Dwarf Babies

[sentfrmheaven]

My son bought a Russian Dwarf a week ago and she had babies about 4 days ago (we think). She had the babies up in the ball/wheel at the top of her cage, away from the water and food. I do notice that she goes up and down quite often but will the babies be ok up there? Any helpful info on these new bundles would be appreciated since we are first time owners!!!
Thanking you all in advance:)

[Zouave]

Dwarfs are social, and when from the same litter they get along VERY well. And dwarfs in small groups are great fun to watch. I try to get groups that way when I need them. So keep all the babies; separate by gender in 5-6 weeks. We will tell you how.

I do not know about your habitat, but I would worry as once the babies start moving about they surely will fall; happened with someone who had a Crittertrail2.

What would I do? Wait a few days, and
then when the mom is up foraging, remove her; with a clean spoon or cardboard, something with no smells, carefully scoop the babies AND much of the BEDDING and place it at the bottom in a clean corner. Replace the mom. It should take five minutes.

That is what I would do. Maybe someone disagrees.

[sentfrmheaven]

That is what I would do. Maybe someone disagrees.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for your advice, it is very much appreciated. Any other info you could give us would be great. We are total begginers!

[903409518093852]

A while back I saw another post like this. They were told to leave the babies there... but I don't know. I think you should leave them alone so the mom doesn't eat them.

[sentfrmheaven]

Thanks I'm not really sure what to do? Last night the new mom got up to go down the tube and she had 2 babies attatched to her that were left dangling at the top of the tube when she went down. I managed to tip the cage and get one back in the nest but the other little guy slid all the way down to the bottom. The mom picked it up and carried it back up the tube to the nest. This morning it looks like mom put alot more stuffing in the ball but I hope it doesnt happen again. It really freaked me out, I was sooooooooo worried.

[GillyXBean]

Don't disturb or touch the babies until they are at least 10 days old. I bought a dwarf that we thought got pregnant after we bought her and a boy, but the babies were too old, so she was pregnant when we got her.

Since you've only had the ham a short while, she is probably going to be less trusting of, especially around the babies.

Limit how often you get in and out of the cage. Offer her water rich veggies like cucumbers (take the skin off, and just giver a slice cut into small chunks), or fruits like seedless grapes. If you can put them closer to her than her food dish is, then do that. She needs to keep hydrated.

We currently have 9 newborn dwarves (those were conceived AFTER the first batch was born, but before we found the first batch), and the mom is doing well, and she trusts me getting in and out of the cage.

I have noticed though that when I clean up an area NOT where the babies are, she would move the nest to a different area. You probably shouldn't clean the cage until the babies have their eyes open and are crawling around on their own. That should happen around 11 days old. Once you notice them moving out and about on thier own, you'll be able to better judge the baby's age.

We too had problems with mom picking inappropriate places for nests (we have a 3 level cage, and once with the new batch, and twice with the older batch she picked the top level, so the babies would fall, or slide down the tubes and get stuck). Edited to add: I should also add that none of the ham's died or were hurt when they fell, but that could just have been luck on my side.

Mom will keep a pretty good eye on the babies herself, but sometimes if one falls and she doesn't see it, I would offer treats through the bars, and kind of lead her down to the bottom level to find the wandering baby.

The babies can get hurt, so make sure the area where they would fall has plenty of bedding, something soft like toilet paper shredded works good.

Good luck with the babies! Do you know how many there are yet? Just wait until they are all crawling around the place, they are so darn cute!

Also- you'll want to have the sex determined by 28 days if you are keeping them, so you can seperate the boys from the girls. They become fertil at 28 days, but usually don't mate until about 32 days, though it can happen.

Good luck!

[sentfrmheaven]

Thank you for your valuable advice. My son (who the mama belongs to is only 10 and this is his first one). We appreciate any help you can give us so that mama and all the babies will do great. I think she has had 6 or 7? Not quite sure though its still hard to get a good look.:D

[Caitandcritters]

As far as treats and extras go, I'd feed lean chicken, oatmeal, wheat bread soaked in soy milk, even lean ground beef. Cucumbers and grapes are mostly water, good for hydration, but not so wonderful in the nutrition aspect. ;) Mom and babies need extra protein, and those are some good sources of vitamins and the meat (obviously) contains the much needed protein.

[sentfrmheaven]

Thanks for the tips. Also what is the most appropriate way to house these hamsters? Cage,tank,tub etc..? I want to make sure they are comfortable.

[PetLuver21257]

Dwarf hamsters do well in a homemade bin cage, an aquarium tank (10 gallon and up), and wire cages. Personally, I don't like CritterTrails because as with your experience, the mother has the babies and the nest in a bad place where the babies can easily fall, and CritterTrails are too small for Syrians, the tubes are a bit big for dwarves, and there isn't a lot of ground space for the dwarves to run around on.

Anyways, when the babies are older and are ready to get separated by gender (5-6 weeks) you may want to consider an aquarium tank (20 gallon+ because there are at least 6 or 7 babies and probably half of them are male, so that would mean that 3 or 4 males are in one tank and the mom and the females are in another tank).

Don't touch the babies until they are 2 weeks old. When they are 2 weeks old, you can clean out the cage. Give the mom protien rich foods such as cottage cheese and tofu, and don't bother her! Good luck! :)

[sentfrmheaven]

Thanks for the help, my son and I are gratefull that there are pet owners willing to share their knowledge with us. Feel free to continue to pass us info. The babies look like they have changed color today from pink to beige. We are guessing they are about 6 or 7 days old? When is the best time to calculate age? When the eyes open?

[LMDH]

Yes, eyes open 10/12 days.