Hamster won’t come out from bedding?

FawnRoyale · 12-01-2017, 05:42 AM

I have a new female Syrian hamster (Pancake) who is 3 weeks and about 2 days old. I got her from a friend who accidentally bought pregnant hamsters, and took her at 20 days instead of 21 because she was in a bad home. Now I’ve got her home and she’s been here for almost 5 days, and I know she’s bound to be scared, but she doesn’t seem to like walking on top of her bedding and just tunnels everywhere. Is this normal for a new young hamsters? Is there anything I can do to make her more comfortable out in the open?

souffle · 12-01-2017, 06:10 AM

This is much much to young to have a baby hamster. They should still be with the mother till they are 4 weeks old then separated into groups of boys and girls till they are around 6 weeks.
You need to treat her like a hand rear now. She will need kept very warm but not hot and fed extras to help her grow. Things like porridge, babyfood, plain chicken, tofu, tiny bits of fresh fruits and veg will help as well as loads of food as they eat a lot.
I hope she is OK but make sure she can work the water bottle as well and that she is clean underneath and there is no smell from her. Mother would still clean and nurse them a bit at this age.

Fluffagrams · 12-01-2017, 06:41 AM

Baby hamsters can be quite shy to start with and can sometimes find adjusting to single life to be a bit overwhelming. For now I would advise keeping her in a smaller cage and making sure that she has plenty of bedding, both to help her stay warm but also to help her to build a nest where she feels secure.

As Souffle says, baby hamsters should remain with their mother until they are four weeks old which is the age that they are usually weaned. You will need to make sure that you're giving her extras to make up for this and it might be worth giving her some kitten/puppy milk too. Babies can take a while to work out how the water bottle works so I'll always make sure that I have cucumber in the cage so that our babies have a source of moisture until they work out how the bottle works.

FawnRoyale · 12-01-2017, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by souffle

This is much much to young to have a baby hamster. They should still be with the mother till they are 4 weeks old then separated into groups of boys and girls till they are around 6 weeks.
You need to treat her like a hand rear now. She will need kept very warm but not hot and fed extras to help her grow. Things like porridge, babyfood, plain chicken, tofu, tiny bits of fresh fruits and veg will help as well as loads of food as they eat a lot.
I hope she is OK but make sure she can work the water bottle as well and that she is clean underneath and there is no smell from her. Mother would still clean and nurse them a bit at this age.

Yes, I know this is much much too early!

I'm sorry I didn't state that sooner. We didn't have much of a choice, as her owner (who lived with my friend) was very careless with her hamsters and a couple had gotten eaten by their dog, so the sooner we got she out the better, especially because their owner didn't clean, feed, or in general care for her hamsters very well.

However, these hamsters were already weaned and fairly independent from their mother. She drinks from a bowl, eats on her own, and I've made sure she is fairly warm. 21 days (3 weeks) was the length of time recommended to her, and they seemed as though they were ready.
I know she is probably very scared, but I just want to know if there is anything else I can do to maybe help her? She has fresh water daily, and I've given her some sort of fresh, healthy treat every day since I've gotten her (a cracked open walnut, spinach, unpopped popcorn, and today I plan to give her a small slice of apple or blueberry). I'm avoiding yogurt drops for the moment, and she has a high-protein food mix in her cage as well. She also has a hut, plenty of toys, a dust bath, and around 3 inches of bedding in her cage.
Thank you for the tips! I'll definitely start giving her some soft meats soon (excluding pork) and I'll do everything I can to ensure she's warm. Once she allows me to see her too I'll be sure to examine her for dirt, but so far her cage hasn't smelled at all. Is there anything else I should know?