Help! How soon after a female has pups can she get pregant??

[babyboos]

Best not to disturb a nest until the babies' eyes have opened usually, bit late for this litter, but for the next don't worry no matter how smelly or messy looking just leave the enclosure be. At most, add some new litter to the cage but you don't want to upset mum as she will eat her own pups to protect them from being taken/eaten by a predator in the wild and this natural instinct still exists in our domestic hamsters. Give the cage a good clean out when the current babies eyes fully open just in case there is another litter on the way, as if you leave it until the current pups reach 21 days you may be too late. Give mum back some of her old stinky nest though.

[chippy]

All the pups are dead. She abandoned them and that’s why they were not thriving. I moved the cage to our guest room. I figure that’s the quietest room. She will probably have her next litter by the end of the week. This time she gets food and water and quiet. I give the breeders on this site credit…this is heart breaking. She probably abandoned them when I cleaned around the nest last week. I was careful not to touch them but it must have done something to her. Anyway, thank you for all your advice and please feel free to give me any words of wisdom.

[babyboos]

Oh it is nothing you did deliberately and this often happens anyway with first litters. You are doing the right thing leaving her be to finish her pregnancy in peace now. Refill her bowl and change the water at the same time daily and see what emerges from the nest in a fortnight's time. Make sure to also give a small cap-full of a protein treat such as a chunk of tofu, or a couple of meal worms with her dinner, it will help her to raise a good, strong second litter. Nature can be cruel but in the wild nursing mums will eat their pups if they feel threatened, rather then letting a predator get the protein from them, they reabsorb it themselves, to help them recover quickly, and raise future litters. Sad but true fact - the babies she has eaten will help her raise these coming babies so don't be too sad. They may have been ill or had a genetic defect only mum was aware of, we will never know. Hugs to you xx

[chippy]

She didn't eat them. She didn't take care of them and they died. Last night I had to take each dead pup out of the cage. I knew I had to get the bodies out before the next litter. She buried them under the bedding 3 in one spot and one on the other side. Poor little pups.

[souffle]

Do not be sad. You did your best and they are happy at the Rainbow Bridge. We all learn and look forward to the next litter but do not be surprised if the same thing happens because as you bought them together they may be siblings so any babies would be genetically weaker that an out mating. You are not to blame in anyway. Hugs to you for your loss

[babyboos]

Aww that is so sad, and the fact then that she never ate them may mean there was something wrong with them - it really is not your fault, please believe that, hugs xx