Housing
a Pair of Hamsters
Housing a pair of hamsters is
not much different than housing regular single or same sex pair
dwarfs. It is however
better to have a larger cage so that large families have room and
because the cage cannot be changed for 10 days after birth. This
makes for one messy cage so if it is larger the hamster waste gets
spread around and is less concentrated. Some dwarfs will be neat
enough to pee in one spot. If your hamster is like this you can
just pick up the bedding in this spot and replace it without changing
the entire cage. One warning, do not keep a pair of dwarfs that
are male and female in a wire barred cage. Why you ask? Because
when their babies are exactly two weeks old, they will walk out
of that cage and you will have one heck of a time finding them
in your house! You could place a wire cage in a plastic tub but
the babies might not be able to get back to mama if the tray is
too high. It is much better to keep pairs in aquariums or plastic
bins for this reason. As a warning, realize that once your female
is pregnant, both male and female may become nippier than normal.
Some will bite hard. This is not personal. Hamsters like most animals
want to protect their families. Even if they were super tame before,
they may be less than appreciative if your hand goes near their
nest. Most adult hamsters will revert back to their nicer dispositions
once the babies are older or gone completely. Each hamster is individual
so realize that their temperament may change permanently. You will
however have sweet babies as pets if you socialize them around
3 weeks. If your parents are nice hamsters you can handle the babies
gently for very short periods at 10 days of age.
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