Why roborovski hamsters should live alone in captivity 

Thank you for posting this! There is so much ignorance about this, and many people unwittingly put them together not realising the harm it causes for the poor robos.

I have adopted unwanted hamsters for over ten years. I recently adopted two robos housed together and are about 11 months old. I have monitored their interaction and have decided only after a few days of owning them to separate them even though they have two of everything. This is the second time I have adopted dwarf hamsters in pairs the first was two female hybrid dwarfs and they were separated within 24 hours of being here. Yet pet shops still encourage people to adopt dwarfs in pairs.

I had an uncommon experience as a child, of a pet store owner actually telling me NOT to buy two hamsters., because they would likely bite and possibly kill each other. Tbf. it is not a chain store, owned by some big corpo. It is a small, privately owned shop in my area. And with some conversation, I had with the owner (who really operates the cash register and cares for the animals in the shop himself), you can see he has at least some actual knowledge about what he's selling, and how to care for these animals. The tanks are clearer and it's much more rare to find dead or ill fish in them than I've seen in big pet stores. Rodents, guinea pigs and rabbits look healthy when sold and he usually has only a few in stock. Maybe not completely up to date with what we know now, as he is an older guy, but you can see He at least tries and doesn't do it ONLY for maximized profit. Still, pet store clerks usually aren't the best source for information. Those who care are relatively rare, and even they don't always have 100% up-to-date info. Always do your own research.

Because of this video I will only get one. Thanks for educating me. ❤🎉

Thanks for this video, everything you say is so important. It’s great that you are putting this information out there, let’s hope people take notice of what you say and ignore the rubbish advice from pet shops who just want to sell more hamsters and who don’t give the correct advice about how to look after them - starting with being quite happy to sell enclosures which are far too small!! H Keep up the good work.

Could you link the study? Great video. I adopted a pair of sisters with the intention of separating them asap, and even though it was costly I’m so glad I did. A lot of territorial bullying and blood was drawn twice, the smaller girl was covered in scabs on her back. They both lived long, safe & happy lives apart.

Thank you for sharing you are right about pet shops I once had that offer I did have 4 of them I had them together them I decided to separate them and I was much happier myself

i adopted from pets at home a pair of robo's and when asked what enclosure i was putting them in replied a zoozone2 cage EACH . the rule is one hamster one enclosure is important ..each hamster deserves it's own space to live his / her life without stress and living with another who attacks or intimidates and makes their lives a misery .

Excellent, pets at home are still rehousing pet hamsters in pairs from their adoption service. Argh! as well as still selling tiny cages, hamsters balls and unsafe bedding…and then there’s the poor quality food.

ATEEE

Absolutely they should live alone.

Another excellent video! I still see many people having pairs or groups of robos and insisting they are happy. They seem to misinterpret the body language and describe things like hugging, playing etc when it is actually dominance. The main hamster sites that come up when searching are sites which pull false information from other like minded sites and sadly people read them and assume they are true. Pet shops are the worst place for spreading the idea robos can live together and it is just so sad. How awful for a pet shop to offer a discount on more then one robo like they are an item of clothing.