Roborovskis

Question
QUESTION: Hi there

I bought two male Robos back in September and I woke up one morning and one of them had a bit of blood on its back.  I separated them because I thought they were going to fight all the time, but now I'm wondering if I did the right thing as one of them is very fat and not interested in exercising or running around.  Is it possible that I can put them back together?

Many thanks.

M

ANSWER: Hi Martina

The problem with dwarf hamsters is that they can fight and once separated it is pretty much impossible to put them back together.  I personally wouldn't risk it - as they were fighting before they are bound to fight again, and the fighting could be a lot worse.

How big are their tanks?  Can you introduce some toys into them?  

You can buy tiny hamster exercise balls for dwarf hamsters - if you haven't got one it might be worth getting a couple and seeing how they get on - make sure the door to the ball is closed firmly as they do sometimes have a habit of opening if they bang into furniture.  Also, they do need monitoring when in a ball as they can get stuck under furniture.  I've only ever put Campbells or Winter Whites into these balls, but although robos are smaller they might still be ok in one.  It might be worth a try.  Alternatively, how about creating a play area in another box that has a dust bath (use the special chinchilla dust in a low dish) etc.  Then every evening you could perhaps let each of them have some time in this (on their own).

Once hamsters settle down and feel more comfortable they do often change their behaviour and some can get lazy.  Of course you need to provide plenty of stimulation for a hamster so that they can exercise if they want to, but some are definitely much more active than others.

Hope you get on OK.

Regards

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for replying.

They both have big tanks, each with a wheel, they have plenty of tubing and a Ferplast lab each.  I bought a Ferplast gym for Manny (the lazy one!) but he just isn't interested.  He has a playground in his tank, but doesn't really play in/on it.  They both have exercise balls but I usually find Manny under a table or chair, stationery.

I shall try the dust bath I think, see how he gets on with that.

Thanks for the advice.

M

Answer
It could just be that Manny is feeling much calmer now that he is on his own, rather than there being a problem - perhaps before he was stressed and this came through in his behaviour.  Dust baths are popular so it would be worth letting them have one of this now and again anyway.

Providing he is eating/drinking normally, and there are no obvious signs of ill health then this could well just be his true character coming out.  I had a Syrian hamster once who pretty much slept his entire life away - he was always sleeping and used to curl up in his hamster ball and go to sleep - he lived a full life so there was nothing wrong medically with him.

Good luck with this.

Regards