number of hamsters in one cage? - Paw Talk

rockman0 · #1 01-29-2008, 06:05 PM

I was interested in adopting 3 hamsters from someone. they posted on craigslist that they have 6 syrian and dwarf hamsters available.

I was wondering if three in a cage is okay? I have a crittertrail 3 and plan on buying some attachable rooms. what is the limit, if any, for amount of hamsters in one cage? they are dwarfs and i just sent an email about the type? does it vary by type?

christine · #2 01-29-2008, 06:20 PM

I HEARD hamsters can fight if you put them in a group so I would only put one per cage...but I've never had hamsters so I'm not for certain.

Luciana Mottola · #3 01-29-2008, 07:32 PM

if they are syrians you can only put one for cage! they fight very hard! specialy the females!

Luciana Mottola · #4 01-29-2008, 07:33 PM

few year ago i had two syrians (males) who lived togheter! but i think this is not commum!

rockman0 · #5 01-29-2008, 07:58 PM

they're dwarfs, possibly robos. i've kept two RWW together and they both got along fine. i mean, they had their little tussles but they really liked each other and took up for one another. once ozzy got stuck in his wheel and i didn't know (i'd been at school) and when i came back into the room, i saw drix trying to help him out, literally push him through from behind, so i just gave him a hand and drix became afraid of the wheel. ozzy just hopped right back on.

anyways, i know dwarfs can get along but just wondering how many?

Luciana Mottola · #6 01-30-2008, 08:16 AM

i saw people who put 3 dwarfs on a cage or more! but i think it depends the size of the cage!

Vanilla_Rat · #7 01-30-2008, 10:48 AM

I have never had dwarfs,just syrians.
But I would say,as with any animal...it depends on the cage size.Because if the cage is too small for that amount of hamsters,there will probably be fighting.

rockman0 · #8 01-30-2008, 11:03 AM

it's a crittertrail 3 and i plan on buying some of those tunnels and attach crittertrail minis to them. so that there can be extra rooms.

would that be big enough?

petluvr01 · #9 01-30-2008, 06:58 PM

I think It would be plenty room for three of them.

Luciana Mottola · #10 01-31-2008, 08:43 AM

yeah i think is enough! good luck with your little friends!! and don't forget to post pictures of them =)

mulder · #11 01-31-2008, 08:51 AM

it's ok to put them in a cage together as long as they're dwarfs. syrians are naturally solitary animals in the wild. they can live together as youngsters but as they reach maturity they must be separated

rockman0 · #12 01-31-2008, 09:40 AM

i talked to the lady and she already gave away the dwarfs!!!

Now I have to go somewhere else. It would be nice to get some as babies from another place besides the pet store but they're the only ones who sell small pets.

Breeders here only breed dogs and shelters only rescue cats and dog.

Vanilla_Rat · #13 01-31-2008, 09:54 AM

Awwww! I am sorry.Maybe you can post an ad saying you would like dwarf hamsters.

rockman0 · #14 02-01-2008, 09:41 AM

i posted one on craigslist.

the lady emailed me with pictures and she had a bunch of syrians in one big cage. she said they never fight. but i think it's because they're just babies. she'll probably have to separate them soon.

i think she's breeding because she said they keeps a few. however, i'm not sure how much she actually knows about hamsters.

karlh · #15 02-01-2008, 11:52 AM

Syrians MUST always live ALONE. They are very territorial and will fight to death, to protect their patch. And I mean DEATH. So no way.. In regards to dwarves, you can keep as many as you wish, providing you have the space. It is said that a 1ftx2ft is the MINIMUM need for a single hamster. Larger the cage, the better. It is always preferrable to have either sex, from the same litter. They should get on much better. Some say that males are better tempered and get on better. They will have their little squabbles, but seldom fight seriously. But, as you will see from the various posts here, they do sometime fight and have to be separated. so, as a started, I would have 2 males in a large enough cage, where you could have 2 separate sleeping quarters. They will try to establish their dominance at about 4 months of age. I had to get another wheel and a food bowl. They have settled down since, but they still prefer to be in their respective wheels. Either to run or sleep... I have only one toilet and a bath house. This does not bother them all that much, as they will take a bath together... Unfortunately, though, they get the places mixed up sometimes. And sleep in the toilet or poo in the bath... But overall, they are neat and tidy little fellows..
If you have larger quantity, you may suffer from their fighting and having to separate them and keep them is separate cages. Re-introduction does not always work, so be ready for the worst scenario....:-))