hamster ?!

Question
I only have one hamster now but want another.The one I have now is a girl.I have never had 2 hamsters in the same cage and want to get a boy hamster to go with the girl.Should I put them together?I am willing to have a litter of hamster babies and dont really know how to introduce the 2 together!Do you have any advice on how to cage them together?

Answer
Dear Kitty,
thank you for your question.
This is really not a good idea. Syrian hamsters are strictly solitary and will fight to the death. Most dwarf hamster species live together as breeding pairs in the wild, but in captivity even those often fight because they tend to change partners once in a while and because even huge cages may be too small for the hamsters to avoid each other.

Introducing hamsters that have never met is difficult and it may not work, even with a male and a female, especially if the female is not ready to breed at the time. If it works, you will end up with a lot more than one litter because the female can get pregnant again almost immediately after giving birth.

If you do want to breed them, I recommend joining a hamster club. There you will have knowledgeable people who can give advice on genetics, behaviour ect. Knowing about genetics is important because the wrong combination of genes may cause stillborn or malformed babies (no eyes for example or deformed internal organs). Since you cannot be sure about the genetic makeup of your hamster, there is no way to tell if she is carrying any genes that may cause problems.

I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer