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Summary: Owning and handling multiple hamsters is discussed in this free video series and guide.
Laura Nessen works at the Pet kingdom in Cottonwood, Arizona and can be reached at 928-639-4283 for more info about finches.read more
"On behalf of Expert Village, my name is Laura. Hamsters seem to get along well with more than one or two in the tank. We have had up to 12 in a tank at a time. Unlike rats or mice, they don't get too aggressive. Doing this at home, is not recommended unless the pets have been together since birth. When we get the hamsters in, they come in together so they are used to each other. If you would like to introduce one hamster to the other, make sure you do it at the same age. You have less tendency of causing problems. I recommend of having at least 2 hamsters together. Hamsters need company and they get bored easily. Introducing hamsters is not an easy task. If you've already had a hamster and you want to introduce another hamster, the best way to do that is buy a separate tank for the new one, put the tanks next to each other and let them get to know each other that way before you introduce them into the same tank. Male hamsters can be aggressive. If you put another male hamster in, they may attack. So the best way to avoid that problem is either to have two females or male and a female. Now you get 3 or 4 hamsters at the same time, you should not have any problems with this. "
eHow Article: Handling & Owning Multiple Hamsters
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Comments
io999 said
on 9/25/2009 What is she talking about? they try to kill each other if they are housed together even if they are brothers or sisters. they can live together about 6 weeks since birth and then they get territorial no matter now large their cage is. and i mean the cage i had was massive - took half of the room and still one by one they've turned in 6 to 8 weeks. And having male and female hamster together is not going to help they'll either have lots of little hammies (they can start having them when they are just 5 weeks old - but this should be prevented until female is at least 3 months old)or female will try to kill the male one. and how can someone be so irresponsible to say such stupid things. someone give her a book about hamsters.
aprilmkiss said
on 8/2/2008 Syrian hamsters, like the ones featured in your video, should NEVER be housed together, regardless if they are siblings or not. Syrians are strictly solitary and will attack and potentially kill a cagemate past 6 weeks old. Syrian hamsters DO NOT need company. They prefer to be alone.
I don't know where you get this idea that hamsters get bored easily; they are actually quite contented to go about their lives alone provided they are given proper housing and care. If the hamsters in your store seem like they're bored because they always scratch at the cage walls or are jumping about, it's because you have 12 of them housed in a ten gallon tank, which is far to small and quite annoying to a solitary animal. They shouldn't even be very active during the day because they're nocturnal, which you neglected to mention.
It's also very irresponsible to suggest that pet owners keep males and females together, considering they can mate and have up to 25 pups. I'm sure you tell that to your customers, though, since you're advising that they keep solitary animals together.
crazypelo77 said
on 4/11/2009 I agree 100% with aprilmkiss. Syrians should NEVER be housed together. Where did this person get her information? Read a book on hamsters or research on a reputable website about them. Anywhere you read it will say that Syrian hamsters are not sociable like rats and mice (which are good together) and will get territorial as they get older and begin to fight. I work at a big name pet store and we occasionally have problems with littermates that will attack each other, even the Dwarfs. And 12 hamsters in a 10 gallon, are you kidding? That is cruel. I just can't believe that this person, which everything she said was false, is on a site called "expert village." She is anything but an expert.