is normal just check your hamsters over every day to make sure there are no open wounds so things don't go too far.

As far as where to get them..I think it varies from each pet store whether it's a chain or not.  I was just looking at hamsters today at a Petco and at the pet store in our mall and neither of them seemed to have very healthy hamsters this time around.  How ever other days I've seen the mall pet store have healthier, and tamer hamsters than Petco.  so just go and look at the hamsters at different stores and see which ones are the healthiest.  If you see any that have been beat up by other hamsters or especially if they have wet bums with bedding sticking to them (wet tail) then don't get any from that cage or even from that store if it can be avoided.

Good luck. =]

Answer 7

This is what I have herd if you get 2 I think you should not keep them together for long after they become adults they could fight and one may get injured or die if you are getting another one I would recommend getting another cage I currently have 2 male robo. dwarfs and I was hoping they would get along so I put them together and they started to fight so I had to get another one but they are both happy now :)

sorry I was kinda rambling

Hope this helps :) Kory

Answer 8

unlike any other breeds, dwarf hamsters are better off living with another of its own breed of its own s*x.

so yeah, you're right. avoid different sexes if you're able to.

but other than that, there should be no problems.