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Mumsnet does not check the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you're worried about the health of your pet, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

MNHQ have commented on this thread

Small pets

Hamster is gay, how to explain to children?

105 replies

sophiechitt · 26/10/2020 00:40

Our hamsters are both men, and our kids are asking why they cuddle so much, how do explain this to children 😂😂

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jennie0412 · 26/10/2020 00:41

If they are Syrian hamsters they shouldn't be living together!

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DrMadelineMaxwell · 26/10/2020 00:48

Even other breeds that say they can live together rarely can without fighting and injuring or even killing each other. 2nd cage asap.

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BLASTPROCESSING · 26/10/2020 01:07

Do they aye

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ConquestEmpireHungerPlague · 26/10/2020 01:14

I don't know anything about hamsters, but as a general answer to your question, can't you just explain to your children that not all couples are breeding couples, and that if they're not planning to breed then it doesn't matter what sex they are?

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BooksAreNotEssentialInWales · 26/10/2020 01:16

Are you sure it's not a dominance thing before a murderous fight if it's hamsters? They can only live together as babies then they need to be apart (unless they are Russian Hamsters).

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allthewaterinthetap · 26/10/2020 01:21

Surely the only necessary answer is that they cuddle because they are best friends and love each other?

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jessstan1 · 26/10/2020 01:21

English hamsters often have same sex relationships and peacefully co-exist when not copulating.

This will teach your children to be tolerant and accepting of all sorts of partnerships.

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NoSquirrels · 26/10/2020 01:25

If your kids are asking why they ‘cuddle so much’ would you not just say ‘because they like/love each other’?

Heed the PPs warnings about male hamsters - I’ve no idea.

But if you’re asking how to explain same-sex attraction it’s easy - they like each other enough to cuddle lots.

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Lovelydovey · 26/10/2020 01:31

Are you sure they’re both male? My male hamsters had babies - clearly missexed by the pet shop....

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MyDarlingWhatIfYouFly · 26/10/2020 01:36

What kind of hamster? If they are Syrian (the "standard" type rather than the smaller ones) then please separate them - they will fight and it's likely one will seriously injure or kill the other.

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BuntysTwinkle · 26/10/2020 01:53

Might it be dominance humping?

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PhilSwagielka · 26/10/2020 01:56

In before Richard Gere jokes.

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KoalaRabbit · 26/10/2020 02:12

I would just say as they love cuddling. We have 3 female chickens and one often has its wing around another one and the third one appears to be trying to make babies from the unfertilised eggs by sitting on eggs from all 3 chickens.

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PhilSwagielka · 26/10/2020 02:28

Tell them the hamsters love each other very much.

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SemperIdem · 26/10/2020 02:41

@BooksAreNotEssentialInWales I had Russian hamsters as a child. I like to think the one killed the other before eating it, because it seems kinder than the smaller hamster being eaten alive.

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EmmaGrundyForPM · 26/10/2020 02:44

As others have said, hamsters will kill each other so you need to separate them.

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PebblesAndBamBam · 26/10/2020 02:46

Could be gay hamsters. However, could also be:

Prelude to hamster homicide
Good friends cuddling
A failure by the pet shop to sex them properly (we ended up with 8 baby gerbils this way)

I would not go for explaining the dynamics of hamster sex if it were me, tbh.

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DigiEm · 26/10/2020 03:29

Separate them! I had Chinese dwarf hamsters that apparently can live together according to Pets at home but after a few months when they matured one almost lost an eye due to fighting (can still remember the noise now during middle of the night!) and had to be separated.

Also why not just say they are brothers which they probably are.

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acerred · 26/10/2020 03:44

@PhilSwagielka

In before Richard Gere jokes.

So you got in before Richard gere then ?

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RainbowMum11 · 26/10/2020 03:58

There you go - my first idea was to say, well they just love each other, it doesn't matter what gender they are, but if they are likely to kill each other then it's probably better to just separate them.

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chatwoo · 26/10/2020 04:03

Trying to keep warm?

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nevergoingoutagain · 26/10/2020 05:10

All the possibilities of dominance, possibilities of sex etc aside, this is really a question of how to explain homosexuality. Answer is it's completely unnecessary! Just say "because they love each other....."

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Pringlemonster · 26/10/2020 05:30

My friend kept 2 hamsters in the same cage ,despite me telling her countless times they needed their own cage.
She came down one morning,to find one had eaten the face of the other .

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VashtaNerada · 26/10/2020 05:33

Presumably your DC know that two men can be in love? It’s just the same as that then! (Quietly hoping it doesn’t turn out to be pre-murder behaviour and the hamsters live long and happy lives together).

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LaMarschallin · 26/10/2020 05:40

PebblesAndBamBam

A failure by the pet shop to sex them properly (we ended up with 8 baby gerbils this way)

Yup - we got 6 baby hamsters (Siberian, iirc) that way as well.

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