Pairing Hamsters

This is yet another controversial topic that deserves more recognition: should hamsters live in groups? Is this an enriching lifestyle that will result in multiple happy hamsters, or a strained relationship of two anti-social animals being forced to coexist together?

The Anti-Social Species

Syrian hamsters naturally do not live together in the wild. They will steer clear of other hamsters and their territories. A single Syrian will have their own territory where they have their nest, search for food, and raise their pups.

Male Syrians seek out the territory of a female with whom they will breed. The male then assists the female with caring for the pups until they reach sexual maturity.

The female hamster will then force out the male and her mature pups, and they’ll go create their own territories.

Syrian hamsters have been proven from thorough studies that they do not seek out companionship from other hamsters, and will usually fight (or kill) any hamster that enters their territory UNLESS they intend to breed.

Syrians should be housed in separate cages, but you can own multiple, separate Syrians at one time.

Chinese hamsters are the least common species of hamster to own. Should you be able to find multiple Chinese hamsters available, it is best to house them separately for the same reasons as Syrians.

Winter White Russian Dwarf hamsters, also referred to as Djungardians, are often thought to be a social species of hamster. This is not true for Winter Whites. They have been found to not be social in the wild, and should not be forced into close proximity in captivity.

The Social Species

Campbell’s Russian Dwarf hamsters have been seen in large colonies of other Campbell’s in the wild. However, does this mean they should be housed together?

I think not. Campbell’s hamsters only really live together for 2 reasons in the wild:

• Safety (in numbers)
• Breeding (mass reproduction)

A domestic hamster needs to neither seek safety in a large group, or reproduce! For those reasons, I don’t recommend housing pairs of Campbell’s.

The chance of a pair fighting is reasonably high, and I prefer not to take chances.

Roborovski Dwarf hamsters, A.K.A. Robos are the smallest and speediest species of domestic hamster. In the wild they too live in colonies for the same purposes as Campbell’s, and for the same reasons, I wouldn’t personally house them together unnecessarily.

Hybrids

The Winter White and Campbell’s Russian Dwarf are extremely similar; they are so closely related in fact, that they have produced a cross-bred hamster.

These cross-bred Russian Dwarfs are usually referred to as Hybrid dwarfs or Hybrids. The real question is: are they social?

I don’t believe there is a definitive answer to that question. You have a social and an anti-social parent, so which will the pups be? I think there would be some social and some anti-social Hybrids.

I would not recommend housing Hybrids together because we just don’t know if they’re truly social.

And the issue is, most Russian Dwarfs advertised as Winter Whites or Campbell’s are not purebreds, but Hybrids (unless purchased from a reputable, ethical breeder). I would not recommend housing any Russian dwarfs from anyone except an ethical breeder together, because it will most likely be a Hybrid, which is probably not social.

The risk of them fighting is extremely high, and pet owners should be striving for prevention, not the owner’s joy of seeing two hamsters together.

Recap

Syrians, Chinese, and Winter White Russian Dwarf hamsters are NOT SOCIAL, and must be housed separately for their well-being.

Purebred Campbell’s Russian Dwarfs and Roborovski Dwarf hamsters can be housed in same-sex groups, but do not have any real benefit from doing so.

If a Campbell’s Russian Dwarf hamster is not coming from a reputable, ethical breeder they are MOST LIKELY going to be a Hybrid Dwarf, which should not be paired with other hamsters.

Never put two different social hamster species in pairs.

Conclusion

Whew! That was a lot to go through. I really hope that this all makes sense, but if you have any questions please go ahead and comment your concerns.

Personally, I wouldn’t ever keep a pair unless I rescued/adopted them, and even then I would work towards separating them. Have you ever owned a pair, or had experience with owning multiple hamsters? Feel free to comment in the Reply section about your experience; I’d love to hear about it!

If you’re interested in more hamster-related content be sure to like this post and follow the blog, and I’ll be back on Tuesday with more small pet care, DIYs, recipes, cage setups, stories and more, have a ham-tastic day!