Merlin that is very neat about those three, but I think it's a 1 in 100 chance of something like that happening.
I think the reason some people can't belive it is b/c it's very rare, also by saying "most syrains are fine together" get's people on the defencive b/c young kids will read this, say it's ok get two syrians and wodner why they killed one another a week later. Young people new to hamsters will read the "yes you can" and not the rest of the information. From my own experiacne reading on many different pet boards I have seen this happen.
I even know someone who has kept male mice together, that to can be a rare instance, as more often they do attack one another.

Yeah I guess I should have put the whole story first. It is not likely that 2 syrain hamster that have never seen each other before will get along, I think it is a safe bet that one will end up dead or seriously injured. But in my case, with these 3 females that have lived together all their lives, I thnk it is fine.

And I also think that if you want hamsters to live together than not to get syrains but dwarfs. Sorry for the confusion. And I understand what all of you are saying about not houseing them together.

Me,my sister and my friend all have succesfully raised up male mice together from birth.

Me too! I used to keep mice and if males were raised together they would get along fine it was when you had to introduce them that fights could occur.

as a kid i had male mice together that were litter mates and they actually ate each other. so never again will i try that.
they were awsome mice too, both long haired. one silver and one calico.

Yeah,thats the only time we have had problems...if we tried introducing males from different litters.But from the same litters,if we never seperated them at all,they lived together no problem!

I once had 2 brothers living together and when one died,the other greived and pined away a week later!

if the males are neutered in most cases you can house them together, same litter or not..... i have housed mice and rats together...hamsters and mice...hamsters mice and rats (the hamsters were campbell)...ect...however..i have experience and know my pets behavior well enough to make a decision...with syrians...well...they never really seem nice to other animals..lol...so when i saw how the pet store guy had all his hamsters that were syrian living together like it was no big deal i was blown away...there are exceptions with every animal..and i thought...how can you possibly have that many "exceptions" to the rule living together under the same roof...i ve had syrians for 4yrs and during that time i didnt make any of my unusual and unconvential pairings using these animals...so im always into seeing the unthinkable happen


i dont like to go by the book on every little thing...i am fond, Merlin, of the fact that you were able to keep them together, its unusal but hey odd stuff does happen...i wish you had some pics...i would have loved to see the lil guys..

on the other hand, i realize that like jenna said that for the most part housing syrians together is a no- no...bc it s true...most people who had no idea about syrains would say hey lets get a bunch of them...but to someone that has had them their entire life...i think after years and years of experience in safely handling those pets by the book they can make and educated observation and make that call (just like i made the call to raise hammies, mice and rats together)

thats just my own personal opinion and i respect everyone else's beliefs

I currently have two male littermates living together with no problems so far. I understand that problems may arise and am prepared to separate them immediately if/when they do. They just seem so happy together, sleeping cuddled up and grooming each other, that I don't want to separate them unnecessarily.

Anyway, we should probably give this thread back to the hamsters...

as a general rule hamster are supposed to be housed together. However as with anything sometimes there are exceptions to the rule although very rare.

Hi I just want to clear up some of this mess that has assumed teddy bear hamsters can be housed together. This is not the case for me. I have been breeding Syrians for 6 years now and all my females and males are all housed together as long as there is enough room for the "colony" that it is in there they will not fight. I am not saying this works for every hamster but for mine it does so long as there is enough room food water housing etc. As well as the space they are living in. My males are in one housing unit and my females are in another. So long as they have enough room they do not fight. Don't get me wrong I have had a few who can not be housed together more dominate ones but in general all of mine do fine with being together no fight