About-Roborovskis

So let’s just say you have a lonely hamster, maybe because their companion passed away. But you can’t bare to leave him on his own, so you buy a hamster of the same breed, sex and age to hopefully introduce to him successfully.

Now, there are many ways of doing so. The way I do it, which I'm about to explain, is the best, safest and kindest way of doing it. But, can take time, a small amount of money, and frustration, depending on the cage.

Start by cleaning the cage out thoroughly! Use safe pet disinfectant on everything; including wood toys (Leave it in the airing cupboard or outside to dry). Once done, take accurate measurements and drawing etc of the main body frame of the cage. Rounded or shaped cages will be extremely tricky to do this method with if making your own separator.

Here are pictures of how I made mine safe and "snazzy". Once you have the measurements, cut all the wood (twice) like I have done. So in all you'll be making two identical wooden frames. Once each frame are temporarily glued together, get some fine mesh, cut it so it overlaps each inner frame but doesn't come out the other side (That sounds confusing so I've take some photos to explain).

Place the other frame on top and you can either screw or staple the wood together. I was going to use screws and did for parts of it, then I realized the staple gun would be a lot easier.

Question: Why is one part of the frame bigger than the rest?
Answer: The mesh I have used crosses over each other horizontally and vertically, making it climbable! So I designed one part of the wood to be larger/wider than the rest. This’ll stop any climbing hamsters from jumping over to the other side of the cage!

Question: How will I know that the mesh won’t move once it's between the wooden frames?
Answer: When you staple the wood together, on the inner part of the frame, you are trapping those extra bits of unseen mesh in place, so it can not move!

Question: Why make two frames when you can attach the mesh to one frame?
Answer: The edges of the mesh are extremely sharp and will undoubtedly cause harm to your furry friend! So Making two frames to cover both sides of the sharp mesh proved a good idea.

Before you put it in the cage, Hoover over the frame to remove any dust. Then, wipe over it with a damp cloth to remove any other excess dust. Set up the cage as you want, but don't forget you'll need 2 of everything for the time being. Put both hamsters in the separate parts of the cage and leave to settle in for 1 to 2 weeks.

The barrier will allow them to see, smell and touch each other, but not harm the one other. It may be a good idea to put the opening of their houses next to the cage. This will encourage them to spend more time by the barrier, thus making them notice each other more and investigate!

After a week, swap each hamster about every day, so they live in the other hamsters living quarters where their scent is present. This is a safe way of introducing them to each other, without the other hamster being there. Once you are convinced they will get along, you can try putting them in a scented free box, and see how they react with each other. After, if that is successful after a few hours, clean their current cage and remove the separator. The first night you will need to stay up to watch for any fights, and just keep a sharp eye open for the rest of the week.

Any questions just E-mail me from "Contact" on the Home page.

Piczo