dwarf hamsters

[shaylee]

i recently got two tiny 8 week old dwarf hamsters. they were sisters and seemed to fight a little bit and squeak at each other every now and again, but nothing too bad. yesterday i went to the cage and one of them had eaten half of the other ones face! i was horrified.
has this happened to anybody else?

[B00]

OMG!!!
How horrible! Is it still alive and ok?

I can't help with your actual question I'm afraid, but it's obvious you're going to have to separate them.

I really hope Hammy is ok, good luck!

[Internet fan]

Yes in my experience dwarf hamsters fight and kill just as Syrian hamsters would if caged together. My sister had two chinese hamsters and one morning she came down to one of them eating the other one... I would never keep two together ever again. I have a Roboroskvi hamster at the moment and he/she lives quite happily on his own.

[shaylee]

no, thankfully the other hamster wasnt alive, the poor little thing was half eaten anyway. when i bought them from the pet shop for my partners daughter (who hadnt even seen them yet!) they said they were sisters and had been together since birth so would be ok. guess ive learnt my lesson, i wouldnt like to see that ever again. it turned my stomach. yuk

[wolf63]

Bet you won't look at her cute little furry face with so much affection from now on.

I always thought these little things were harmless and cute but just goes to show you how looks can be deceiving.

[johnny37]

I havent kept hamsters for years but I seem to remember they are solitary creatures, very territorial and should never be kept together. The only time adults like each other is when they were mating! They should then be separated immediately. Gerbils can be kept together but if they mate they must be separed afterwards or the male will eat the babies.

[precious16]

I have three Dwarf Hamsters...well 2 (one just died yesterday) and six baby hamsters. I have never had any problem. When the female was alive she got along real well with the males, and the males get along just fine with each other. When the babies get older I plan on putting the males with the other two males and keeping the sisters together. I think youwere just unlucky to have a pair who seemed to have "sibling rivalry." I think if you had two from seperate litters they would get along just fine. Hamsters shouldn't beleft "alone." It can cause them to die at an early age...