I must say I'll be delighted if you have one of my babies, Mollz and I've added your name to the list with a joyous heart!
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Originally Posted by Mollz
However the one thing I can't get my head round is sexing!
I understand that females have holes very close together and have nipples/teats and that males' holes are far apart - but is it really that obvious when looking at them? I have only ever seen pictures (or seen for myself) adult hamsters and it does seem fairly obvious on them - but surely it can't be that clear on little babies? Does anyone have any pictures of the underside of male and female babies showing the difference?
I would really hate to get a sex wrong and will probably end up taking them to the vets to be sexed in the end!
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It's actually not as hard as you think! I was really woried about exactly the same thing when we had Caramel's litter but the differences - after you've looked a few times - are quite obvious. I couldn't believe, when we first started looking, that we only had 3 males out of eleven - I kept thinking I must be doing it wrong! The females are quite obvious in light SH's - you can see the row of nipples even when they have fur - LH's are a bit more complicated but still the differences are quite obvious once you've looked at a few.
I think the best thing to do would be to try and have a look at a litter and try to sex them with an experienced breeder with you - you may well be able to do that at Highworth as there will likely be a litter there. I did this with one of Sue's litters at Gatcombe last year and really set my mind at rest to realise I'd been doing it right.
It's not easy to get clear pictures of squirming babies - I tried and they were rubbish!
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Originally Posted by Mollz
My other question is, my syrians are in gabber rex cages - but would this be safe for a female to give birth in? Would the babies get hurt/stuck in the holes in the insert, and if so what else would be the best for the girl to make her nest in? I was considering just getting a large sturdy cardboard box and filling it with loo roll - would this be good enough or would a proper wooden/plastic house be better?
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Gabber Rexes are IMO perfect for mums and babies. I left the shelf in when mine were born (as did Souffle/Pophammy and Basia) and it made a perfect nest area. Once the mum starts coming out for a ball run you can lift up the food dish and get a peep inside as well without going anywhere near the nest! We had no problems with babies getting stuck.
I don't think these are stupid questions at all - they are exactly what I wanted to know before we had our litter and you are obviously being very sensible by plannin ahead and getting as much info as you can
