My Campbell's Russian Dwarf Hamster just had 5 babies yesterday. I left the male in, because I've heard that in this species he helps deliver the babies(he did, btw, for anyone who was wondering). About an hour ago I went to change the food and water and I noticed that one baby was dead. It looked like it had been squashed! The mother hamster is now keeping all the babies in seperate corners of the cage and is constantly running on the excercise wheel rather than taking care of the babies. The father is keeping one of them warm, but keeps burying two others in bedding. Should I take them out and hand feed them until they are old enough to eat solid food? Or should I just let nature take its course? Help would be greatly appreciated, seeing as these animals could easily die at any minute... Thanks!
2006-07-18
15:34:55
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9 answers
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asked by
kd_walker684
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in
Pets
➔ Other - Pets
I've decided to keep the male in with the babies and mother, because I know that even if this litter doesn't survive, there might be other litters. Plus, I've heard that if you seperate mates, they become really depressed. The mother is now somewhat gathering up the babies and putting them back in the nest, but she still isn't feeding them again. I think the last time I saw them nurse was probably about 4 hours ago. I would take the chance of hand raising them, but I have to go to the little league world series this week so they will all be staying with my aunt and she won't be able to hand feed them.... All this is making me really nervous. I've never had a litter do this before, and I've been raising and breeding hamsters for about 3 years! Of course, this is my first time with Campbell's, but still, it's not that new to me! Thanks for all the help, guys. And if you have any more comments or answers, please feel free to answer.
2006-07-18
16:04:49 ·
update #1
Okay, so I DID decide to take the male out. He just started attacking the female, so I had to. I also tried feeding one of the babies kitten-replacement-milk from an eyedropper(i rubbed the bedding from the cage all over my hands first, so it would hide my scent) but the baby wouldn't open its mouth! I honestly have no clue what to do now, since I can't feed the babies with an eyedropper. The mother is only feeding two babies herself, so the other two are off in a corner by themselves, probably freezing. I feel so bad for them!
2006-07-18
17:06:16 ·
update #2