New dwarf hamster babys from store

[babygirl159]

yea i just got a female dwarf hamster from this pet store and i didn't know she was pregent. But just a few days ago she is now a proud mother of four kute babys. I just got a few questions about the babys

1. When can they leave their mother to go to another family? I heard eather 4 weeks to 6 weeks old. is that true?
2. she had them at the top of the cage is that bad?

i already found homes for all four of the babys after they get older, i havn't touched them and i left the mother alone.

[HandcuffedAngel]

I have heard 5 weeks as a recommendation and that should be fine.

Props to you for finding them homes and caing for them well.

As far as birthing at the top og the cage ... I don't know. Mine were in an aquarium when my girl had babies. I don't see a ton of harm here as long as they're happy and healthy.

[babygirl159]

ok thank you

[HandcuffedAngel]

No problemo. ;)

[PetLuver21257]

Here is a checklist on what to do with the dwarf babies and when to do it:

Days 1 - 7: Leave the cage completely alone. Don't bother the mother. Only get in the cage to change food and water.

Day 8: Cut up tiny pieces of apple (or carrot) and put them in the nest with the pups. It's very funny to watch them eat the pieces! These foods will help keep the babies from becoming dehydrated, which is crucial when they are this age.

Day 9: Offer mom snacks and let her have a break from motherhood. Take her out of the cage and hold her for a few minutes or let her run around in a ball.

Day 10: As with Day 8, offer the babies more soft fruit pieces.

Day 11: Lower the water bottle to 1/2" - 3/4" from the bedding so the babies can reach it.

Day 12 - 14: Continue to offer very small amounts of apple and carrot, but do so sparingly. Around the 12th, be sure to always have plenty of their regular diet (seeds and pellets) available because the babies will start to eat this. Also, let the mother have some alone time by handling her or putting her in her ball.

Day 15 - 18: Make sure the babies are eating the regular seed/pellet diet, just like the mother. Watch to make sure they have found the water bottle and know how to drink from it.

Day 19: The babies are now ready to be separated from mom. Though it might seem upsetting, the mom will be glad for the rest and relaxation time!

These words are from a college aged breader who has bred many dwarves, so I think that she knows what she is doing. Her website is at:
http://russiandwarfhamsters.tripod.com/hams/id27.html

[babygirl159]

Here is a checklist on what to do with the dwarf babies and when to do it:

Days 1 - 7: Leave the cage completely alone. Don't bother the mother. Only get in the cage to change food and water.

Day 8: Cut up tiny pieces of apple (or carrot) and put them in the nest with the pups. It's very funny to watch them eat the pieces! These foods will help keep the babies from becoming dehydrated, which is crucial when they are this age.

Day 9: Offer mom snacks and let her have a break from motherhood. Take her out of the cage and hold her for a few minutes or let her run around in a ball.

Day 10: As with Day 8, offer the babies more soft fruit pieces.

Day 11: Lower the water bottle to 1/2" - 3/4" from the bedding so the babies can reach it.

Day 12 - 14: Continue to offer very small amounts of apple and carrot, but do so sparingly. Around the 12th, be sure to always have plenty of their regular diet (seeds and pellets) available because the babies will start to eat this. Also, let the mother have some alone time by handling her or putting her in her ball.

Day 15 - 18: Make sure the babies are eating the regular seed/pellet diet, just like the mother. Watch to make sure they have found the water bottle and know how to drink from it.

Day 19: The babies are now ready to be separated from mom. Though it might seem upsetting, the mom will be glad for the rest and relaxation time!

These words are from a college aged breader who has bred many dwarves, so I think that she knows what she is doing. Her website is at:
http://russiandwarfhamsters.tripod.com/hams/id27.html

Thank you that is very helpful! now what should i do that she has had her babys at the top of the cage im afraid when they start crawling that they will fall into teh tube and get hurt!

[HandcuffedAngel]

I'm sure momma will care for them.

If it scares you that much, keep a close watch on them for now until they get more coordinated and are able to go through the tubes themselves.

[PetLuver21257]

You are very very welcome! You know, I am planning on breeding dwarves some day! :D

I think that you should block off the tube like with a piece of cardboard. But move all of your hamsters food and water and play toys up to where the babies are so that she won't need to go down the tube, or just move them into a glass aquarium...

But, don't touch the babies and try not to stress the mom! Good Luck! Keep me posted! :)

Could you possibly post a picture of them and your cage so that I can see clearly what you mean? Thanks! :smiley:

[HandcuffedAngel]

I think she has something like a CritterTrail with the loft apartment kind of thing going on. If that's the case then blocking off the tube is not an option as I am certain the food and water is at the bottom of the tube.

