hamster unexpectedly gave birth - a few questions!

[Dandy]

We bought two hamsters that were supposedly female and supposedly okay to live together. Fast forward, they are male and female and supposed to be solitary (they are teddy bear/syrian? hamsters). We bought a new cage etc and separated them when we realized their sex and disposition, but it was too late.

Now the female has given birth, not even sure when, it might have been yesterday or even the day before, but we didn't want to disturb her (she has a little "hut" and that's where she had the babies...you can't really lift it up to peek without majorly disturbing them). Well I finally disturbed her enough to look. I don't even know how many there are, I didn't look long enough to count, I was just trying to put the house back in place without smooshing a pink little baby!

I put her food closer to the entrance and moved the aquarium into our bedroom (it was in our 3 year old's room).

Something smells a little funny and I'm worried it's a dead hamster baby but I'm afraid to poke around again. I don't want to cause her to eat her young. She's a very young mama hamster, btw.

Any input from hamster experts?

[Oubliette8]

first, I'm appalled that the petshop A. Told you Syrian hamsters could live together and B. Couldn't tell males from females I've worked in petshops before, its REALLY not that hard. Ugh. I'm so sorry you have to deal with this.

Now, the babies. don't disturb them at all, particularly as you said she's young and possibly nervous. If there is a dead baby the mother will dispose of it herself at this age. She's probably already a bit distressed because you moved her cage, even though it was probably for the best. Don't clean the cage at all until the babies have opened their eyes and are wandering around. Cleaning is stressful to the mother. If you want to help her out, you can put little bits of toilet tissue in the cage where she can find them and bring them back to her nest. Do NOT use cotton or woolly type substances. Even though it is commonly sold as hamster nesting material, it is not safe. It can get tangled around the babies appendages and cut off circulation.

You can also add high protein treats to her daily ration. She has a family to feed and that will help. High quality dog or cat kibble is a good supplement- some of my local stores give out free sample bags, which wouldn't even be a serving for a dog, but will last you a LONG time with a hamster! Other ideas are eggs, egg biscuits (for pet birds), peanuts, and insects. Our local wild bird store carries dry roasted waxworms that are high in protein and my hamsters go nuts for them.

If Mom has a water bowl, try to switch it to a bottle. I linked to hanging bottles if you have a tank further down. The babies will begin exploring the cage before their eyes even open. I've seen them drown in water bowls.

Also, start trying to line up homes fairly soon for them. Once they are 4 weeks old they can reproduce themselves, so you will need to separate them by gender at that time. They can be housed in same gender groups until about 7 weeks, and then they may start to fight. They can go to new homes once they are weaned, which happens between 3 and 4 weeks.

You can set up cheap, safe, habitats for them out of rubbermaid storage containers. They are known as "bin cages" and some people go all out and make a lot of fancy modifications to them. All that you really need though is a roomy plastic storage bin (clear is popular), and some sort of mesh top if you have other pets. If you have a tall bin and no pets you dont even need a top. Many people use wire mesh. I like wire closet shelving of the type sold as "tight mesh" (the bars are closer together). You just have the store cut it to fit and lay it on top, voila, instant lid. Then all you need is a food dish, waterbottle, a wheel, a house, and a chew stick and you're set. Find a Water bottle with a top-hanging attachment and just hang it over the side. I find this brand works well- http://www.google.com/products/catal...922&sa=title#p but there are other top-hanging models on the market.

You can do the whole set up for under $10 each or so, and it will be roomy enough to accommodate several youngsters for a short while. Most bought cages would either cost you more, or be to small to house several littermates, even temporarily. I can send you some pics of this type of set up if you like.

Thats about all there is. In short-
Don't disturb Mom or the Babies
Don't clean the cage for at least 2 weeks
Do provide toilet paper for nesting
Do supplement Mom with protein
Separate the babies from Mom by gender by 4 weeks
Separate the babies from each other completely by 7 weeks
Start looking for homes early- maybe call local petshops and see if any will take them (many wont these days), ask at playgroup, post ads etc

[Dandy]

Thanks! We could tell one was a male - brought it BACK to the pet shop, and they said it was definitely a female When my hubby called today, he spoke to the same employee and she was all "oh my gosh that was me! WOW so I was wrong!"

We do have a water bottle that hangs. Mama doesn't want to come out of the hut so I dangled it near her and she drank - a LOT. She gulped down a ton of hamster food after I moved it closer. (I optimistically took it to mean that if she was starving, she wasn't eating babies?? I've read so much awful stuff about the moms eating their babies.) I know that's probably more than I should have done but I hadn't seen her come out to eat. I will also cook her some egg.

The [flaky] pet store will take them back. Not sure they are the most responsible place to send them but at least we have a plan b, if we can't find other homes first.

[urchin_grey]

Ooops! No advice, but I wish you live near me. I've really been wanting a hamster for myself.

[Oubliette8]

well, at least they didn't insist he had tumors! I've had new owners call me in a panic about the growths their male rodents suddenly developed.

Try not to panic too much about the Mom eating her young. In my experience, it rarely happens. When it does, generally, either something is wrong with the babies (and mother animals tend to know if something is wrong, even if you or I cant tell yet), or they have been severely over stressed- think constant handling, cage cleaning, gawkers, etc. Sometimes if the mother is not tame and highly nervous it happens too. But as a general rule, its fairly rare. I've even discovered litters in the middle of cage cleaning before, relocated Mom and family to a different cage, and in all cases, everyone lived. I've seen hundreds of small rodent litters and can only recall one or two cases where Mom ate the babies.

You've placed her in a quiet spot, you're leaving her alone. I think they're likely to be fine.

[ASusan]

Is is possible for the dad to eat the babies? (or had the OP already removed the dad?)

I had a pair of supposedly female hamsters in college. One gave birth, and within a week or 2, all the babies were gone. I always had assumed that the male ate them.

(Incidentally, they were sold to my friend by a pet shop somewhere in the Adirondacks! He went to Hamilton College, and I went to SUNY Potsdam...and he bought the hamsters somewhere in between.)

[Oubliette8]

The OP has already removed the father.

But to answer the question, I suppose Dad could eat the babies. It depends on the species of hamster. There are 5 different species currently available in the pet trade. The OP has Syrians, the most common. These are solitary by nature. Occasionally you'll find someone who has kept them together without incident, but what is more common is that one day they fight and severely injure each other. The mere stress of having a cage mate could very possibly cause a mother to eat her own babies. In the wild they would not be near other hamsters, so you can imagine the stress of being caged with another- particularly given the small size of most commercial cages.

Some of the dwarf species are more social and Dad actually helps to care for his young. However, Mom can be impregnated again immediately after giving birth, so its not particularly wise to leave them together.