My baby dwarf hamsters

[SapphireWolf]

Well, my baby dwarf hamsters are three weeks old now. I took pictures of all of them, and when I develop them, I'm gona try and post them for everyone to see. Does anyone know how I can Post pictures?

[ssmissy]

:bouncy2: I can't wait. I have always wanted a dwarf hamster, but my mom says they're mean.

[SapphireWolf]

no! not all are mean. if they are handled reguralry, they are delightful little creatures

[ssmissy]

Can you keep like five in a cage or just two?

[SapphireWolf]

Well, if the cage was big enough, you could. I keep 2 dwarfs per 10 gallon tank. I wouldn't reccomend any more than 3 to a 10 gallon though. the larger the space, the more you can keep. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask, I gotta go right now, but i'll be back(gotta eat dinner!) bye for now

[ssmissy]

Also how hard is it to breed hamsters. I really want to, but my mom won't let me get a girl.

[SapphireWolf]

Well, which kind of hamster do you mean? Dwarf hamsters are easy to breed because males and females can live together andthe males help raise the pups. Syrians. on the other hand are not.Wth syrians, since they are solitary, it takes more effort to breed them, and timing. You have to try and figure out whether or not the female is in heat, and if she is, them you have to place her in the males cage and hope she accepts him. If she dosen't accept him, they will probably fight. My cousin owns only syrians, and is forever trying to breed them with no success. Her female always winds up always kicking up the males butt. While breeding is fun and exciting, you also have to think of the well being of the hamsters, and make sure you've done your research on it. Complications can arise so quickly and you have to be prepared for them.



Oh, and my dwarf just had more babies!! I'm going to post about it right now!

[ssmissy]

;) Thanks.

[dearlysaint]

:crybucket hey, my heart is devastated. this is my first time having dwarf hamsters with me and they gave birth to 2 babies. my brother's friend told him to separate the male with the babies, otherwise, he will eat them. my brother did it and today when i got back from work, i found the 2 babies were eaten by its mother! how come? does the female eats the babies too?

pls help. :( :crybucket

[TiaMaria]

With dwarf hamsters they can all stay in the cage, daddy helps out the mommy and relieves her from stress, so by taking him out, the mommy could have paniced and ate them :| It could be other reasons too, like the lil babies werent healthy enough to live, so the mom decided to eat them, instead of seeing them in pain.

[dearlysaint]

really? but my friend had dwarf hamsters b4 and they said if didn't remove the daddy, it will usually ate up all the babies! n is hamsters similar to cat? i mean if someone touched the baby cat, the mother will eat them up. so i was thinking is hamster the same too?

[Padfoot]

yes, if you touch baby hamsters, no matter what species (syrian, campbells, WW, roborovski or chinese) before they open their eyes, the mom will probably eat them. Hamsters are very nervous in matter of taking care of their babies and any slight disturbance might cause them to eat their babies. Changing the tank from where it is, taking or adding furniture to the tank, taking out dad (in the case dwarves, syrians must be separated all the time), ect.

[dearlysaint]

ok.. so u mean, next time when they have another baby, i shouldn't do anything at all? e.g. Changing the tank from where it is, taking or adding furniture to the tank, taking out dad (in the case dwarves, syrians must be separated all the time)...

is that mean i shouldn't do anyting at all? and what do u mean by (in the case dwarves, syrians must be separated all the time)? i don't really get it. is that mean i don't have to remove the dad? and i can't change their beddings and all since their babies are so untouchable? and for how long that i have to wait for me to able to touch the babies without being eaten?

thank you

[Padfoot]

You should do a bedding change a bit before the birth, and leave it without changing till the babies open their eyes. That's the time when you will be able to touch them. If I'm not mistaken, with campbells dwarfs is around 2 weeks of age, not sure though (I'm not good remembering numbers). If you absolutely need to change bedding (emergency.. like the water bottle spilled), you should take mom out and let her play on a play area or ball. If the nest is not wet, then take out the wet bedding and replace, leaving the nest alone. If the nest is wet, take it out with a cup (babies along with as much of the nest as possible, tryin to take out the drier part. Replace bedding and put the complete nest again exactly where it was. Replace all furniture exactly as it was and put mommy back with a treat, like a piece of apple, for her to entertain herself a bit and forget about the changes made in her cage.

"(in the case dwarves, syrians must be separated all the time)? " -> What I meant with that is that If what you have are dwarfs, you can leave the dad in, but if you plan to remove (to delay a next litter or whatever other reason) then do so before the birth. Syrian hamsters should be housed alone all the time and male and female should be together for 30-60 minutes only to mate.

[kcgothamster]

ok.. so u mean, next time when they have another baby, i shouldn't do anything at all? e.g. Changing the tank from where it is, taking or adding furniture to the tank, taking out dad (in the case dwarves, syrians must be separated all the time)...

is that mean i shouldn't do anyting at all? and what do u mean by (in the case dwarves, syrians must be separated all the time)? i don't really get it. is that mean i don't have to remove the dad? and i can't change their beddings and all since their babies are so untouchable? and for how long that i have to wait for me to able to touch the babies without being eaten?

thank you


agree. first time and first day for my hamster mama born her hammies, i take out those furniture and change the bedding, but leave the nest area untouch. after that remove the dad to another cage. results, all hammies gone. :crybucket