Hello :-) and advice please

Karena · 01-16-2018, 02:39 AM

Hello everyone, I bought my Syrian hamster Hattie two weeks ago from a pet shop. After having Hattie a week, I bought a larger home for her, she seemed to enjoy it then during last week did not seem to want to come out of her little house she sleeps/hides in as much. I thought this may be due to her getting used to her new house but when I cleaned her out at the weekend, she has had babies! I admit I was shocked and a tad flustered! I contacted the pet shop and they said I could bring her and the babies to them and when the babies are weaned, I could have Hattie back. When I arrived at the store their "small animal expert" stated that the babies would not be able to be parted from Hattie for 4-6 weeks. I am no expert and have limited knowledge but my understanding is that at approximately 3 weeks the babies are able to leave their mum? and shortly thereafter females and males must be separated to avoid more pregnancies? I am really regretting leaving them there I just thought they would be better looked after with people who had more knowledge than myself but this does not appear to be the case. I am so worried they are all going to be left together with more pregnant females that are so young and, of course, I do not want Hattie to become pregnant again. From the comments of the staff, I believe this may be a regular occurrence. Is someone able to advise as to the correct timeframe when babies are able to be parted from their mum and when the sexes should be separated please. It seems to me that the pet shop do not have a duty of care to their animals or staff who have any training or knowledge in the animals they are dealing with, which I find unbelievable. When I called the store yesterday the person I spoke to said he was not aware I would be having Hattie back and usually they give the person equipment to look after the babies themselves! I am sorry for the long message, I am just worried about the welfare of Hattie and all hamsters in the store and I want to go into the store armed with the correct knowledge and stand up for the hamster!

Fluffagrams · 01-16-2018, 03:52 AM

Hello there and welcome to Hamster Central.
I'm sorry that you've had to deal with an unplanned pregnancy in your new hamster.

Baby hamsters usually begin to become less dependant on their mothers at three weeks of age however the usual weaning age is considered to be at 4 weeks old and baby hamsters are better off staying with their mother until that point. After then, the babies are separated into same sex groups where they will learn important social skills from living with their siblings and on a whole hamsters will remain in these groups until they are six weeks old but in some cases separation may be earlier than this if the hamsters are starting to fight.

Pebbles82 · 01-16-2018, 03:55 AM

Hello! First things first - don't disturb anything - no cleaning no doing anything in the cage. Just put food and water out and don't even be close to the cage and try looking. Anything that makes Hattie feel threatened while she is nursing her pups could lead to her culling (killing) them. Which is unpleasant.

So you need to make sure the pups survive to an age when they can be separated from their Mother (Souffle is the expert on this and I'm sure she'll come along and tell what to do and when). Once they can be weaned from their Mother you can think about rehoming them. Although you could advertise them as being ready to go to new homes in about 6 weeks. They would do much better going directly to new homes than to a pet shop.

Fingers crossed all is ok with her and her pups now. Yes it is quite common pet shops selling pregnant hamsters!

You could put out extra nesting material ( a pile of torn up strips of plain white toilet paper - in the cage but away from her nest and house - she will take what she needs. Also extra food as she is needing extra while her pups are feeding from her. I'll leave Souffle to advise on all that.

But for now, leave well alone. Apart from discreetly and quietly putting food and water out each day - maybe when she's asleep. The cleaning doesn't matter for some time.

Edit - posted at the same time as Fluffagrams

souffle · 01-16-2018, 06:41 AM

I wonder if you would be able to have them back? Trouble is the moving around is certainly a risk especially with the mother being so young.
As Fluff mentioned you separate the babies from mum at 4 weeks and in to groups of boys and girls where you tame and handle the pups as well as letting them get used o not having mum around. You can then give them a nutrious diet and raise them well. If they moved OK I would certainly consider having them back. Say you did not realise that getting extra equipment was an option and you would like to do that. Quietly bring them back and start assuming they are around a week old. Did the pups have fur at all? They will start coming out around 10 days. If they won't give them back I would call daily and ask for updates as well as ensuring they know you want her back and a choice of pups too should you want them. They would be better raised by you and we can help guide you on this.

Pebbles82 · 01-16-2018, 07:05 AM

Apologies - I didn't read properly and didn't realise you'd already taken them back.

Karena · 01-17-2018, 06:18 AM

Thank you very much everyone for your help and advice. I am going into the pet shop after work today. I am thinking I will ask to speak with a manager and go from there. It is worrying that these places have small animals but do not appear to have any staff members who have the knowledge/training to look after them properly.