Fighting... with blood...

Question
Hi Lauren,

I know you've just had this question asked, and I'm sure you get this all the time but... I just got two male dwarf hamsters that are brothers and have been together since birth. I brought them home and for two days they were fine. Slept curled in a little ball together, played together, and seemed to be generally adapting well to their new home. Then this morning I noticed one had a scratch on his head. They have been play fighting but I've been told this was to establish dominance so I figured "Hey, boys will be boys" and have sort of ignored it till now. I separated them for a few hours and tried to reintroduce them. They did fine for most of the day... while they slept. Now they're back at the squabbling. I don't want to keep them apart if it's just play fighting that got to rough but I don't want to see them rip each other apart either.

Any help at all would be much appreciated.
Thank Lauren,
Kate

Answer
Sounds like they're going to have to be separated.  Normally it works out with dwarf hamsters but if you're seeing blood, it's simply not meant to be.  If you really want to try keeping them together, you'll need two of just about everything: food dishes, treats, and igloos/houses where they sleep. However, if the dominant one is dead-set against having a companion, he'll likely just claim both territories as his own.

Good luck and let me know if I can be of any more help
~Lauren