[PetLuver21257]

oOo yea that is a small place for all of the hamster's stuff to go, well then watch them and if you see them moving around, maybe move them below the loft without your hands touching them....

[babygirl159]

ok, yea cuz it kinda scares me that when they do start walking they will get hurt. it is a crittertrail. its the crittertrail one with the removable "petting zone" but they are now 4 days old and cute as can be. I found homes for all four of them and im really wondering what their colors will be. Since their daddys somewhere else. But i think they are doing overall pretty good. But I want to take pictures of them but i don't want to stress the mother out when doing so. And is four babys average? cuz i heard they can have up to 20 babys..?

Wow i really like this place. Its very help ful. Thank you everyone ;)

[FemaleCheetah]

I breed dwarves. I have some of my hammies in crittertail cages and they have their babies at the top as well, just leave them the mom will take care of them and they wont get hurt if they fall mom will usually move them to the bottom once they start crawling... I know mine do. As u can tell I have 28 dwarves and they are alright... some of them are babies that were born in the crittertail cages.

[PetLuver21257]

And is four babys average? cuz i heard they can have up to 20 babys..?
Yes, Four babies are about average. I mean the highest average is about 8. SYRIANS have like 20 babies! Don't worry, I think that 4 is a great number!

I wouldn't think that taking pics would stress the mother out, because I have seen many pictures of baby hamsters taken and they were all fine.

But if she shows signs of stress, then you should stop.

Good luck!

[babygirl159]

yay thank ya!

[babygirl159]

I gots another question, can i give a hamster ne kind of dog treat to bite on? one of the hard ones? or do i have to check for ne types of food instide of it to see if they will get sick or die from it. I want to give them a dog treat for them to bite and wear down their teeth but i don't whant them to get sick or die from the bisket thing...

[FemaleCheetah]

I give my hammies dog milk bones, they love to chew on them and they help keep their teeth short.

[HandcuffedAngel]

Post photos when possible and congratulations! You have had a successful litter and that's more than many can say.

Props to you for finding them homes already.

[PetLuver21257]

Yes, post some pics of them!!!! :D

I feed my hamster my dog's dog food sometimes. It is Iams lamb and rice. I mean for it to wear down her teeth. She loves it! Yes, like FemaleCheetah said, give them dog milk bones! Good luck and please post pics! ;)

[FirinaWolfire]

Take tubing out.

[FirinaWolfire]

They won't get hurt. I would put some soft bedding. Nice thick pile at bottom of tubing. O and when there eyes open and they are walking around and following mom. Take them and mom and put them in a container with top no matter how high it is. Then take tubing out and put mom and babies back. PS. I f you change bedding I usually sprinkle a hjandfil of old bedding over new so It still smells like home and mom isn't upset.

[babygirl159]

ok kool, that works, so am i aloud to give them apples? or if i do put apples in there will the mom see it as a threat.. im sorry im asking to many questions.

[PetLuver21257]

babygirl159: Oh are you kidding me!?? You are definatly NOT asking too many questions!! ;) In fact, it is BETTER to ask more questions than none!

Yes, you can give them apples, just peel the apple first and then make sure that it is room temperature. I am sure when the mother hamster is somewhere else in the cage away from her nest, you can put the apple slices in by the nest, or when you change the food, you can just put the apple slices by the babies. It won't scare the mother.

So, can you please post pictures?!? I really want to see the little cuties :o , and oh, how old are they? Good Luck!

[babygirl159]

babygirl159: Oh are you kidding me!?? You are definatly NOT asking too many questions!! ;) In fact, it is BETTER to ask more questions than none!

Yes, you can give them apples, just peel the apple first and then make sure that it is room temperature. I am sure when the mother hamster is somewhere else in the cage away from her nest, you can put the apple slices in by the nest, or when you change the food, you can just put the apple slices by the babies. It won't scare the mother.

So, can you please post pictures?!? I really want to see the little cuties :o , and oh, how old are they? Good Luck! they are almost a week old, they will be a week old tomarrow, they are starting to get fur. Im trying to get a picture of them but i don't really know how to get it on the computer and how cuz i don't have a ditatal camera right now, but im getting one later but im trying to find a way to get them on the computer! thanks for helping me thou. I really apperciate it! :D

[PetLuver21257]

You are very welcome!! Yea, without a digital camera, you can't put the pics onto the computer then onto this site.... aw well!

They must be really cute! If you have any more questions, don't be shy to ask!

Good luck! :)

[babygirl159]

yea i do have one more question, the female keeps filling the tube i have for her up and she just stuffs the hole thing up and i have to keep taking all the bed stuff out of the tube but seh keeps filling it back up, i would let it just stay like that but she has her food and water at the bottom of the cage so i need to keep un plugging it! idk how to make her stop doin' what she is doing :(

[PetLuver21257]

Well, I think that if she is thirsty and hungry enough, she will unstuff the tube and then go down and get some food.

