My hammy babies :)

[luckies4me]

I am starting a new thread about my baby hamsters and this will also be a place to give updates on the mother's condition etc. I hope you all enjoy reading about my babies. :)

Just to make it clear, I never removed the babies from the mother. Yes I did supplement them, but they have remained with the mother for her to care for....as in clean, make them go potty and nurse them when she is able. Yesterday she was very weak but tried all she could to care for them on her own. One was looking pretty thin and weak so I made the decicion to feed them as well. The vet said the last baby died from the sickness going into the babies. At the time of weaning all the babies will be placed on antibiotics for four days as this is the time they will start showing symptoms of the illness. However, this is if it is still affecting the mother. She seems to be doing a lot better this morning, feeding her babies, cleaning them, begging for treats. :p

I am still supplementing the runty one. There is always a runt in each litter, so I want to make sure he survives. The vet assured me that it was nothing I did that caused the babie's deaths. In fact, he applauded me for taking these babies in. The two dead babies were frozen, and looked at yesterday before we went to the mall (gotta post pics of my cool new purse too! :D) and it was determined that the one baby was unable to "latch on" to the nipple, and so consequently starved. :( The second baby was jaundiced, and runty, through no fault of myself of the mother. Sometimes you just lose some.

He said the remaining babies look excellent, alert and active and to keep supplementing the two smaller ones three times daily. The one of course is too fat he doesn't need anymore to drink lol. :p

He is confident that the mother will recover, but she is still a little weak. Although not weak enough to try to bite me lol. ;)

So the babies have their fur in and they are just like momma. Looks as if they will be mottled like momma, and possible even silver! :D I would love a silvered baby!

[tikeyas_mom]

How old are they now?

[luckies4me]

Mom is pretty much doing her job now, taking care of them. Once their eyes open I will not need to feed the two smaller ones anymore. This morning I didn't even need to feed them, as they all have huge milk bands. :) I love seeing big fat tummies! Means their full and happy!

So good news for the hammies! All three are still alive, and the mom is looking a tad bit better. I really thought I would have to euthanize her last night. :(

I took some more pics. Active little buggers they are! The bigger baby is still pushing the others around, but he also likes to explore the cage and go in search of things to chew. They groom themselves already and even try to play with momma. So cute they are! :D I got a really good pic of the fatty one cleaning this face. I will post them in a few.

[luckies4me]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid91/p4c29b0c71e5afe44f632ade6c63a5c3a/fa6052f2.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid91/pe2fe8c09299f99d3240e0da64f1067d7/fa6052ea.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid91/p4503e11e9913a6deb674711050ab5ece/fa6052e6.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid91/p7deb3a2cbedf9651210535b15fd6072a/fa6052e1.jpg

:D Talk about cute eh? They are now 7 days old and growing like weeds!

[Desert Arabian]

Originally posted by luckies4me
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid91/p4c29b0c71e5afe44f632ade6c63a5c3a/fa6052f2.jpg

:o Eh, did somebody go potty on mommy!?!?! :o

:D :p

[tikeyas_mom]

still to young to tell if they are males of females lol.

[Karen]

Eeeeeeeee! So teeny, so cuuuuute! :)

[luckies4me]

Thanks Karen! :D

YLL, yep he had a dirty bottom. The ratties do that to me too when they are babies. :o :p

[luckies4me]

Urrgh! I have the biggest headache.


I have just spent all morning with the tiny runt, sooo tiny. The biggest baby is intent on kicking him out of the nest. Why is his sibling doing this? He is really being viscous to his brother. Poor mom and baby because every time the bigger baby kicks the other one out, poor mom has to go gather him up to bring him back to the nest.

Is this just instinct? Does he sense the other baby is ill, or a runt and will not live? I don't understand why one baby is picking on another? :confused: I mean he literally pushes the other baby out. He even bit the other baby, I witnessed it! What should I do? Should I take out the bigger baby and raise him myself? He's 8 days old, so they are not very hard to hand feed. Or should I remove the younger baby?

The vet said the younger one is most likely sick and that I should euthanize him. How could I kill a tiny 8 day old hamster?
:( :confused:

Why is the baby being mean? He's only eight days old for heaven's sake!

[luckies4me]

Well there is obviously something wrong with this baby. The brother keeps kicking him out of the nest and because of that he isn't getting enough milk. It would be selfish of me to keep him alive so I am taking him to be euthanized.

I never knew hamsters babies could be so mean.

[FurMomx6]

Aww, they're soo cute! Seeing them makes me want to get another hamster. I miss the last one I had. So sorry one of the babies has to be euthanized. :(

[tikeyas_mom]

the larger of the babies is just being territorial, he wants all the milk. when I had hamster pups they did that to. it is normal. He is developing faster then the smaller pup, so he wants to show his dominace. When that dominant pup is an adult he will probably have to be housed alone because of his dominace issues.

