Mother Hamster Running Around

[JKEA]

Right so my two hamsters unexpectedly had pups, a staggering 11 at that and it's been all fine and dandy up to this point.

A few weeks ago I have separated the male from the cage into a separate one, after living on their own for 3 weeks now, the mother escaped her cage, but only for a short period before I noticed.

She now runs around her cage, grabbing her pups (One at a time of course), climbing the sides of the cage etc.

Is there any possible reason for this? I'm assuming it's due to a lack of space and so I'm willing to accommodate appropriately for this at short notice, however, I want to know if it's the right time and whether or not this is the true reason.

I will give updates as to whether this problem persists. Regardless, any help in this regard would be particularly helpful as although I have experience with hamsters, I do not have much experience with hamster breeding and pups.

Note : The pups are now three weeks old.

[souffle]

I assume they are dwarf pups?
Did you separate them before the birth of the pups? She may be stressed after the escape and also may be due another litter as they do mate immediately after birthing.
At 3 weeks dwarf pups will do fine in single sex groups. 11 is a lot in one cage. I'd separate the males in to one group and keep them together and give them plenty extra foods and supplements. Maybe leave her with a few of her daughters or if she does have more pups then remove them all to a female only group. They need separated at 4 weeks anyway so mum can recover. She may be getting tetchy with them now with so many as they jostle to suckle even though they don't need it at this age.

[JKEA]

Originally Posted by souffle

I assume they are dwarf pups?
Did you separate them before the birth of the pups? She may be stressed after the escape and also may be due another litter as they do mate immediately after birthing.
At 3 weeks dwarf pups will do fine in single sex groups. 11 is a lot in one cage. I'd separate the males in to one group and keep them together and give them plenty extra foods and supplements. Maybe leave her with a few of her daughters or if she does have more pups then remove them all to a female only group. They need separated at 4 weeks anyway so mum can recover. She may be getting tetchy with them now with so many as they jostle to suckle even though they don't need it at this age.

Thanks for the quick reply. No, my hamsters are not dwarfs, they are Syrians, just to clear that up.

I've separated them into small groups (2-3) in temporary enclosures because I've had problems trying to sex them, I feel as though they're a bit too small for this to be an option, maybe too small to even separate them from their mother.

Every time I attempt to sex them, they seem to be in a lot of distress and will do literally anything to get out of my hands, including jumping (even at the relatively high height (For them) that I raised them to the first time, not expecting them to be so jumpy).

I've attached some pictures for you to have a look at and see if they're big enough to be separated or not. I really don't want to injure them trying to sex them so any tips would be greatly appreciated :]

Note: I put the mother into each enclosure to see how she would react and she did the exact same thing she was doing before, so I'm assuming they're still causing her stress even in the small groups.

[souffle]

You mean you kept two syrians togther? A male and a female? Syrians are strictly solitary and should only be together for mating. Keep them totally apart now the male and female.
Are you sure those pups are 3 weeks. They look way tiny for 3 weeks. Are the eyes open at all? When was the date of birth? I don't think she will take them back now as she sounds highly stressed by the moving around and by the escape so you need to give more info on the pups exact age. How much fur do they have. You need to get rid of the fluffy bedding too as it is very dangerous as it can block up the bowel and also tangle round the babies feet and toes.
These pups are 20days old for you to compare
20days1A.jpg

[JKEA]

Originally Posted by souffle

You mean you kept two syrians togther? A male and a female? Syrians are strictly solitary and should only be together for mating. Keep them totally apart now the male and female.
Are you sure those pups are 3 weeks. They look way tiny for 3 weeks. Are the eyes open at all? When was the date of birth? I don't think she will take them back now as she sounds highly stressed by the moving around and by the escape so you need to give more info on the pups exact age. How much fur do they have. You need to get rid of the fluffy bedding too as it is very dangerous as it can block up the bowel and also tangle round the babies feet and toes.
These pups are 20days old for you to compare
Attachment 45714

You're right they do look incredibly small compared to the picture you provided, should I be especially worried? And what should I do?

They were born on the 25th May, their eyes are completely open and they have quite a bit of fur although the skin is visible through said fur on the majority of them. I have now removed the aforementioned bedding. I just assumed that said bedding was safe as it was for sale at the pet shop.

[souffle]

Are both parents very shiny at all? The pups could be double satin and thus the coats very sparse. Sometimes though the coats stop growing for a bit if they have a traumatic period when suckling but they should come back good as they grow,
Ok well since mum is not taking them back you need to start heavy supplemental feeding to try and get these growing. They need each other for warmth now so I would suggest you put them all back together for another week. Don't use hay for them as is is spikey and can can harbour mites. Clean cage or large storage box would be best with bedding like carefresh or soft wood shavings. Make a big nest with ripped up cheap white loo roll. Get these items to feed them - quality hamster mix ( Harry/hazel hamster and add some sunflower hearts, linseed, rough oatmeal and budgie seed. Put loads of this in. Also get plain tofu, jars of no onion babyfood, ready brek porridge, plain chicken, cucumber, brocolli, spinach, cooked pasta and rice.
Start feeding them 3 plates a day - see the one my pups have with the small bits of tofu. crombled broccoli and carrot on it - aim for that size. Give them wet food one of the feed like a platter of babyfood or readybrek cooked and cooled.. Clear any left at the next feed. Mum was likely not producing enough milk for them. Check them underneath (pop in a glass jar) for any messy bottoms. You may lose a few along the way I'm afraid. Keep them warm but not hot. As they grow on yow will be able to sex them easily. Only females have the row on dots either side of the belly - nipple lines. Provide a dish of sand to potty in and clean this several times a day as it will be a pee pool. Make sure water bottle is very low and reachable for them or provide a small shallow dish. You can make a bottle holder. Always have dry food lying out for them on the floor. Watch for ones who hang out in the nest and give them food on a teaspoon. You need to start stroking as they fed then lift and lay down with them at first. Then start handling always low over a padded box to tame them. We use a kids play box. Good luck