My hamster is going to give BIRTH!?

Question

This was by accident. I dont know anything on how to take care of a pregnet hamster. Also i dont know how to take care of the baby hamster after birth. Do they eat the same things? Will she eat them? What do i need to do HELP please i have no idea what to do. i have bee looking online on how to take of of this. and i cant find anything.

Answer 1

hello my advise to you is to separate the father from the mother unless you want a bloody mess to clean up.then for the next 6 weeks do not mess with the cage or the babies because if your scent get on the babies the mother will abandon them. the only reason to put your hand in the cage is to give it food and water.i hope this was a help for you and good luck with your new hamster babies.PS after 6 weeks of age the babies can be separated from the mother:-)!!!

Answer 2

calm down. ive had a pregnant hamsteer before and its no big deal. u dont need anything special to feed it. it will do things normal. but until the babies come i would take out anything in the cage that ur hamster could hide in or under

Answer 3

When you figure out she's pregnant, start feeding her food high in protein, like cheese, peanut butter, and oats. Don't overfeed, though.

I've read it's best to keep the father in the cage with the mother. My advice: take him out as soon as she starts looking fat. He will probably eat the babies, not care for them. Some fathers do help raise the babies and take care of mom, but to be on the safe side, take him out. Also, the moment after the mother gives birth, she goes into heat.  The male WILL mate with her and she will become pregnant again and deliver in 18 days.  That is another reason why I recommend separating him.  This gives her time to rest between litters.



As soon as your mom hamster starts to look fat, you can expect babies in approximately 2-7 days, depending on how your hamster handles her pregnancy.  One of my females gets fat and 2 days later has babies; the other gets fat and has hers a week later.  It just depends on the hamster.

When she starts to deliver, mom will hunch over and start moving around a lot. Usually, she will have all of the babies in her nest, but she might also have them in different areas in the cage. Don't worry, though, she will gather them up and bring them back. If you get a good look, you might see her deliver one. They come out head first and feet first. It doesn't matter, so don't worry about it. Mom will take care of herself and her new litter.

My best advice to you when your hamster has babies is to leave her completely alone and keep the cage in a quiet room. Only get in her cage to give her extra food and water. Don't touch the babies for two weeks, or she might eat them. Yes, that's right, eat them! Dwarfs are cannibalistic toward their young, you know.

Clean the cage out a couple of days before she is due to give birth. Remember, you won't be able to clean it for two weeks. Baby hamsters are extremely cute, but be sure you have homes lined up for them.

Pregnant black campbell

It is part of nature that female hamsters may eat their young.  If this happens to you, here are some factors that may (or may not) have caused it.

   1. She was stressed out by loud noises or the father.

   2. The babies were touched by a human and therefore, had another scent on them.

   3. The babies were deformed or had genetic disorders.

   4. The mother was a first-time, inexperienced mother.

Mothers may eat the babies for any of these reasons.  I have found that the second birth is usually much larger and has a much better survival rate because the mother knew what was going on and what to do.  The first litter was sort of a surprise to her and she had to learn the ropes.

Sometimes, the mother never has any trouble with the first litter.  Again, it just depends on the hamster.  If your mother eats her first litter, give her plenty of recovery time and try again.  Unless she has problems with her health, I can guarantee more of the babies will live the second time around.  It often takes a little time to get the ball rolling, but once it is done, you will have plenty of little pups.

They're finally here! The baby hamsters! What do you do now? Just sit back and watch!

When they're first born, they're pink, hairless, deaf, and blind. But, not to worry, mom will take good care of them. Campbell's usually give birth to an average of six in a litter but it can range from 1 to 14 pups!

Your new hamsters will grow quickly. By day three, they should have whiskers. By day six, they will grow body hair.

By day ten or around then, your hamsters' eyes will open. Still, you long to hold them, but there isn't much you can do. You can offer them tiny pieces of apple.

On day fourteen, you can finally hold your baby hamsters and clean out their cage.  Don't worry if mom panics a little bit; this is normal. She might run around a bit, but she will calm down in a few minutes.



By day eighteen, they will be weaned.  If you don't want anymore babies for awhile, consider housing the mom and her daughters in one cage and the father and his sons in another cage.  This will keep everyone happy.



Now for the sad part: finding your hamsters a new home. Whether selling them to the pet shop or giving them away, make sure they will have a decent home.  They are old enough to be given away at about 4-5 weeks of age.  They will be sexually mature in 2 months.

Baby hamsters are not too much work for you but for mom they are. Be sure to give her a few weeks of rest before breeding her again.

Breeding two different types of hamsters is not a problem at all! People do that all the time. I have a hamster that is mixed with teddy bear hamster and syrian hamster.

Answer 4

http://www.hamster-zone.com/hamster-repr...

Answer 5

If you do believe you have a pregnant hamster on your hands, make sure she has plenty of nesting material available. Be very gentle when handling her, and don’t let strangers disturb her. Keep the room quiet, and don’t mess with her nest! Give your mom-to-be a diet rich in protein and vitamins so she’ll be strong for giving birth.

Syrian hamsters have a gestation period of approximately sixteen days. Dwarf hamsters have a slightly longer gestation period -- approximately twenty days.

The Babies Are Coming!

The average litter size varies between the two types of hamster. Syrian hamsters may have between six and ten babies; dwarf hamsters may have five or six babies in a litter. But your hamster may have as many as sixteen babies or more!

Sometimes, a female hamster may show signs of being pregnant but never give birth. This may happen for one of two reasons: it may be a phantom pregnancy (not an actual pregnancy) or she may be unable to give birth. A hamster who is unable to give birth will normally reabsorb the babies back into her system with no ill effects. A female hamster who has either a phantom pregnancy or reabsorbs a litter may go on to successfully bear a litter in the future.

It is rare for a hamster to give birth to dead babies, but it can sometimes happen. Try to remove any dead babies without touching the mother or any living children -- a long spoon may be useful. However, the mother may eat the dead bodes herself; the protein can help strengthen her after giving birth. A female hamster may also eat her own babies if she is too young to be bred and is too immature to cope with raising her litter. A female hamster may also destroy sickly babies or try to cut down a large litter to a more manageable size.

If your mother hamster is ignoring her babies, you don’t have to worry right away. She will leave the nest for periods of time but should return to nurse the babies. If a female totally abandons her litter, you may need to try fostering them with another female hamster or hand rearing them. It may be next to impossible to hand-rear a baby hamster that is less than ten days old, and fostering can be difficult before fourteen days of age.

after birth......................

The babies need to be at least 2 weeks old before you start handling them. At this time it is safe to touch them for short periods of time and it is also safe to clean the cage. You should also be feeding the mother hard boiled egg and diced carrots. This will give her the extra protein she needs to help raise her babies. Make sure you remove Mom's wheel (if you haven't already).

     When the babies are 3 weeks old, they need to be seperated from their mother and and each other (boys in one cage and girls in another). You can continue to feed the babies egg and carrots, this will help them in their growth.  At 5-6 weeks of age, the babies are ready to go to their new homes.

      For the ones you are getting rid of, I would suggest talking with your local pet store about a week before they are ready to go to their new homes and see if they are willing to take them. Some pet stores will buy them and others will give in-store credit

to some it up better food

more water

more bedding

don't touch the babies untill about 2 weeks old

the mother will do most :)

the babies will just be mixed breeds

is the mother small abouth the same size as the father as dwarf hamsters have longer gestation periods that syrian about 20 days not 16

Answer 6

i would just go to a local pet store and ask them.