Mother and sons

CopaMom · 08-17-2017, 01:17 PM

So, my Syrian hamster had babies 4.5 weeks ago (a whopping 17 babies!!). I don't know what I was thinking and mixed up the baby boys and baby girls. I took the baby girls away from mom at 3 weeks (thinking they were boys) and kept the boys with mom until 28-29 days of age (at which point I had a nagging suspicion that I goofed on my sexing). So, baby boys are in their own cage, and mom is alone again. My question is... could the baby boys have mated with mom and got her pregnant? I feel ill over this.

GhostsInSnow · 08-17-2017, 01:22 PM

Hi there. You don't normally need to separate into same-sex groups until they are 4 weeks old so you've more than likely been very lucky, however, there's the tiniest chance that they may well have mated with mum. It's highly unlikely given they were only in with her an extra day but I would certainly keep her on pregnancy watch for the next couple of weeks and treat her as if she's pregnant just in case.

souffle · 08-17-2017, 02:05 PM

It's unlikely especially with such a large litter as the pups will likely have been smaller and less mature at 4 weeks. I have had mothers come back in heat with male pups still in with her as they were less than 4 weeks and they would sniff but they didn't really know what to do.
Just keep an eye on her and check and recheck the other pups daily to ensure they are in the right sex groups!

CopaMom · 08-17-2017, 02:30 PM

Thanks.... I knew how to sex them... but as I sexed them I was thinking "two close holes" were male and "two further spaced holes" were girls... but I was confused as I started seeing the scrotums... so double checked and sure enough!

So the girls are all together and the boys are all together (away from mom now!). Stupid rookie mistake!

But I do have to say I have been lurking here for several weeks and have learned a lot! So thanks for your knowledge!

I will post pics in a bit of the 17 little fur balls.