Pet Mice and Hamsters – Can They Live Together?

If you’re a rodent enthusiast, then you might already own mice or hamsters in your home. But if you’re looking to add to your collection of rodents, then you might be wondering whether pet mice and hamsters can live together.

In essence, the two species might look similar, although they are relatively different in character. For one, pet mice are far more social than hamsters, who prefer to be kept in a solitary enclosure and prefer to be alone.

On the other hand, mice can even become depressed if they’re kept alone and it’s recommended to have several mice together.

Also Read: Wild Mice and Pet Mice – Can They Live Together?

But can hamsters and mice live together? They can, but there are some important things to consider.

To prevent any possibility of aggression or other unwarranted and unwanted behavior, it’s better to take a look at what those limitations are and what you can do to prevent them.

In this article, we’ll take a look at whether pet mice and hamsters can live together, and what are the limitations that you should consider when you keep them together.

Keeping Mice and Hamsters Together – 5 Things to Consider

As they might have contrasting characters, there are some things that you should definitely consider before you decide to keep mice and hamsters together.

– Don’t Put Adults Together

It’s not recommended to keep mice and hamster adults together. That can cause aggression between them, and there will inevitably be competition between them.

You might be surprised, but hamsters can be aggressive towards other adults. That’s especially the case with Syrian hamster.

Although mice can also become aggressive towards other adults. Competition for food and space will creep in, and it will become a game of survival of the fittest.

Hamsters will likely attack your mice, even if your mice mean no harm towards them. That’s why you shouldn’t keep adults of the two species together.

– Don’t Keep Males Together

To go one step further, males should not be kept together in any case, whether it’s two hamster males or a mouse and a hamster male. Mice males might get along well, although you can see aggression between them as well.

Like with many species, you’ll see aggression between the males of both species, and you might also notice aggression between males of the same species. That’s why it’s better to refrain from having males in the same tank or area.

Also, both can be very territorial when it comes to home enclosures, and you’ll have to be very careful what animals you put together in the tank.

– Give Them Enough Space

Mice and hamsters can co-exist, but they will have to have more than enough space to live and operate normally. This includes giving them enough space to move around and hide, and to ride the wheel when they want to.

Also, some animals might not get enough food and they will suffer as a result of other animals getting territorial and aggressive. This can cause a lot of stress on the animal, and keeping them too close together is never a good practice.

– Consider Only Dwarf Hamsters

Dwarf hamsters are known for being one of the friendliest hamster species out there. Plus, they are not so big and they are comparable to mice in size, which means that you can peacefully keep them together.

To prevent various fights and aggression, it’s recommended to keep dwarf hamsters with your mice. As we already noted, Syrian hamsters can be especially aggressive towards other animals and males. That’s why it’s important to choose the right type of hamsters as well.

– Feed Them Enough

Another good tip if you want to keep hamsters and mice together is to feed them enough, and feed them frequently. This will make sure that all animals will get enough food, even if some animals might get more territorial and will start to fight for food.

But, don’t overfeed them in any case. You need to strike a well-balanced diet and observe how much animals eat on a daily basis. If you notice that one of the animals doesn’t get enough food, focus on that animal.

Can Hamsters and Mice Breed?

While it would be interesting to observe what animals would come out as a result of mice and hamster breeding, they can’t be bred together. They are completely different species, despite the fact that they look relatively similar.

If you want to breed them, forget about that. It’s impossible to do it, even if you want to do it. And don’t worry too much if you think they will breed; it will only happen between the same species.

Can a Hamster Kill a Pet Mouse?

Yes, a hamster can become aggressive and can also kill a mouse if the attacks are more severe. But it’s not only for hamsters, but mice can also cause severe damage to other mice and hamsters, and can result in death.

That’s why you should consider what we wrote above, and be very careful what animals you do put together in the same tank and how you treat them.

Can Mice Live in a Hamster Cage?

Yes, mice can live in a hamster cage, as long as they get the right conditions and enough food to survive. Also, you need to consider what and how many animals you’ll be keeping in the cage.

If there are too many animals in the cage, then I would not recommend it. But if you only prefer to keep the mouse in the cage, then you can easily do it if you want.

Conclusion

Hamsters and mice are two of the most popular rodent pets that many rodent enthusiasts choose to have.

Both are interesting in their own way; hamsters are more secluded and prefer to be alone, while mice are slightly more social and like to have company.

In any case, you can keep them together, but there are some things you need to consider before you do so.