Buttercup had...babies?! And Hamster baby help!

[ButterNut]

Omigosh I had a huge shock today!! I came home after not seeing Buttercup today and thought she had gotten out again and then I saw her in her igloo and I thought "I havent seen Buttercup today! I cant wait to hold her!" Opened the igloo pulled her out and and FREAKED.OUT. She had b-babies!!! I wish I had been more prepared cause I must of freaked everybody in the house out, including Buttercup cause I screamed one of the biggest screams ever. My eyes went blurry and I didnt really think it was true at first. She had babies? I didnt notice AT ALL. And I touched one!! Im soooooo worried she will eat the ones I touched! Also she didnt have much protein so Im worried about that too. She had about 10!! OMG I still cant believe it. They must of mixed the genders at petco! Please give me some advice on how to handle them. Is it ok that I touched one or two of them? EEEEE im so excited though (nervous too) Buttercup had babies!! (how many times have I said that?)
(earlier a few days ago my sister was talking about how she felt really squishy)
Help please hamster breeders?

[GemmasMom]

Congrats!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait until they are old enough for pictures!!!!! First, does Buttercup live alone?

[HamstersOfHell]

Wow, what a shock. Pet stores often mix up genders...luckily for you you have the forum here. First thing first, you will need to make sure you don't disturb buttercup further so she does not stress out or try and eat any of the babies, also make sure she is in a quiet environment and try to make sure she gets some more protein. She is obviously quite young, so she may do this anyway. Pups shouldn't be handled until around 14 days. If she smells a scent that is not hers she may decide to eat the baby, but it is natural so there is no guarantee that she won't anyway.
I'm not too good at explaining, hopefully someone else can help you out more. I hope it all goes well, it is a big shock.

[ButterNut]

Yes Buttercup is alone.

Ohhh im worried and have 0 experience with pregnant hamsters. I hope she dosent eat them! That would be so sad they are all so cute );

[KatiePillow]

As HamsterofHell said, make sure the area around her is kept quiet, some people find putting a sheet over part of the cage helps, if she's a nervous first time mother.

She's very young, and as you've said you've touched the pups and made a big noise, so she could be feeling stressed which can lead to pups 'vanishing', also it's possible that she might eat them if there's something wrong with them, or she can't cope (this is common and normal, just remember she knows best and try not to count them )

Plain boiled chicken or egg white would be great for her, mealworms too.
Make sure she has extra food mix too, and try to remove the wheel (although try really hard not to stress her with this. Otherwise mothers can run in the wheel and neglect pups)

Don't touch the pups again until they're 10-14 days old (i think)/ when their eyes open.
Good luck.. pet shops do this routinely.. I'm sure she'll be a great mumma though

[souffle]

Congratulations on your surprise babies.
The most important thing for Buttercup is total peace and quiet with no touching and lots of good food.
read this carefully and it will give you all the info you need
Breeding Syrian Hamsters - Advice & Guidance - National Hamster Council

[Lynternette]

OMG ! What a lovely surprise. I've never had any babies as I always try to get males. Photos please, when the time is right. xxx

[Gibbs&JackBlack]

How exciting! Take a deep breath (I'm sure you already have ) and read the above mentioned link.
I'm sure all will be fine-nature knows what it's doing-good luck!

[Cupcake]

Awww you got me all happy and excited!!! I can't wait to see them!
Congratulations! even though it was unexpected I'm sure both you and Buttercup will manage

[ButterNut]

thanks for the advice everybody, Ill try to keep it quiet. They are just the sweetest things ever (well actually I dont know if they are sweet but they sure are CUTE)
One of them yawned today and it was just so cute! Also I heard a little squeak.
Ill try to get a pic of them