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Old 01-01-2017, 08:21 AM   #1
Vipin
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Default I don't know anything! Litter UK

Hello. Sorry for the long threat, but I need advice. We are beginners with hamsters. 4 months ago I bought a hamster for my daughter, his name Coco. I am sure he's a boy as I bought him young from Pets at home. My son got a bit upset so I promised him a hamster if he help nicely with Coco. For Christmas I decided to adopt one hamster from Pets at home. Her name Poppy (she looks different looking so I am sure by the name and the looks she is a girl). My plan obviously was to keep them separate. Coco is in his cage and his environment is my daughters room. Poppy is in her cage and in my son's room. We were cleaning Coco's cage so we put him in a ball and allowed him to go around as normal, but this time he sensed Poppy? I guess? because he ran -inside the ball- to my son's room. I didn't see anything wrong with that. I checked and then he was in his ball but sniffing at Poppy's cage and she was sniffing at him. I left them and after checking many times -same situation-all OK, then my daughter went to check again and said "Mummy! Coco is not in the ball". We started looking for him and to our horror he managed to get inside Poppy's cage!!! Her cage is the one with a wheel build in, so we concluded that that small space is big enough for him to fit. They were not fighting but now I am concern that she is pregnant. Is there such a possibility? That happened with my dogs before, but I took my dog to the vets and they put an injection to stop any pregnancy and the vets mentioned that dogs need probably more than one encounter to get pregnant. Is this the same with Hamsters or can I definitely wait for a litter? If so, how many hamsters can I expect from her. If successful with her litter, how long do I need to keep them, as I am planning to give them away to the RSPCA. Does the RSPCA can take them and re-home them? I don't want to sell them or just randomly give them away. That's not me. Help please.
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Old 01-01-2017, 09:18 AM   #2
Pebbles82
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Default Re: I don't know anything! Litter UK

If Poppy is pregnant I think it's about 18 to 21 days after mating when a litter is due. She would start looking fatter nearer the time and some people can see baby bumps in the fat (at her sides). I don't think the RSPCA take unwanted litters. The best thing you could do probably, if she is definitely pregnant is advertise the babies and try and find them good homes. They can't leave until they're 8 weeks old. At about 3 to 4 weeks you need to separate the males from the females and put them in a separate cage. I'm not sure of all the exact timings, but someone else will know - there are a few breeders on here.

But you might need at least 2 spare cages to move the babies into (when sexed and separated from the Mother). You can make bin cages quite cheaply from an Ikea Samla bin.

If finding good homes it can be best to put in the advert that the hamster must have a certain size of cage and wheel and a good diet - ie try and attract people who will care for them well.
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Old 01-01-2017, 09:31 AM   #3
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Default Re: I don't know anything! Litter UK

Try not to panic to much (although I'm sure I would too!) you have time to think about homing pups & separating males & females while you wait to see if she is pregnant.
The most important thing right now is to keep a very close eye on her as a few days before she gives birth you will have to leave her completely alone & not disturb her at all until the pups leave the nest so do any cleaning that may be needed before that & as the time approaches make sure she has lots & lots of shredded toilet tissue to make a big nest & deep substrate too.
All you can do during that time is provide plenty of food & change water, no other disturbance at all.
There are threads on how to deal with accidental litters in the breeding section if you have a good browse & some of the experienced breeders here will be able to help out if you have more questions.
Good luck if she is pregnant, I hope all goes well.
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Old 01-01-2017, 09:40 AM   #4
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Default Re: I don't know anything! Litter UK

Thank you! I am really sad I have to do that...that's why I don't breed my dogs. I am probably not good at screening people, some people may look nice but then maybe the hamster won't be OK. I am honestly 100% animal lover, so I cannot think of geeting a bad owner for the little ones. I still cannot believe that my young Coco was THAT interested as to really try hard, open his ball and climb to get into her cage. I really hope she's not pregnant. Mind you I absolutely have no idea for instance, that female Syrian's smell (that was another surprise, the pet shop should have mentioned something!) because Coco does not smell at all, and we potty train him , so his cage is really clean and doesn't smell but poor Poppy, wow! she smells from time to time. Maybe the previous owner gave her away for the smell, who knows, there's no background given when I adopted her. I just don't have the heart to return her again, so we are trying to deal with her...because she is ... weird/funny/hiper, and have some dog behavior, completely opposite from Coco. Thanks again! I am doing the dates calculations and getting prepare. It seems like the time to separate them will be on 31.01 and I am starting a new job on 01.02!! Oh! Coco!! So naughty!
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Old 01-01-2017, 09:56 AM   #5
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Default Re: I don't know anything! Litter UK

The others have given you excellent advice above and this has happened many times before, so take the time to read the threads in the breeding section while you wait to see what has happened. The female smell is strong once every 4 days when she comes into heat. That is very attractive to a male and he would do anything to get to her.
Are you talking about 2 Syrian hamsters or 2 hybrid dwarf hamsters from a pet store?
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Old 01-01-2017, 10:06 AM   #6
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Default Re: I don't know anything! Litter UK

Syrian hamster pregnancy only lasts 16 days and they start to show about 12 days. They may not have had long enough to mate but then they may have done so you need to treat her as pregnant for now. You need a suitable cage for a litter which should not be compartments or anything with a fixed wheel in it. Give Poppy plenty mix plus a little extra in terms of fresh veggies and a little porridge.
Clean the cage at 12 days after mating and let her prepare. You will likely be able to home any pups easily enough if you are to tame them really well and advertise locally with some pics. Don't give them away free but charge a little even if you donate it to charity. This stops people looking to put a freeby in a tiny cage and ignore it or feed it to a snake or something. Sorry but it happens. Get plenty food in and be prepared to not handle Poppy and leave her strictly quiet and only feed and water till the pups are out and about. If your children have friends who come round in their rooms then either they can't do that for a bit or she needs to move to a quieter room. Keep asking and hope all goes well
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Old 01-01-2017, 12:25 PM   #7
Vipin
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Default Re: I don't know anything! Litter UK

Coco61, Thanks! I bought Coco and he's a Syrian / teddy...the ones with long hair. I adopted Poppy and she's a ginger short hair Syrian. I will try to post some pictures.
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Old 01-01-2017, 01:50 PM   #8
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Default Re: I don't know anything! Litter UK

I think you've been given great advice above.

Fingers crossed that Poppy isn't pregnant, but if she is then make sure you separate them in a timely manner otherwise, as they are not averse to incest, you will end up with many more very young very pregnant hamsters, as well as fighting hamsters.

It's worth noting that Hamster Central has a rescue and rehoming board, which would also be a good place to advertise as it probably attracts a more knowledgeable readership than Gumtree! http://www.hamstercentral.com/commun...nited-kingdom/
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Old 01-01-2017, 02:25 PM   #9
Pebbles82
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Default Re: I don't know anything! Litter UK

Souffle is an experienced breeder All the advice you need is in her post.
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Old 01-01-2017, 05:15 PM   #10
Vipin
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Default Re: I don't know anything! Litter UK

Hello again
I just thought it would be a good idea to weight Poppy, maybe it will help to determine if she's pregnant? Anyway, she weights around 180 gms right now. Shall I expect her to put on weight and by how much? Another question here. Poppy is really nice build, it feels solid, but Coco by comparison feels very slim. He weights 120 gms. Is he underweight? I am now worried he is!. Also, if the 10th of Jan will be her due date, then I need to clean her cage by the 6th of Jan? so as to not disturb her? Thanks again.
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