New robo babies!

[pickytxmom]

Hi!!!

I just joined the group today. We adopted a Robo hamster 9 days ago....she is adorable.

We went to clean her cage yesterday....and.....3 babies!!!!

I have moved her to my closet (the calmest place in the house), covered her with a towel, feed her a couple of times a day (veggies, pellets, fruit, egg), and then just leave her alone (which is hard, i'd rather sit and watch her with the babies).

Questions:

1. How will I know if my intrusions are upsetting her? I would be so upset if I stressed her out and she ate the babies.

2. From what I've read, the babies will need to be sexed and separated around 6-8 weeks. That's a pretty big time span.....how do I know if it should be 6, 7, or 8 weeks????

3. We are going out of town for a week, i will worry the whole time. Should we cancel our trip, bring her with us, take her to a sitter??? Needless-to-say, I really want to see her everyday and make sure the babies are okay for myself. Oh....and....i want to see them develop.

4. How often should I be feeding her????

5. A few times I haven't seen all 3 babies.....is there a safe way to pull back the bedding to ensure that they are all okay???? Use a straw?

6. I have yet to find a site that lists what I should do day by day, week by week.....does anyone know of one???

Thanks!!! It's amazing how nervous I am. I wish I could put a video monitor on her for 24 hour surveillance.

[samzyzg]

Unfortunately I have no idea, just hoping I can bump up the thread a bit so you are answered quickly.
Mum knows whats best, and its good you are leaving her too it apart from feeding (that and keeping mum in a quiet area are about the only thing I know)

I hope things continue to go well

[Vectis Hamstery]

Do you know when the babies were born, roughly? To answer your questions:

1 & 5 - Mum hamsters and babies should not be disturbed until the babies all have their eyes open (around 14 days old), even if mum seems calm. I know it's hard but the best you can do is leave mum to look after the pups herself. They will be snuggled in the nest initially so it is usual not to see all of them and it is safer not to poke or prod the nest. Mums can cull babies if they are stressed, young, or there is something not right with the pups but by leaving her alone you are giving her the best chance.

2) Babies need to be separated from mum into single sex groups at 4 weeks old. As they are robos, you could keep females in with mum if you plan on keeping her with a group in future.

3) It depends on how old the pups are. As I said, under 14 days old shouldn't be disturbed at all apart from adding food/water therefore moving them isn't a good idea. Personally I would prefer to leave them at home with a friend/relative/pet sitter popping in once a day to top up food and water (and made aware not to disturb them). This is what I do if I have pups in the nest and need to go away.

4) I make sure mums have free access to hamster mix (scatter fed, especially when the babies start to wander) and water, and check/top up once a day. I also give extras, e.g. porridge/egg/chicken every 1-2 days. I feed extras in a shallow bowl so babies can get out if they fall in and so I can remove any uneaten fresh food so it doesn't spoil. From 7-14/21 days I add crushed hamster mix with small cubes of cucumber near the nest (without disturbing it) though I would err on the side of caution with an unexpected litter and keep well away from the nest.

6) Hamsterlopaedia is useful for this. Oak Farm's website also has information on robo litters Oak Farm Rabbits and Rodents

It may not feel like it, but the most important thing you can do is leave well alone (apart from minimal disruption to add food/water) until the pups' eyes open.

[pickytxmom]

Thank you for the reply!!

They were born yesterday afternoon (Sunday, August 5).

I'm going to hate leaving them for a week . I did find a pet sitter that is experienced with hamsters (and rabbits, cats, fish, and ants......GEEZ).

[Pompompoms]

Vectis has as ever given excellent advice, peace and lack of disruption really is key.

The only other thing to do if you need to is quickly and quietly remove anything at all that could cause a problem should mum bring the babies out of the nest. Often she will come out with babies attached to her, most of the time she will pop them back in the nest when she realises, but sometimes she will carry them about with her and put them down in different places.
If the wheel is in there it needs to come out, along with anything a baby can get stuck in or under. They are tiny, and not very good at anything requiring coordination while they're still little pink wrigglers.

Baby robos are an absolute delight, the two weeks between them coming out the nest and having to separate them is just adorable.
There may well be more, all my litters have arrived in even numbers, sometimes not all survive though so you can end up with odds.

[pickytxmom]

Thank you!!!!!

So....it is possible that she may have more????

At what point can I breathe a little easier about her NOT eating her babies? I'm going nuts.

I've had friends that say they will take one, but I don't think I can give them up. If I split the boys and girls, isn't there a good chance that they will be fine?

Again, thank you!

[Pompompoms]

She may have more, I was convinced there were only two in my last litter, and there were four, she also may only have two of course, or perhaps had more than two originally, but not all have made it. You will really only know in about 12 days!

Really the rule with keeping robos is only keep as many as you are prepared to house separately should it come to that. If your have the cages, time and money for them all, then there is no reason why you shouldn't keep them all, if not, it's kinder to rehome.

They can live very happily in pairs, but there can also be issues hence the being prepared to keep all as singles. I think the first thing is to see how many there are and of what sex once they are all past the trickier early days. Then you can go from there