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Old 12-27-2016, 06:16 AM   #1
iana
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Default Help! My Dwarf Hamster just gave Birth!

Hello, uh, everyone, my name is iana and I recently joined this forum for a quite urgent matter. Aside from wanting to know how to care for hamsters more, I need help because my dwarf hamster, Ivory, whom I bought just 3 days ago on the 24th, gave birth! I bought her from Petco and ever since she was grumpy and bit a lot. At first I thought she was just not used to being in her new home, but 3 days later she gave birth! I counted five babies, but I'm not too sure. Could anyone please tell me or give me tips on what to do? I know that you're not supposed to hold the litter, I made that mistake a year ago with my now dead Syrian hamster and her small litter. (HHhhHh sadness) This is my first time taking care of a dwarf hamster, so could anyone please help me? Thanks in advanced!
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Old 12-27-2016, 08:53 AM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Help! My Dwarf Hamster just gave Birth!

The most important thing for now is to leave them all alone & not disturb them at all, just quietly put food & water into the cage, they should be left undisturbed until the pups begin to leave the nest.
I don't know that much about breeding or pups but if you have a look through the breeding section of the forum there are quite a few threads about unexpected litters & what to do.
Here's one that might help.
Surprise Pregnancy! Help?
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Old 12-27-2016, 01:51 PM   #3
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Help! My Dwarf Hamster just gave Birth!

Good info there from Cypher No handling of Mum or pups. I think keeping well away from the cage is usually advised as well. As Cypher says, just quietly put out food and water and leave Mum to it.
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Old 12-27-2016, 09:46 PM   #4
iana
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Default Re: Help! My Dwarf Hamster just gave Birth!

hanks for the advice, there were about seven babies. When will I be able to start taming/holding the litter?
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Old 12-28-2016, 02:39 AM   #5
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Help! My Dwarf Hamster just gave Birth!

I think that thread Cypher linked should have lots of info, but not for quite some time I think. The Mother can cull the babies (ie bite their heads off) if she thinks they are threatened in any way - ie if she smells a different scent near them. So no handling for a while and best not to handle Mum either And no cleaning Mum will sort out the nest and keep things clean.

There are some experienced breeders on here - I'm sure one will come along with some advice I think it's about 3 weeks before you can handle them and think that's when you can do a cage clean and they need separating (boys from girls) some time soon after that I think.

Just to point out one of the forum rules is not posting photos of baby hamsters before their eyes are open.
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Old 12-28-2016, 04:25 AM   #6
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Default Re: Help! My Dwarf Hamster just gave Birth!

I think it's about two weeks after giving birth that the babies will begin to leave the nest & it really is important that mum & pups aren't disturbed at all until then, not sure when eyes open tbh, but now is the time to read all the threads you can find here & do any other research you may need while you wait, I expect mum needs extra protein as well as more food in general right now so keep the food well topped up but nothing else, no cleaning or peeking!
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Old 12-28-2016, 07:48 AM   #7
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Default Re: Help! My Dwarf Hamster just gave Birth!

Hi there - sorry to hear about the surprise litter!
One of your main issues will be that mum is not tame herself yet so when it comes to having access to handle the pups this may be delayed with a stressed new mummy.
The rule of thumb is normally when all pups eyes are open wide that you can start taming and handling. Dwarf eyes will open between 12 and 16 days ish normally. Once they open you can start with stroking their backs when they are round the food dish. You will need to include mama in the taming too and handle all at the same time. If mother is very uncomfortable with you touching them ie flying out and screaming or biting then you need to delay as you could still cull the pups up to around 4 weeks. At 4 weeks you must sex the babies and separate into male and female groups as they start to mature and can get pregnant then. Girls could stay with their mum but boys must be in a male only group. Feed plenty good food like extra small seeds, fine chopped veg, porridge, babyfood, chicken, tofu, scrambled egg etc. They will eat loads of hamster mix too so free feed that.
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Old 12-28-2016, 08:03 AM   #8
iana
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Default Re: Help! My Dwarf Hamster just gave Birth!

Thank you for all of the advice everyone ;u; I placed some unscented soft tissues into the cage, and Ivory seemed to incorporate it into her nest. And as for not being able to post pictures of the litter until their eyes open, is there a reason for it?
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Old 12-28-2016, 09:26 AM   #9
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Default Re: Help! My Dwarf Hamster just gave Birth!

Not 100% sure but I think the reason for not posting those pics is to be sure the mum & pups haven't been disturbed when they should be left alone.
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Old 12-28-2016, 10:30 AM   #10
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Default Re: Help! My Dwarf Hamster just gave Birth!

We don't allow pics of baby pups with shut eyes because it inevitably causes some disturbance to mum having a flash / people fussing around the cage and trying to take risks with moving bedding etc. Showing pics would encourage other, possibly less knowledgeable people to think that is OK and copy thus risking mum culling the litter. It is never worth that risk for a picture.
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