Hello

[Ham]

Hello,

Just want to share some joy with all of you.

Some might have known that i just had new addition of babies into my family.

Babies are fine and really cute. Very greedy too. Even rush to play the wheel together. So amusing to see them racing around in the cage.

As for mother hamster, she is fine now. No more being aggressive and poor appetitate. Now she eats quite a lot. But still need to put on some weight. She isn't as fat as before though. She eats cheese and corns. She loves treats too.

Now, the questions part about both the mother and babies. For mother, is there anything else i can feed her? For mashed-egg, she doesn't even look at it.

For babies, they are pretty find and slowly stabling, is there anything which i can add to their meals? I just want them to be healthy and more stable. One of them is much smaller size, and i am quite worried that the amount of food it is getting. It(not sure of its gender yet) is smaller than all the rest. I would take it out and feed it separately, but still the same size.

Please help, all comments are greatly welcome. Thank you.

[Yinx]

Hello Ham,

Is this litter of babies the same litter which was born on 7th Oct? If so, they're slightly more than 1 mth old by now, & should be separated according to their sex (males w males, females w females).

If they're not separated, they will breed soon. In-breeding is not recommended cos it results in weaker offspring (genetically faulted). The mother hamster should also be allowed abt 3 mths of rest b4 she is bred again.

It is natural for the mother to be slimmer after nursing (nursing does take a toll on the mother!). U do not have to worry abt her weight. As for treats & everythg else, do feed in moderation, else it will prove to be unhealthy for the hamster.

U can purchase wheatgerm & oatbran from NTUC. This may be sprinkled on top of the hamsters' hamstermix. U can also purchase natural muesli (no added sugar, honey etc) to be added to ur hamsters' daily diet.

As for the tiny hamster u've mentioned, nothg to worry abt. It's probably the runt of the litter, hence is naturally smaller in size. I have a 3 mths old ww pearl which looks more like a 1 mth old baby, but it eats even more than my Syrian! Nothg to worry abt http://petshub.com/ubb/smile.gif Perhaps, if the runt cannot seem to crack open the sunflower/pumpkin seeds by itself, u can aid it.

Oh, b4 I forget. If u really, really wish to fatten up ur hamsters, u can choose to remove the wheel. No exercise & all eating will definitely fatten up ur hamsters! However, do keep in mind tt the hamsters might get depressed when u remove the wheel, so u might wish to rethink this option.

Pls do sex & separate the babies asap. Else, u might end up with even more hamsters!

[susany]

Hello,

I am glad that your hamsters are fine.

I think the little hamster might be the runt. Continue to separate it when you feed them, just to make sure that it gets its share.

Maybe you can provide more melonseeds to help them gain weight more rapidly.

Do separate them soon, if not you have have more babies come up. Besides, in-breeding is not that healthy too.

[Ham]

Hello Susan and Yinx,

I have separated them. But it seems like all of them look like males. This means that the mother needs to be alone. http://petshub.com/ubb/frown.gif

The mother is still as thin. I think she isn't the lively as before. I hope that this is normal. Or is it not?

The small baby is eating a lot now, but still the same size. After reading that Yinx had a hamster just like mine, i am feeling really relieved about it.

I didn't take their wheel away, but i have put more food in though. I think the wheel is their only 'entertainment'. Without it, i think they will be really bored.

I never know that in-breed is not recommended. Thanks for advising. I don't think i will let the mother hamster breed anymore. I think she is really worn-out. Besides, i think having these few hamsters are enough to keep me busy.