strange hamster behavior

Question
Hi! my syrian hamster gave birth to 13 babies on xmas eve. i kept 2 of the babies, one boy and one girl. the boy, who used to be friendly and very active, has acted strangely ever since i separated him from his brothers a few months ago. he doesnt like to be held, and he hides in the corner when i come near his cage. sometimes he even shakes or jumps. the other day i was playing with his sister and brought her on top of his tank. he got so excited! he started running all over his cage, thru his tubes, playing all over the place. his sister got pretty excited too. i was wondering if this means hes just lonely and misses his family? or if it was because she is a female, and thats what happens when u put a female and male near eachother? and if so, what should i do? should i move their cages closer?

Answer
Hi Justine,

When your female hamster was on top of your male hamster's cage, he became excited, which is normal.  He wanted to mate with her.  (He doesn't recognize her as his sister.)  Keeping a female's cage and a male's cage close together will make the male agitated.  So, it's best to separate the cages so the male won't be so agitated.

Since your male is acting differently, you'll have to work harder to tame him.  Hold him and play with him frequently so he'll get used to you and won't hide.  Remember to be gentle with him, and never surprise him suddenly.  It will take time, so you'll have to be patient :)

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask :)

Kelly