[luckies4me]

Originally posted by tikeyas_mom
the larger of the babies is just being territorial, he wants all the milk. when I had hamster pups they did that to. it is normal. He is developing faster then the smaller pup, so he wants to show his dominace. When that dominant pup is an adult he will probably have to be housed alone because of his dominace issues.

Ya ok, thanks. I can't believe it though, my goodness. He doesn't mess with the other one, just that one baby because he was the smallest. I just got back BTW and he is gone now. :( I couldn't stand to watch him being picked on, and bit, and he was runty and I felt too bad.

Then I went to work and had a horrible time. My boss and her daughter were arguing the whole time, and I have like 5 poodle hairs stuck in my eye! :eek:

I have just never seen a baby act this way, and at only 8 days old!:eek:

Yes he is totally fat. Twice as big as the other, and he just wants more to eat!:eek:

[tikeyas_mom]

Originally posted by luckies4me
Ya ok, thanks. I can't believe it though, my goodness. He doesn't mess with the other one, just that one baby because he was the smallest. I just got back BTW and he is gone now. :( I couldn't stand to watch him being picked on, and bit, and he was runty and I felt too bad.

Then I went to work and had a horrible time. My boss and her daughter were arguing the whole time, and I have like 5 poodle hairs stuck in my eye! :eek:

I have just never seen a baby act this way, and at only 8 days old!:eek:

Yes he is totally fat. Twice as big as the other, and he just wants more to eat!:eek:

lol he is defenitly the dominant one, I had one just like that in both my hamsrer litters. Thats why I had to feed the lil runt KMR to keep it alive, every 15 min.

[luckies4me]

I would have tried to nurse him myself, but well, I don't think he would have made it.

[tikeyas_mom]

yeah. I fed my runt syrian hammie from 1 week on by hand. I gave it KMR soaked in break and I also fed her streight KMR with a tiny seringe. She lived to. she was the only femal ehamster out of the litter the other two were males. I sold her to this gurl and her mother and they had a HUGE cage and their only other pet was a guiea pig, she had like 3 hamster books too, I knew she would really love hamving my lil hammie, it was sooo hard to give it up to a new home though.

[luckies4me]

They are now nine days old. I have one boy and one girl. :) I was hoping they would both be girls, but oh well. :p

[tikeyas_mom]

yeah that would have been great then you sould house them together :p.

[Kfamr]

More pictures, more pictures please! :D

[tikeyas_mom]

i just found a couple pics of one of Spurs and Cuddles pups, the one I hand fed :p...


she is eating bread soaked in milk, she is 2 weeks there :)


http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid56/p7c4c01d10d5be0ce7a33429eac30effc/fc790fec.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid56/p59456fa35ed7e7e91ff6795c0d1cac2d/fc790fed.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid56/p8f250dd29e9e433521e132002e1cd22b/fc790fee.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid56/pbda64c70d4c04927fa2040160c3f23a4/fc790fef.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid56/pef9dda45cf62ad548271c3dc8f65fa1c/fc790ff0.jpg

[trayi52]

Those are so cute, that has to be fun having little babies like that around. I know it has to be a lot of work and heartbreak, but those cute babies just steals my heart. Getting to watch them grow has to be a lot of fun. Don't you get attached to them when you have to hand feed them yourselves?

I was just wondering, you know how attached to Grover I became and I had to hand feed her. So is it hard when you have to give them up?

Cass, you and tikeyas mom have such cutie babys, I am so jealous.:)

[luckies4me]

It was so funny today because I was at Petsmart shopping for the animals and a lady and her daughter were there with their two hamsters. The first thing they said is that they bite hard...........I just had to laugh lol. Gotta face it, they aren't the most cuddly critters. :p

TM, your baby hammy was really cute.


I saw Dalmation hamsters today for the first time and they are really something else!

Tray, I too fed one of my cats, Ewok since he was two weeks of age. I have bottle fed several cats and small animals, but unfortunately never had the chance to hand rear puppies before.

[luckies4me]

The boy :)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid91/pf995f2b2c411cd9b2e71bd3846fea1dd/fa5c1bce.jpg

The girl :)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid91/p536b62b55220b4cad935b0ce52d76da9/fa5c1bcc.jpg

[luckies4me]

Look at how much fur they have! :eek: :D


They are soooooooooooo adorable!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid91/p8b73e2dbc69912aa918053d2b69d62cd/fa5c13e1.jpg

[trayi52]

Grover was the first kitten I ever hand raised like that, when my 18 year old daughter brought her home, I didn't know what I was going to do with, didn't know what I was going to feed her, I started trying to find some recipes on the internet for orphaned kittens' milk, but kept coming up with people saying how hard it was, which scared me to death.

