Siberian Dwarf hamster is lonely?

Question

My female siberian dwarf hamster is really sad. She lost her baby 4 days ago. She use to be so active. Now all she does is eat and sleep. I noticed when she sleeps, she makes herself into a ball and sleeps. She looks lonely and sad. She's the sweetest dwarf hamster I ever had. She never bit me. Should I get her a friend to play with? I just want the best for her. Her sadness just makes me want to cry.

Answer 1

I'm sorry about that=(  You should spend as much time with her as you can.  Hold her, and let her run around in a plastic ball (you can get those at Petsmart)  Feed her some treats like fresh fruit and veggies.  Don't get her another hamster because she will get stressed out and she might start to fight with it.  Hamsters are very territorial, so they like to be alone in their cage.  If you do all of these things, she will get over this loss a lot quicker.  Hope this helps, good luck=)

Answer 2

aww poor thing i must admit hampsters do love company, thats why i had two, but losing her baby must of been hard fo her and you, but don't worry give her some time then think of getting a FEMALE beause you dont want to put her through the tromer of losing another baby. good luck =)

Answer 3

You could go either way. The pet store wouldn't mind you taking your hamster in to pick out her new friend. Tell them about the situation and ask if you can let your hamster sniff around next to another and pick out her friend. Dwarfs are very social so she should get  a friend. If you don't take her to the pet store, buy one

along with an extra cage. Let them play together every night until they feel comfortable and keep their cages next to each other. When you think they're ready to be put together, let them go in to the same cage and if they do good that night, then they can stay together. If not, you need to repeat the process.

Answer 4

they are nocturnal

Answer 5

A single pup is not a normal size litter in a healthy hamster. Not sure what you have "siberian" isn't enough info. If it's a Campbells the normal litter size is around 8, if it's a Winter White the normal litter size is around 5.

I'd be concerned that I had a pregnant hamster, that gave birth to a single pup, lost that pup (do you know why?), and now is not acting like herself.

One thing to consider - are you sure that your hamster is acting different from her prepregnancy state? Is it possible that you are grieving the lost pup and projecting your emotions onto the hamster which might be acting like it always did?

I wouldn't add a friend just yet. She needs time to recover from the pregnancy and anything else that might be going on. Adding a friend always brings some level of stress and you want your hamster to be fully recovered prior to getting her a roommate.

You should put all new pets through a quarentine period, so as to not introduce any illnesses to your current ones. You could set up a potential new FEMALE friend in a separate cage now and use your existing hamsters recovery period as part of the quarintine period of the new pet.

Answer 6

I learned from having chinchillas that if you want to get it a friend then introduce them slowly. Try getting one and putting it in a cage next to the one you currently have. Keep them like this for a week or two so they can get use to the smell of one another and the other's presence. Let them interract outside of the cages for a little everyday. Then gradually let the new one in the old one's cage daily. If they don't fight and get along well, then you should be okay to put them in the same cage. Just be careful, patient, and don't force them upon one another. I know this works well with chinchillas, but I'm not sure aoubt hamsters...but I think it's worth a shot if you're really worried.

Answer 7

Hamsters sleep a lot.

That's it.

They do that.

You thinking it looks lonely is you putting a human emotion on an animal.

I wouldn't risk it as dwarf hamsters are only good living together if they've been together from a young age. If you suddenly introduce another one, they will probably fight viciously.

I would advise keeping her alone and giving her more attention.

***

BOTH of them living together since a young age, not just her being young.

Also, hamsters are actually only awake for about four hours a day, so she's probably up when you're asleep!

If you add another hamster, they will fight messily and to the death.

BUT HEY.

You wanna do it, it's their blood on your hands.

The only way you can do it is get another cage and put it next to your current cage so they get used to each others scents, and even then it may not work.