Quote:
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.