Getting another hammy

[Sunnee'sMom]

Hello,
I currently have a Syrian hamster, Sunnee. She is female and 19 months old. She lives in my bedroom in a 75 gallon aquarium. She prefers to keep to herself but will climb up my arm and sit on my shoulder if she wants treats haha. I've been considering getting another hamster (housed separately of course). There is one on a local craigslist page that is a male dwarf hamster that is about 8 months old. I would have liked to quarantine a new hamster in another room, but in the house I live in there isn't another place so he would move right into my room near my other hamster. I'm just worried about introducing another hamster into Sunnee's environment when I don't know the new hamster's health history. His owner says he is in good health and the pictures that I've seen he looks good in. So are there any things that I could do during the initial period to ease my mind? I planned to wash my hands and such between handling one and the other and thoroughly cleaning anything that goes in one cage before putting it in the other if I switch up their accessories. I also have an air purifier, idk if that would help anything. I also wanted to know if housing a male and female hamster in the same room (totally separate cages - they would never officially "meet") has any affects - even if they're different breeds? I've read that some females are sensitive to the smell of a male nearby. Sunnee hasn't been going through heat as often as she did when she was younger it seems, just based off what I've observed (and smelled) so I don't know if that would change anything.
Overall, I'm just very stressed about potentially introducing any new, foreign things to my Sunnee if I were to adopt another hamster and house them in the same room.
Thank you for listening to my rant and for any help.

 

[Maz]

Hello and welcome It sounds like you've thought carefully about it - which some people wouldn't - so I'm sure you will take care, as you've mentioned.

I believe, ideally, people quarantine a new hamster for 2 to 3 weeks - away from other hamsters. But particularly in the case of same species hamsters (eg if you were getting another Syrian). However the vast majority of people don't. They just get another hamster.

A dwarf hamster is a different species, and there are no concerns with the hamster's health, so I think everything you describe sounds fine. I would be more concerned if the hamster was coming from a pet shop and been in contact with a lot of other hamsters.

It's always good to wash your hands between hamsters anyway - I have a Robo and a Syrian in the same room and wash my hands between feeding each one (ie putting food out/handling the cage/changing the water).

An air purifier and washing your hands between hamsters is a good idea and thoughtful precaution. Then after 2 to 3 weeks you can relax I would be relaxed about it anyway, as from what you describe, quarantining doesn't sound necessary. They are just as susceptible to catching something from humans so these are the same precautions you would take if you had a cold eg.

Hamsters soon get used to there being another one around. You might even find them competing for attention or having wheel races!

It would be lovely to see a photo of Sunnee! And your new dwarf hamster when he arrives!

 

[elusive]

Hello & welcome to the forum.
I wouldn’t worry too much, I only have one room where I can keep my hamsters so have never quarantined any of them. As long as you keep to the hygiene measures which you’ve already thought about it’s very unlikely to be a problem.
Hamsters usually adjust to another hamster in the room but I always keep quite a good distance between my cages so they don’t actually feel their space is being invaded by another ham. With two different species I think they do tend to take less notice of one another anyway.