big belly

[Stenograsaurus]

My hamster is going to have babies!! I got her from the pet store about two weeks ago. She was in with other hamsters so they couldn't guarantee she was not pregnant. How hard would it have been to separate boys from the girls? She's gotten so big the last couple of days. When I had a hamster when I was little, my mom always flushed the babies when I was at school. I know, it's cruel. I definitely didn't inherit my love of animals from her. Since I"ve never dealt with this before, I don't know what to do. Any advice on how to take care of hamster babies?

[zippy-kat]

Sorry, I've never had a hammie before but good luck--kisses to the expecting mom! Let us know when the 'big day' arrives!

[AdoreMyDogs]

Give the cage a nice cleaning now, while she's still got the little munchkins in her belly. Do not clean her cage for at least a week after the babies are born because when I worked at the pet store, I learned the hard way that when a hammie is stressed, it has very little maternal behaviors. I cleaned a cage of a new mom hammie and she was so stressed at the "new smells" that she stuffed her entire litter of babies in her pouches and frantically ran around the cage furiously. By the time she un-stuffed the hammies from her pouches, they were all suffocated and dead

Make sure she has her own smell and if it becomes offensive, just remove the soiled bedding from the corners that she uses and throw some clean, dry bedding to cover the odor and the bare spot. Avoid using cedar, instead I recomend pine or corn cob. Cedar smells the best, but it's not the best choice for the sensetive babies. Also avoid the chlorophill pine (pine with some green chips mixed in) because it is not natural and has alot of dye in it to make it that bright. They sell great nesting material that the hammies love to chew up and make a nest out of, especially when they are expecting. I don't like to use kleenex or toilet paper, because they are either bleached or they have been dyed, and sometimes have chemical fragrences which can harm those most delicate pinkies. Avoid handleing the babies until they have hair, and only if mom is not too stressed out about it. If she is not very hand tame, then it might not be a good idea to hold her babies until they are pleanty too big to stuff in her pouches.

Be careful...even if she is nice now, and she has not ever bitten you before...beware, mom hammies pack a powerful punch with those teeth! I had a new momma bite clear through my thumb nail . Just keep that in mind.

Hammies are not very maternal, nor are they very good mothers. They often eat their young, or sometimes, part of their young. She may eat off only a foot, leaving the rest of the baby to eventually die. They have been known to have absolutely no interest in the pinkies, and let them die. If she starts eating her young, just leave the room and let nature take it's course. You won't be able to raise or save those babies, and it is probablly the quickest way for them to go, gross as it may be.

As long as miss hammie is not stressed and healthy and hand tame, you can do little more. Just remember that when the babies begin walking, you will have to lower the water bottle so they can reach it, but be so careful that it is not low enough to soak up all the bedding, as wet bedding is another cause of wet tail, and never put a water dish in with them. I would make sure mom has really good, nutritious food, no lettuce ever, minimal veggies (as they cause wet tail, or chronic diheriha which quickly kills), put some hammie vitamins in her water, and to her seed mix, maybe add a little hay cube, it's fun to chew on and it's healthy.

Don't be too surprised if mom eats any or all of her kids...not that uncommon. When we had our many litters of hammies, we always either played gentle and quiet classical music, or we avoided music until the babies were gaining visible strentgh, and mom was not showing any signs of stress. I just really tried to minimize the noise for the new mom for at least a few days.

Don't worry and enjoy Chances are that mom will raise her babies like a good little hammie. All you will be able to do is provide safe bedding, minimize stress, and provide all the healthy stuff that will make mom produce healthy milk, and help boost those kids to grow up big and strong.

Also note...I don't know if you knew this, but they will start reproducing soon after they are weaned...babies can have babies, litterly. So seperate those little boys from those little girls and mom as soon as they are eating and drinking on their own...also, are they dwarf hammies, or syrian hammies? Dwarf hammies are much, much more social then syrian hammies...syrian hammies will fight and kill once they begin to establish territory.

I assume you have seen baby pinkies (baby hammies, gerbals, mice, rats)? If you have never seen them, which you probablly have, They are certainlly not the cutest things until they get hair They still look like fetuses because they are so under developed! Brace yourself But they are SOOOO cute once they get their hair

Good luck I wish the best for you and for mom hammie

[aly]

Wow Leslie. Thats a bunch of great information! Now I know who to go to if I ever get a hamster and need help

[zippy-kat]

I've always thought that pinkies look like slightly chewed pieces of bubble gum! lol

[purrley]

WOW Leslie - got a good education on Hamsters today - didn't know a thing about them before.

[AdoreMyDogs]

Originally posted by zippy-kat:
<STRONG>I've always thought that pinkies look like slightly chewed pieces of bubble gum! lol</STRONG>

Hehehe...LOL LOL They DO look like wiggeling wads of chewed up gum Maybe that's why mom hammie so often eats their young
Maybe they are just trying to blow the biggest bubbles

[ November 09, 2001: Message edited by: AdoreMyDogs ]

[Stenograsaurus]

Leslie, thank you very much for such helpful information. I am going to print out your post and put it by Baby's cage. I can't believe they breed to fast. I have a home for one so I'm hoping at least one makes it. I don't know what I would do with any other ones if they'd survive. I will of course advertise in the paper. Any other suggestions? Do pet shops buy them from individuals?
Oh, Leslie, sorry, I didn't answer your question. She's a Golden Hamster (I think that's it).

[ November 09, 2001: Message edited by: Stenograsaurus ]

[AdoreMyDogs]

Yeah usually pet stores will take the little baby hammies, but make sure it's a clean pet store, look over their rodent section and make sure you don't see tons upon tons of hammies already, otherwise they may end up as snake food or else they may be forced to live in the same cage and begin to fight one another until they are sold

Also, it's good if the pet store dosen't sell snakes, just to be on the safe side.

And golden hamsters are one of the hamsters that will start fighting not too long after they are completely weaned, so tell your friend that if she/he wants one, to make sure she/he only takes one unless they have a seperate cage for the other.

If I was near you I'd take one Hammies are SO cute I rescued a female golden hamster and had her for a couple of years. She was going to be put to sleep because she escaped and became semi wild, but she tamed up in just 2 days. She ended up being a little sweet heart.

Good luck and have fun

[Stenograsaurus]

I'm a grandma!!!!!!! My mom just called me about 15 minutes ago and Baby is having her babies now. She already has about six. Mom just went to my house and Bri wanted to check on her so they went up to her room. Bri started playing with her and said, oooh. Here she was having a baby. Mom immediately said, put her back. Then she noticed about six in there already and she's having more. Baby is having them in her litter box.

[zippy-kat]

Congrats!!!!

So...will you be adding more pics to your signature? lol

[Stenograsaurus]

Originally posted by zippy-kat:
<STRONG>Congrats!!!!

So...will you be adding more pics to your signature? lol </STRONG>

I don't think I have enough room to add them all!!!

[zippy-kat]

How many hammies now, Granny?

[AdoreMyDogs]

congrats on the babies I hope everything goes well for everyone

Are you able to count the pieces of chewed up gum yet ?

I am sure everything will be fine...and I sure do wish I lived closer, honestly I'd take one in a heartbeat!

[zippy-kat]

Originally posted by AdoreMyDogs:
<STRONG>Are you able to count the pieces of chewed up gum yet ?</STRONG>

LOL