Dwarf Hamster Sore

Question
We have two brother dwarf hamsters.  they are about 6 months old and have been living in the same cage. Lately they've been "snipping" at each other. One of them now has a sore on his belly - it looks like a pimple with a small scab in the middle.  Could this be a bite? Should I treat it with anything? What advice can you give me?

Thanks!!!


Answer
Yes, it is very probably a bite inflicted by his brother.  I wouldn't advise you to treat it with anything.  I suspect anything you applied to it would quickly be cleaned off by the hamster, and who knows what a topical ointment or treatment would do internally.  If it is a shallow wound, it should heal on its own with no help from you.  If it seems to be very deep, if it is red or angry-looking around the edges, smells foul or starts to drain pus, please call a veterinarian.

Russian dwarf hamsters are social animals and generally live in family groups in the wild, but these groups usually consist of more females than males.  Having a higher male to female ratio in a tank with any hamster is generally not a good idea, sometimes even in very large cages they will establish different territories and will often squabble because the food dish and water bottle are in one male's "territory" and the other male, of course, has to "invade" it to eat and drink.

Chinese dwarf hamsters, on the other hand, are pretty solitary and would much prefer to not have cage-mates.  Usually the smaller animal will get pretty beat up in this fights, but most of the wounds are usually concentrated around the tail area.

You didn't specify what kind of dwarf hamsters you have.

I'm assuming you bought two males because you didn't want to have a gazillion babies, and if I am correct that was very responsible of you.

The most immediate solution I can give you is to separate them.  Don't worry, they won't be lonely, especially not if they get a lot of daily interaction from you or other members of your household.  :) I've rarely seen male russian dwarf hamsters fight to the death (but male Chinese dwarf hamsters will!) when there are no females around, but they sometimes do just squabble and irritate each other.  What happens at that point is that one hamster is getting beaten on a very regular basis (which seems to be what you are witnessing) and eventually becomees very jumpy, and defensive.  A very docile male hamster, after being in a cage where he feels he must constantly be on alert and defend himself, may suddenly bite his handler.  It's not his fault - he's just more easily startled and wary now.

Some stores sell very heavy-duty plastic partitions that you can divide cages into two living areas with.  (These partitions are much more heavy-duty than aquarium dividers for fish - hamsters would gnaw right through that in a day's work.)  They should be located with the small animal cages.

If your local pet supply store does not carry those and cannot special order them for you, you will probably just need to buy another cage.  Lots of stores now sell cages with food dishes and water bottles included for fairly low costs, and if they don't the cost of a ten gallon tank with a screen lid and the clasps to hold it isn't all that expensive (at least not where I am).

Another alternative, if you have the gumption and the necessary tools, is to make your own cage using a sixteen gallon clear plastic rubbermaid tub, as outlined by Odds & Endlers Hamstery here:  http://www.geocities.com/florida_hamster/housing.htm

If you are very "handy" you could probably figure out how this cage is made just by inspecting the pictures, if not, you can get detailed instructions simply by emailing the proprietess of the website and asking her.  She's very nice!

Hamsters, even same-sex pairs, housed in a sixteen gallon tub-style cage, usually have noticeably fewer squabbles than pairs kept in smaller cages. (Especially if there are two feeding stations.)  They have enough room to get out of each other's way.  :)