Russian Dwarf Hamsters HELP!!!!!!

Question

Ok so i got my hamsters Bill and Ben from the pets at home adoption scheme, and they are brothers and they generally used to get on very well. I know this breed are very sociable and i understand that, but recently the smaller of the two has been bullied by the fatter one, and i had to seperate them. The smaller one had lots of hair missing from its back and a scratch there plus a dodgy nose and a cut on its stomach. The fat one would literally just sit on the other one and i knew if i left them one of them would end up dead. I do have to ages and one of them is slightly smaller than the other one and is without bars, and the smaller one lives in here. Recently it has been frantically trying to get out and literally trying to climb the walls and its very distressing to watch. I thought he might be getting lonely so i put them back in together for a "trail run" and as soon as i did they started fighting. The little one seems really sad and it wont stop trying to get out, altough it will never succeed. What should i do? i try to handle them both often but he seems reall sad. Any suggestions? Sophiexx

P.S please feel free to ask anyomore questions.

Answer 1

get the smaller 1 a girlfriend  give him lots of treats and toys give him almost all of your atention because u still need to hold the other 1

Answer 2

buy another cage for the little one and take them to the vet to be sure nothing really serious happened.

Answer 3

Spoil the smaller one. Give him all your love and attention and it will soon forget about it's brother. Once you separate them it gets very hard for them to start getting along so I recommend that you don't put them together anymore. I lost a hamster that way. Try to maybe buy a bigger cage for him or if you don't want to spend that much money a larger plastic container with lots of toys and treats and love. It makes me sad that he's sad.

Answer 4

If one of them is getting hurt, definitely don't put them back together. You probably shouldn't introduce another hamster to him either. Dwarf hamsters are sociable, but sometimes they don't take well to new friends.

He's probably not sad (unless he's not eating or something). It's totally normal for all hamsters to try to escape their cages. Dwarf hamsters especially can spend all night trying to get out. Don’t worry too much. Get him a Run-About ball so he can run around the house and experience a little adventure.

Answer 5

Separate them, and keep them separate. No matter how "lonely" the other male looks.

My dwarf hamsters fight as well, but never to the point of injury. If you are seeing blood or missing fur, thats a really bad sign. Keep them separate.  

Answer 6

Dwarf hamsters can live together if they are from the same litter or have been introduced at the same young age.In a few rare cases, litter mates can also viciously fight since one might decide to have the "dominate" character over the other which is what has happened between your two hamsters. It was wise of you to separate them and never put them together again since once separated, they are as good as strangers.

Normally when you put the weaker hamster in a separate cage, you will see his personality bloom without dominance from another hamster. He would become more active than what you would have seen when both were together. This is what is happening with your hamster. He is not trying to escape, he is bored and requires more activity, so try to make him more active by putting him often in his hamster ball or hamster play pen. Also since his cage is new, he would look agitated for some time, give him a week to get used to it. Until then, soothen him and pet him often so that he feels much more ease at home.Dwarf hamsters are also capable of being solitary like syrians (in the wild they are that way only), so you would see him getting better and happier in the days to come.

Do email me in case of any further queries.

Answer 7

maybe put lots of treats and toys in the cage for your hamster to occupy him?