But I think that she is trying to protect her babies by stuffing the tube! Lol!

Leave the tube alone for a day or two and then if she hasn't had anything to eat or drink, then unplug it. But I don't think that there is anything else you can do... Good Luck though! It is a campbell dwarf right? What color is she? Normal, pearl, opal? If you don't know the colorings, just tell me the colors that she is!

[babygirl159]

no i don't the color she is lol, she is an orange color with brown, and white spots and she is so adorible, the fur is starting to come up, they are like a dark color and a liter color, and today i found one on the bottom and i think eather she crawled or the mom took her down there, but later the mom picked her up.

[PetLuver21257]

AWWWW!!! :o SO CUTE!! That's good that the mom picked her up! Well, from the way you explained, it sounds like your female is part mottled? Maybe? I dunno, I am not good with colors! Good Luck with the babies!!

[babygirl159]

lol thanks! it was really cute thou :) i tried taking pictures with a reg. camera but idk if they will turn out or when ill get them in but the only thing is idk when they were born! i just opened it one day and they were there and i really don't know how old they are, they have claws, hair, and can walk just barly, and it looks like ne day now they will open their eyes but idk how old they are... :(

[PetLuver21257]

Well, when their eyes open, then that means that they are about 14 days old, so that way you can tell what day they were born! Neat huh? Oh, and when their eyes open, you can start to hold the babies (The ones with their eyes open only)!!! And don't worry, but sometimes, only one of the babies eye opens and then it takes another day or two for the other one to open, so you might have a couple babies with one eye until the other eye opens!! LOL! :D

It's really cute, I guess one eye takes a little longer to develop than the other eye!

[babygirl159]

lol, that is cute.... awwww i just can't wait! lol, their ears are starting to open and they are just sooo kute i can't believe it! :)

[babygirl159]

the mom moved them to the bottom of the cage, and they are just running every where and i think i saw one blink but idk and i gave them apple and they loved it

[PetLuver21257]

TOO CUTE! :o :D

[babygirl159]

and the one my friend likes opend his eyes, the rest havn't, but idk when i should hold them, when i found them ive been counting the days i think they are eather 10 or 11 days old...

[PetLuver21257]

When they are 14 days old you can hold them and clean out the cage.

[babygirl159]

im sorry but i think i did the wrong thing but i just had to hold them, its alright thou she still takes care of them, my mom was pressuring me to hold them and so was my friend cuz she wanted to hold one too. But they still go to there mommy. :) whitch im really happy. Sorry... i jsut had to do it, it was so tempting. :P :( they are so cute thou, but im goin' to wait a few days until i can clean out the cage. Cuz i think that might upset her even more

[PetLuver21257]

Well, if they go back to their mother and the mother is fine with it, then I am sure taht they are fine!! I know, they are just too cute!! Good luck and try to get some pictures! :D

[babygirl159]

i took like a billion pictures when i go into town next ill send them in and in about 3 or so days i should have pictures of them up :)

[PetLuver21257]

Yay!!!! :D :)

[babygirl159]

hey do u have msn or yahoo?

[PetLuver21257]

Do you mean a screename?

[babygirl159]

well like for messanger and stuff? if u do mine is Cute_blonde19@hotmail.com if u do want to add me thats if u have msn

[PetLuver21257]

Yes, I have am email address, it is bzhjs11@msn.com

Ok, I shall add you! lol

Do you have a myspace? I don't but I would like to see your profile! It would be fun to see who I was talking to!!

Also, do you have AIM? It is IM, Instant messaging, I am sure you know what I am talking about. Do you have a screen name for it? Because I do and we can talk online. Mine is bluebubblysoda. So add me to your buddy list and we shall talk sometime! I am on right now infact. So just tell me your sn and we'll be good! Ok bye bye! :p

[babygirl159]

i have IM for hotmail/msn and yahoo and im on all the time and i did have a myspace but some person from my school kept hurassing me so i deleted the whole thing i could send u a picture thou

[PetLuver21257]

Ok, what is your screen name (sn)?

[babygirl159]

for yahoo???? i don't have aol

[PetLuver21257]

It might work... though I am really not sure, but I can try to see if you reply to my IM. So just give me your sn and then I will IM you!

[babygirl159]

sweetest_amber28@yahoo.com

[PetLuver21257]

Ok, well I am not online right now because I got kicked off the computer (that has AIM downloaded) for awhile, but I will try to IM you later. In the mean time, you can send me an email. My email address is bzhjs11@msn.com

Ok bye bye!