Why do Syrian Hamsters fight?
wavejockglw
Posts: 10,596 Forum Member
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I has a couple of Syrian hamsters but after a while one fought and killed the other one.
That happened even after they were separated and only allowed to meet when their cages needed cleaned.
They are very viscious animals.
That happened even after they were separated and only allowed to meet when their cages needed cleaned.
They are very viscious animals.
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Why din't you clean one cage out first and then put the hamster back in it before cleaning out the other cage. If the were fighting beforehand then it was bound to happen again when you put them together when cleaning their cages.
Did you not think of doing something like that?
Most likely the other one had died of natural causes. Rodents, being prey animals in the wild, sometimes eat dead cagemates as in the wild they'd attract predators.
those won't have been Syrian hamsters, other species do live in social groupings
Syrian hamsters are STRICTLY solitary animals.
they will fight another hamster to the death for resources and territory, they only come together to breed, usually, and even then it can end in a fight inflicting serious injuries.
it's just their way, it's the same as fish keeping, you wouldn't keep a single neon tetra, nor would you keep a group of male siamese fighters.
Just to add to the conversation and I used to have a Syrian Hamster and in the information from Pets at Home that you get when purchasing a pet, it said not to keep two Syrian Hamsters together as others have said above they are solitary.
They are not vicious animals, they are just extremely territorial. Even in the wild they live alone. Next time you buy a pet, do some research. Sorry to be harsh, but keeping a pet is a responsibility and it is your fault that one died.
I just googled and you are right. My daughter bought them, I don't know much about them but I was left to care for them (as usual!). I have a hamster right now that she bought, he is on his own and is something of an escape artist. Very, very cute though and also very tame and friendly. Looking at the pics on google, i think he might be a Syrian wheras they were smaller than him and not half as cute!
HeHe my hamster used to do that as well we had to wire the cage doors shut because he could open them:eek:. When we first got him he tried to knaw through the box his was in to get him home.:D
Can the males and females not live together?
How come they don't eat their babies?
There is so much ignorance about keeping a hamster...really, it's a pet not a toy.
A lot of that implies human intervention though (deliberate mating, separating parents & children etc.)
How do they manage in the wild?
the male comes along, does his job and leaves the female to it.
she raises then sees the kids off when she's sick of them, they go find their own territories and live solitary lives.
as for finding a mate, female hamster will scent mark their surroundings by rubbing against them - this is why you can often see a female rubbing against her cage bars
and the male will come along and find her from the scent trails.
if you put a female hamster out in a room and let her walk around, then place a male down, he will follow her tracks.
I was shocked when I went to Pets at Home last week and saw many syrian hamsters in the same cages, climbing over each other.