I had two hamsters and we were told they were sisters. The father is missing and today I came home from school to find 3 hamster babys! I've never had babies before, how shall I take care of them?? I'm gonna give away 2. I REALLY NEED HELP! Thank you.
2007-03-13 08:57:06 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
Hmmm, a hamster one night stand, eh?
Let momma hamster take care of her babies. Make sure there's plenty of food and water for her, she'll need it for milk production.
Don't give the babes away too early.
Here's a site to help you along:
http://www.hamsterific.com/HamsterUniversity/HamsterPupsJourney.cfm
.
2007-03-13 09:05:20 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
you MUST let the mother take care of the babies. She will provide them with all nutrition they need, which you will not be able to do. Make sure her cage is in a quiet place and away from heat or drafts. Make sure she has enough to eat and drink. Hamsters will eat their babies when they are threatened or stressed. Do not handle them or the mother. In a few weeks they will be big enough to look after themselves. Just feed them a good quality hamster food
2007-03-13 09:21:21 · answer #2 · answered by j e 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You don't need a vet if your hamster just had babies. Let her take care of them 'till their 4 weeks old. She will do all of the feeding and she needs to be left alone or she'll eat them. Give her the space that she needs to be a mother. Don't worry about the father, he'll turn up soon. Just have fun with your hamster, give her love, and the space she needs to take care of her babies. Trust me on this one, I have a hamster who is going to have her 3rd litter soon. I know all of the things that I told you 'cause this will be the 5th time with the hamster baby thing. My family has a little hamster farm going on at my house.
2007-03-13 09:12:38 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Be very care full that you do not touch the babies because if your scent gets on them then mother can and will reject them . Let the mother take care of them. Make sure the mother had plenty of food and water. she will make a nest and take care of her young. Dont worry it is instinct. Call your local pet store they may be able to be helpful if you have other questions
I also found this article below on About.com
good luck!
A hamster that has given birth should be disturbed as little or possible or she may become agitated and abandon, neglect, or even eat the babies. This means other than providing food and water, you should leave the hamsters and their cage alone as much as possible for the first couple of weeks. While it is tempting to look at the babies and make sure everything is okay, it is best to leave the mom to do her thing
Place strips of toilet paper or facial tissue in the cage so mom can build a soft nest. Ideally, you would do this once you realize your hamster is pregnant (it is usually pretty noticeable a couple of days before birth, just by the sheer size of her belly).
Don't try to handle the babies at all for at least two weeks.
Once the babies have arrived, don't worry about cleaning the cage for a while. Leave it alone for the first 10-14 days. You can spot clean really wet spots if absolutely necessary, but avoid disturbing the nest. If you have noticed your hamster is pregnant, do a thorough cleaning to prepare for the new arrivals.
Make sure to provide plenty of food and fresh water, but make feeding and watering as efficient and calm as possible.
While it is okay to have a quick peek in the cage on occasion, avoid siting and watching for long periods.
Keep in mind that the mom will be very protective as well so may act more aggressive than usual; this is natural and no cause for concern.
Though interference should be avoided if at all possible, if for some rare reason you must move a baby, use a spoon so you do not get your scent on the baby. It is rarely necessary to move a baby though even if they are out of the nest; the mom will usually retrieve any stray pups and return them to the nest.
The hamsters will be ready for weaning at about 3 weeks of age, and it is best to separate the male pups into one group and the females into another. Syrian hamsters can stay in these male and female groups for another 2-3 weeks, but then must be separated so there is only one per cage.
If you ended up with a male and female dwarf hamster by mistake, it is best to remove the male as soon as possible after birth, with as little disturbance to the female as possible. While the male will not harm the babies and may help with rearing them, the female can get pregnant again shortly after giving birth and this can be very hard on her body.
Make sure you are feeding a high quality diet with lots of protein. In addition to a good quality diet, you can offer small amounts of hard boiled egg, bits of cooked chicken, cheese, and wheatgerm to give the mom a nurtitional boost.
Unfortunately, if you got a pregnant hamster from the pet store she is probably quite young and may not have the best mothering abilities. She may be more likely to abandon or even cannibalize her babies. If she doesn't care for them and they are less than 10 days of age, it is extrememly difficult to save the babies. It is best to make sure you get your hamster from a store that separates males from females at a young age to avoid surprises like this.
2007-03-13 09:00:20 · answer #4 · answered by sarah 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Whatever you do...DON'T touch the babies! If the parent hamsters smell you on the babies, they won't take care of them and most likely will eat their own babies. Sounds gross, but true. Let nature take it's course, the mother will take care of them, don't fret silly!
2007-03-13 09:01:12 · answer #5 · answered by Punkie Brewster 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
you can leave the babies with their mother... she will only eat the babies if you disturb them or if she feels you might hurt them. rodents aren't too smart (or maybe they are too smart for their own good), so when they feel their babies are in danger, they eat them as a way to "protect" them from harm.
make sure that when you change her bedding, you do it as quickly and quietly as possible. don't play with the babies. make sure your rub some dirty bedding on your hands (preferably with a rubber glove), get the mother's scent on you and move the babies to the new bedding. they should be just dandy.
as for the father, you should probably separate him from the mom and babies. he is definitely more likely to kill the babies.
2007-03-13 09:10:23 · answer #6 · answered by megs 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Oh God, this reminds me when we got one hampster from the store and two days later this supposedly male hampster had 11 babies. I called the store if they would present us with hampster food as it was supposed to be a male and the sales girl just laughed. yea, teehee. She said tough luck and we all lived happily ever after. So just keep them in the cage with food and water and clean out the cage often. bettyk
2007-03-13 09:09:40 · answer #7 · answered by elisayn 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
what u should do get to the closest vet around u keep the male away from the mom and the babies make sure that the mom is eating BUT if the mom is not eating then go to the vet she could eat her babies if she has to so HURRY!!!!
2007-03-13 09:15:59 · answer #8 · answered by Sierra S 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you need to get the babies out of the cage because the mother and father will eat them.
put in fresh bedding and water
give them milk through an eye dropper at least 4 to 6 times a week keep doing this until they are able to ween themselves off the milk and is able to eat hamster food
or if you are still unsure call the pet store you got them at and they will tell you what to do
2007-03-13 09:03:13 · answer #9 · answered by Melody-Lynn 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
is the mother still with them if so then let her take care of them and what ever you do DONT touch them or she will kill them, and if you do find the other hampster DONT put him back in the cage with her or he will kill the babies you need to find a new home for him for a while if not permently!
2007-03-13 09:06:11 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