My husband recently purchased a sweet 'Russian' dwarf as a non-breeder pet for us to enjoy. Unfortunately, within days her belly began expanding and she began 'stargazing'. For those unfamiliar with the disorders due to hybridization, stargazing is like the beginning stages of backflipping, where the hamster stands on her back legs and falls on her back, often repeatedly.
A week after arriving in our home, she gave birth to five little pinkies. Everything was going great and she was an excellent mother. She stopped stargazing and I thought perhaps it was to do with the pregnancy and not neurological after all.
The babies turned 10 days old yesterday and have started exploring. I watched them for much of the afternoon and noticed three of the babies acting strange. They would take a few steps and then freeze in a rigid hunch-back position before going limp and melting into the bedding. This happens over and over.
The same has continued today, only now the mother is doing horribly. This morning, I noticed she was restless and every few minutes would stop, go limp in the bedding, and her eyes would be open but nothing would phase her. Eventually she would snap out of it but it wouldn't be long before it happened again. Now, for the past hour, she has started incessant backflipping. She is falling on her babies and I am so worried she's going to injure herself. She finally laid down to nurse the little ones a few minutes ago but quickly crawled out and laid in the opposite corner of the cage.
There is no discharge and her belly isn't extended so I don't believe shes in pain near her belly. But I can tell she's exhausted. This must have gone on all night. I think the neurological behavior was brought back to life due to stress from mobile babies.
As for the babies.. maybe they're just exhausted too. But I don't know
I had planned from the beginning to keep this litter for six weeks because of their unknown background, but I wasn't expecting such a tragedy and homes are lined up already. Of course, none of them are leaving anytime soon now.
At what point is quality of life so poor that euthanasia should be considered? I hate seeing the mother like this. The babies are already eating solids. Should I remove her when they are two weeks old? Will this be more stressful or help her relax? The babies would be supplemented with kitten milk and high quality foods.
The mother is eating an excellent diet with plenty of supplementation. She tested negative for diabetes during pregnancy and their bin a in a warmer area of the house (about 72F). I have four other hamsters who are doing great so I don't think a bad batch of food would have brought anything on.