Teddy Bear Hamsters at Pet Store?

Question

I went to my pet store and there was a cage there that had a mom and dad and baby hamsters. I asked what kind they were and they said teddy bear hamsters. Could that be wrong because I have heard that the male and female can't stay together and they are at the pet store. I have also heard that the dad will eat the babies. He doesn't even care that they are there.

The dad looks like this:

http://homebodyhubby.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/2004-06-01-bitoy.gif

except really short hair.

The mom looks like this:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://bp1.blogger.com/_KKbH7vPgIZI/RmJcx2KiYwI/AAAAAAAAAZE/5Tu489uxQGI/s400/teddy-bear-hamster.jpg&imgrefurl=http://whatthepets.blogspot.com/2007/06/teddy-bear-hamster-angora-hamster.html&h=290&w=400&sz=26&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=IVlMDn5K1EjGVM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dteddy%2Bbear%2Bhamsters%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den

Could they be teddy bear hamsters and get along great?

Answer 1

No.

Please don't listen to that pet store- it's wrong.

Teddy bear/Syrian hamsters will fight to the death once they reach the age of 12 weeks or more.

I don't know why they're keeping them together, because they're just asking for trouble and I wouldn't be surprised if you saw them all dead or badly injured next time you come in.

***

We sell syrian hamsters where I work, but we don't breed them- that's not our job.

However, we do keep groups of four together until they're 12 weeks or start fighting. We have four cages of four, and we normally sell about 12 a week- leaving one per cage anyway, so it's rare we have fighting within the cages.

Answer 2

They really SHOULDN'T stay together. Pet stores often house Syrian ("Teddy Bear") hamsters together because it's cheaper to do that than to give them each their own cages, like they need.

Syrian hamsters are solitary by nature and, once they reach adulthood, will fight and possibly kill any other hamster in their territory. You may be seeing young hamsters - if they are only a few months old, their territorial urges might not have kicked in yet. Even if they have been breeding, they could still likely be young siblings from the same litter.

You also might just not be SEEING them fighting. Hamsters are mostly active at night - which is why a common complaint is, "My hamsters were fine during the day but I woke up and one was eating the other one!" They won't be fighting 24 hours a day, but they still aren't enjoying each other's company.

In the wild, male and female hamsters come together only for a few minutes to mate. The "father" doesn't stick around to help raise the pups.

The father won't necessarily eat the pups, but the mother might if she feels threatened - like from the presence of the father. This doesn't ALWAYS happen, but it CAN and there's no reason to keep the parents together.

Another reason NOT to keep them together is that it isn't healthy for a mother hamster to have litter after litter after litter, which is what happens if the male is around. Syrian hamsters are pregnant for about 14-16 days, which is almost a week less than it takes to raise and wean pups! It's stressful to have a new litter every 2-3 weeks. It's stressful to have just ONE litter! Responsible breeders give their females a break between litters.

The pet store you saw was probably mostly concerned with having lots and lots of baby hamsters to sell, and the fastest way they found to "produce" them was to leave a male and a female together. It's not a good idea, and it's not in the best interests of any of the hamsters.

Answer 3

hmmm... weird, i always too thought that.. but yes, those ARE teddys. well, actually theyre syrinians.. teddybear is just a nam to make em sound more appealing =]

Answer 4

You are right, they are teddy bears and should not be kept together. The sad part is that pet shops in a race to make a quick buck, forget the basics of hamster care. I have also witnessed syrians together in the same cage in some pet shops and have shouted myself hoarse telling the pet shop fellas to separate them.

As to why they do not seem to be fighting -

1. You must have visited during daytime when the hamsters are inactive, so you cannot see much activity.

2. You see only the healthy ones in the cage. Pet shops hide the bad stories of dead mauled syrians which they had to throw out the next day morning. I have witnessed two syrians fighting and it is not a pretty sight, the pet shop assistant got viciously bitten trying to separate them.

3. Maybe if you watch them more closely, the scars on their fur would show the real story of the amount of fighting that takes place.

4. They can stay together if the parents are still young themselves (about 3-4 months old). Goes to show that the pet shop is doing unhealthy breeding and keeping the two together again increasing the possibility of the female getting pregnant again soon and spoiling her health.

All these tell you that "do not purchase any hamsters" from that pet shop and if possible report them to your local animal rescue club.

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My guess is that the parents are young themselves. Syrians become territorial and solitary when they reach adulthood which cane be anytime between 3-5 months. That time they can fight viciously and kill each other too. Since the parents are still young, they have not yet started showing territorial signs. The day one of the parents get those territorial symptoms, there is going to be a deadly fight.

Only dwarfs from the same litter and of the same age group can stay together in the same cage. Even then, professional breeders separate the dwarf male from the female for a month or so after her delivery since it is dangerous for the female to get pregnant quickly after having a litter.

Answer 5

Well for 1 the dad will never eat the babie hamster and if they seem to be getting along there fine most the stuff your herd are rumors and myths.

hope this answers your question.