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Caring For Baby Hamsters
Did your hamsters surprise you with a litter? If you want the babies to grow up healthy and happy, check out the following tips for caring for baby hamsters. As I'm sure you can see - this is a very new section of useful information on caring for baby hamsters. Please bear with us while we make it look as good as the rest of our site! We will be adding in useful pictures and some fun products - bookmark this page so you can come back and check us out. Better still, access our RSS feed so you don't miss out on a single thing to do with caring for baby hamsters!
Remove the father hamster from the cage immediately. Some dwarf hamster males can help raise the babies, however you don’t want to stress momma hamster with a second pregnancy so soon! Don’t touch the babies unless you have a really good reason. Leave momma hamster and the babies alone if at all possible. If you make the mother too nervous, she may hurt or kill her babies. Give momma hamster privacy and extra nutrition. Give her plenty of hamster mix, fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, and fresh water. You may also want to give her a little milk or baby formula once a day in a shallow dish or soaked into bread. You can also offer a bit of cooked egg for extra protein. Add extra bedding to make a nice nest, and keep the cage and babies warm. Don’t put the cage in direct sunlight or on a heater, but make sure it’s in a warm spot and away from drafts. If you want to get a better look at the tiny, pink babies, wait for momma hamster to leave the nest for some reason. You can then carefully and quietly get a look at the baby hamsters! Keep an eye on the mother -- if she seems nervous or anxious, stop what you’re doing and back away. A mother hamster’s reactions will vary; some are very relaxed about human observation and some (especially young mothers) can be very nervous. Be observant and respect your hamster’s personality. Resist the urge to touch the babies for at least two weeks. Don’t touch the nest, either. Only touch the mother or the cage, and only if absolutely necessary. Really, the best thing you can do is leave the mother hamster and babies alone for the first two weeks. If you want to look in, do it quietly. By the time the baby hamsters are two to three weeks old, you should be able to touch them and even pick them up! But be aware that a baby hamster is unsocialized; it may be frightened and nip your finger or piddle in your hand. Don’t drop the baby in surprise. Some hamster mothers may leave the nest frequently, leaving the babies alone. As long as the babies are covered for warmth and as long as the mother comes back to nurse, the baby hamsters will be just fine. Just like people, some hamster mothers need more breaks from the demands of the babies. Momma hamster may also move the nest and babies around. The mother may be looking for the safest possible place, or the warmest spot to sleep. She may be relocating because the nest is soiled and is searching for a cleaner spot. For the first nine to ten days of life, your baby hamsters will get all the nutrition they need from mother’s milk. After that, you can start offering soft foods, like breads, cooked or grated veggies, or fresh fruits to supplement the milk. By about two weeks old, the baby hamsters will start sampling the regular hamster mix. By four weeks of age, the babies should be weaned from mother’s milk and be eating normal hamster food and treats. Keep an eye on how much water your babies drink, too; they should be drinking plenty of water from the bottle by four weeks. Questions About Your Baby Hamsters How soon can I clean the cage? Wait at least ten days, if not two weeks. You can wait even longer to clean the cage if the mother seems anxious. Remove the entire nest with the babies while you clean; you may want to separate the mother so she will stay calm. When you are done cleaning, replace the nest and babies where you found them. When will the babies open their eyes? You can expect a baby hamster to open its eyes between twelve and sixteen days. How do I tell the difference between the sexes? Before a baby hamster’s fur grows in, this will be relatively easy. Once the hamsters are two weeks old, pick them up and look at the stomachs. If you see two rows of pink dots, you have a female on your hand -- those are the nipples. When should I separate the babies? Unless you want more litters on your hands, separate the males and females by four to five weeks. Dwarf hamsters can live in pairs or in same-sex groups; Syrian hamsters should live alone. When can the babies go to their new homes? Once the babies are completely weaned from their mother -- around four to five weeks of age -- they can go to new homes. The babies have swollen bellies and are dying, what’s wrong? This may be a case of milk fever -- when a mother’s milk becomes infected. Milk fever can occur at any time during nursing, but is often seen between one and two weeks of age. Call your veterinarian immediately; milk fever can be treated with antibiotics. What do I do if there is a dead baby in the cage? Remove the body immediately, but try not to touch anything. Wear a plastic glove or plastic bag over your hand, or try reaching for the body with a long spoon. Why would a mother hamster kill or eat her babies? A nervous young mother may kill her babies if she feels they are threatened. A mother hamster may also kill an injured or ill baby.
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Also do not miss the other useful articles available to you – check out the links at the bottom of this page for free information and help with all your pet queries and concerns.
Click here to find out about different hamster breeds Click here for help and advice on choosing general hamster care Click here for help and advice on caring for a pregnant hamster Click here to return from Caring for Baby Hamsters to our Home Page
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