All the things they said you had to do for kittens, and watching everything they do, and I mean everything. They suggested getting orphaned kittens milk from the vets, so I started doing that, and then they said mix the pure meat baby food with that, I did that. I was very dumb about the whole thing. I like to have never taught that stubborn kitty to eat out of a bowl, I thought she was going to be a grown cat having to suck a bottle, which she really didn't want a bottle, she preferred a syringe. LOL.
If only I had known about this place then, I could have asked somebody like you Cass, about raising kittens.

During the time while I was raising her, I fell and broke my foot, and that kind of made it hard for me to get to the kitchen to fix her milk, no help there, my husband hates cats so he didn't want any part of her. Using crutches is not easy for a 50 year old to learn to use. Kids and younger people seem like they can just pick up a pair of crutches and go, but not me.

Anyway I have raised puppies from the day they were born, they were easy to the side of kittens. REAL easy, I worried about everything with Grover, I was afraid that she was hurt from all the kicking she took from the school from being used as a football, the vet kept telling me she was doing fine, but I stayed scared all the time, still worry and she is about 8 months now.

So I just can't imagine raising those little guys you raise by hand, they are so tiny, what do you use as a bottle? It is just such a miracle that you are able to do that. I really admire you guys for being so responsible that you can succeed at it.

My hat is off to you for such a task.:)

Tray

[trayi52]

Cass, they have grown so much, they have so much fur. Wow! Do they have a little white on them? They are so cute, I just can't believe how much they have grown!!!

Good Job!! Keep those pictures coming, I really love seeing how they grow.

Tray

[luckies4me]

To feed the hamster babies I use a q-tip soaked in milk, and they drink the drops that land on their mouth. :)

I am so glad you gave your kitty a great home, and thank you so much for taking the time to save her. :)

[luckies4me]

Originally posted by trayi52
Cass, they have grown so much, they have so much fur. Wow! Do they have a little white on them? They are so cute, I just can't believe how much they have grown!!!


Tray

Yep they are going to be mottled, which is little white areas/patches/spots etc. :p Cute eh? ;)

[tikeyas_mom]

very cute lil hammies. you can defenitly see that you have one boy and one gurl.

[luckies4me]

Gee, that male sure is a PIG! Their eyes aren't open yet, but they are already eating. I heard a bunch of squeeking this morning and went to see the babies. The male has stolen a piece of food from the female, desperately trying to fit the whole thing in this mouth lol. Silly hamster. He's cheeks are stuffed full of seed already. :rolleyes: :p

So yep their eyes should be open soon. Here is a pic I took today of them at 10 days old. Momma is starting to get tired of them arguing lol. The male even stole food from the mom! :eek: :D

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid91/p33a79f4e3ecc1e0dade546e3a1f5df90/fa5a5584.jpg

[trayi52]

Thats something I always found so funny about Hamsters, the way they stuff their cheeks full of food. They always look so funny with their little fat cheeks. Looks like they have the mumps. LOL.

That big one is greedy, isn't he? Taking it from his mom, how funny and amusing. Keep those pictures coming, I love them, Hamsters has always been my faovorite of all.:D :D

[tikeyas_mom]

Originally posted by luckies4me
Gee, that male sure is a PIG! Their eyes aren't open yet, but they are already eating. I heard a bunch of squeeking this morning and went to see the babies. The male has stolen a piece of food from the female, desperately trying to fit the whole thing in this mouth lol. Silly hamster. He's cheeks are stuffed full of seed already. :rolleyes: :p

So yep their eyes should be open soon. Here is a pic I took today of them at 10 days old. Momma is starting to get tired of them arguing lol. The male even stole food from the mom! :eek: :D

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid91/p33a79f4e3ecc1e0dade546e3a1f5df90/fa5a5584.jpg

SOOOOO cute!!!! :D

[luckies4me]

Their eyes are starting to open. :) Mom keeps trying to keep them in the nest but they won't have any of that. They want to explore! They are literally everywhere lol. They are eating so much too.

Soooo, here is a pic I took this morning, at 11 days old. :) I don't know how their mom keeps up with them! :eek:


The boy's on the right. :p


http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid92/p2207687eb7179580c16c106482e9e062/fa570914.jpg

[trayi52]

Cass, isn't that just like kids? Can't keep up with them, we know that feeling don't we??

Seems like they get bigger everyday, I don't know whether you can see it, but everytime you post a picture, they have grown.

You are doing a good job, Cass. Keep posting the pics, I really do look forward to seeing them.

Tray:) :)

[amoore]

Your hammy babies are so cute! I have never seen baby hampsters! That just makes me want one. :)

Keep the pictures comming!:D