Hamster gave birth 2 days ago, but is ignoring the babies - HELP!?

Question

Our syrian hamster gave birth on Monday afternoon, to about 11 babies. It is her first litter. She remained with them until the next morning but since then has taken herself out of the nest and left the babies to it. we don't know if she has fed them or not, but some are still moving. Mum appears to be sleeping alot.

What do we do? At teh moment we are leaving her alone apart from checking them all every few hours. Checking involves just looking at them. As far as we can tell she has not eaten any.

Any help will be gratefully recieved.

Answer 1

i think it would be a good idea to seperate the babies from mum and consult your vet as to what to do with the babies i think hamsters normally eat their babies so i would definalty take them out of the cage with mum might be worth taking mum to the vets to if she is sleeping a lot  

Answer 2

She could have an infection or be depressed (animals get depressed too, they are more like us than unlike us). I'd say get her to the Vet.  

Answer 3

I would contact a vet, and see what they think, as the babies(if they have not been fed) will start to starve otherwise. It may involve you having to hand feed them if the mother is not bothered.

Sorry i cant help any more.

Answer 4

If you have touched the hamsters she will not want to have anything to do with them, separate them check on mum and babies and when old enough sell your babies x*x

Answer 5

did u touch the babies?

Answer 6

no dont worry they will do that i had a hamster that had 6 babies and she would ignore her babies

dont worry if  u touich the babies she will kill them

dont touch them

dont put your hand i n cage

well if u need to feed thme

qiuetly put food in the cage

r they together if they r dont go nere the cage other wise they will et the babies for kill them  

Answer 7

If she doesn't go back soon you will have to start hand feeding the babies your self. Try googling orphaned baby hamsters. It should come up with what is required to them alive. Hope this helps and the vet can't do anything your hamster is a first time mother and she is probably a bit confused.

Answer 8

Just let her do what she does. She should not be ignoring them. I have never heard of a hampster doing that. But incase the does, put fruit in the cage. really soft stuff that they can eat. (bananas, pear...ect..) And put them close to the babbies. Also give some to mom.

Answer 9

Put them up for adoption

Answer 10

Seperate the babies from the mommy. Call the vet and tell them what happened, all of the details and things. They might be able to tell you over the phone what you can do, they may want you to bring them in.

Hope this helped=) Good luck!

Answer 11

call the vet and ask for some advice

Answer 12

if any of the babies are still alive after two days then she is feeding them. at this point the babies can't see, walk, and can't even keep themselves warm very well. they would have been dead within hours if she stopped feeding them.

at this point i don't think there is anything you can do. the previous suggestion to seperate them isn't a good idea. right now i would just leave them alone and hope for the best. you could try calling a vet but there probably isn't much he could do or tell you to do.

good luck!

Answer 13

there is not much anyone can do but she may be more attenitive then you think they can only live without milk for a couple of hrs. so she is probably feeding them so give mama some treats and toliet paper to make her bed more cozy 11 babes are alot she has them huddle together for warmth watch for babes to squeak and see if she runs to them. open cage like you are reaching in if she runs to protect them it is all good

Answer 14

hello,

it might seam as if te mother is abandoning its babies but it is not. This is usual. Your hamster does not want you to watch her as she cares for her babies so every time you watch she stops. She also probably takes care of the babies at  night since hamsters are nocturnal.

Hope I Could Help

S T Z

Answer 15

The chances of baby hamsters living without their mother taking care of them is slim to none.  If you know for a fact she is not going back to them then you can try feeding them some kind of animal formula with an eye dropper.  The best thing really though is to leave them for the mother.  If they are still alive then she is probably going back to feed them.  Once you touch them she will definitely not take care of them though so only try feeding them with a dropper as a last resort and they will probably die anyways.  Someone once told me carnations canned milk works, but I would use kitten formula first.  Good luck.