Help!! My Neice got two hamsters last week and one of them ate the other one, why did that happen?

Question

This is her first experience with hamsters. She got them about 10 days ago from a pet store. She was told that one of the hamsters had been in a cage with other hamsters before. But, one hadn't. Well, the one that hadn't ate the head off the other one.

Holy c**p.. Why would this hamster do this? Should they call the pet store? They were told that they were two females. I just feel so bad for her. She called me first thing after she found them wanting to know what to do. She wanted to take it to the vet, poor girl...

Thanks in advance for any words, info or advice..

Answer 1

Unless hamsters are raised together, especially syrians, they will become VERY territorial, and unlike humans females are more violent than males.  If the pet store had some kind of warranty call them, tell them the story and they should give you your money back, a gift card or another hamster.

If your neice keeps her hamster you could join my Y! Group for more info on hamsters!!

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/HWhee...

Answer 2

Well, what breed were they?

If they were Syrian- a.k.a, teddy bear hamsters- then they cannot be housed together. This is a stupid mistake for a pet shop to make- I work in one and we would never, ever sell two together we even suspected would end up in the same space. She should return the remaining the one to the pet shop if she feels fit, or at least demand her money back and an apology for the deceased.

However, if they were any variation of dwarf hamsters, the pet shop did the right thing- generally, dwarf hamsters are fine housed together. However, if there are two conflicting personalities- e.g., both dominant- then fighting like this can occur.

Also, if the animal died in the cage as the result of fighting, illness, or heart attack, it's natural for the other hamster to eat it- they clean up like they would in the wild to prevent predators from finding the nest.

So if she just saw it was eaten, chances are it died already from whatever cause- should still be covered by any guarantee the pet store offered, or at least their morals- and the other hamster was cleaning up.

Answer 3

it depends, when did she introduce the hamsters? like, how old were they? if one was a lot older it would've been over who owns the cage.

Answer 4

well, it depends on 2 things. 1. the breed and 2. how old they are

if the hamsters were syrian (golden, teddy bear, honey bear) hamsters, then that would be normal. that breed prefers to live alone. even if they were put together in the pet store, as the hamsters grow up, they would become territorial and fight. only the dwarf hamsters are supposed to be together. your niece cant do anything. if there was a 14 day guarentee on the other hamster, then you could call the petstore to get another hamster, but house them separately. i hope this helped

Answer 5

i have 2 seryen hamsters i put them in a different cage because they would hirt each other ,i know alot about animalsandif it was a mom and baby if you touch the baby befor it gets its fur the mom wont think its its baby and eat it.

Answer 6

since the one had never been with another hamster before she probably wanted her very own house and own space. (sorry to hear about that)

Answer 7

I'm guessing they were Syrian hamsters? Hamsters are solitary animals and prefer to live alone. They can usually live together while they are young and have not yet hit puberty(or just hit puberty), but after that they will kill each other.

Even two females will fight for dominance and try to kill each other. Unfortunately many pet store employees do not know all the facts about the animals they are in charge of. It is really up to the buyer to know about the animals they are getting in order to be sure nothing like this happens.

It is really sad when something like this happens. I remember when I was a child, my hamster ate my sisters. It was shocking, but also a good learning experience. It is a good time to get a book or look on line and research why hamsters are solitary, etc. Turn something sad into a learning experience, which may help her deal with it a little better.