Can I feed my baby hamster????

Question

My dwarf hamster mom has gotten really skinny from feeding her pups. Well now only 1 pup is left. I don't think she has any more milk to care for her last remaining pup. All she can do is keep is warm. Her pup is 10 days old. I don't have an eye dropper. But is it okay to feed the baby hamster wheat bread dunked in skim milk(cow). If cow milk isn't good, should I use soy milk? Where would I buy soy milk? Can I buy it at walmart or aldi's???

Answer 1

NO

Please do not touch the pup until the pup is older than 2 weeks. Right now, the pup is only 10 days old and still dependant on the mother's milk. It can eat little bits of solid food but half its nutrition would still come from the mother's milk.

Once you touch the pup, remove it from the mother hamster since the mother might kill the pup if she smells any foreign smell on the baby.

You can separate the pup once it touches two weeks and feed it Kitten Replacement Formula (KMR) found in pet shops along with little bit of solid food. Feed it lots of soft foods like bread soaked in skimmed milk, wheat germ in skimmed milk or porridge soaked in water. Even the commercial hamster mix can be soaked in water to soften it a bit and given to the little one. Once the little one is 3 weeks old, then you can start changing his diet slowly to the normal hamster diet.

Use only skimmed cow's milk since full cream milk is too fattening for hamsters. I have never tried soya milk for hamsters but I would suggest not to try it on young hamsters since their digestive system is still delicate, better to go for KMR and standard skimmed cow's milk.

Answer 2

DO NOT. The milk will harm the baby- only at 4 weeks old can they start to eat that food. I'm sure you have good intentions, but for now all you can do is help the mother, so she can take care of the baby herself. You can give the mother high protein food such as egg and cottage cheese, but leave the baby alone. Give the mother lots and lots of nesting material for her to keep warm, possibly place her in the warmest room in your house. Do not disturb her and just let nature take it's path.

Answer 3

i guess you can

Answer 4

At 10 days, it's starting to nibble solids, but is not able to get enough nutrients that way.  As a sole-food, it'd need something more nutritious then soy milk.  Best bet would be to ask the vet, as they can sell you some formula (You wouldn't need much, in another week-week and a half it'll be nearly on solids only) and they can give you syringes that have a small enough tip.

However, it's extremely hard to hand feed a small rodent like a dwarf hamster.