stymie1970
07-06-2012, 07:39 AM
I have what I previously believed were 2 female Dwarf Hamsters living together for the last 17 days. The Winter White is definitely a female, but now as she is getting larger and behaving strangely, I am beginning to believe that the Campbell's she is bunking with maybe a male (Thank you big box pet store which shall remain nameless!). They each have their own igloo, but the WW has been nest building, has a voracious appetite and constantly pleading with me to take her out of the cage (and during the day she usually sleeps, but she has been awake and acting like this all morning.)
I have a few concerns that I would like to bounce off some experienced members here.
1. I have read that a WW female may have certain logistics issues giving birth to pups from a "mixed marriage" (something about the Campbell's heads being too large for the WW's birth canal). Should I be concerned about the health of my WW? Could birthing kill her?
2. Although I think it's cool that Dwarf males often stick around to help raise the pups, I have zero interest in having another pregnancy go down, so I will be buying another cage to put him in TODAY and eventually the male pups once they are weaned can go in there with them before I find homes for them. Is this the correct move? or should I ask the shop to take him back?
3. The last few days I have been feeding a diet higher in Protein, did one last thorough cage cleaning, put some soft paper in for her to shred and been giving her all the attention she has been asking for. Anything else I'm not thinking of?
Thanks in advance for your helpful advice.
I have a few concerns that I would like to bounce off some experienced members here.
1. I have read that a WW female may have certain logistics issues giving birth to pups from a "mixed marriage" (something about the Campbell's heads being too large for the WW's birth canal). Should I be concerned about the health of my WW? Could birthing kill her?
2. Although I think it's cool that Dwarf males often stick around to help raise the pups, I have zero interest in having another pregnancy go down, so I will be buying another cage to put him in TODAY and eventually the male pups once they are weaned can go in there with them before I find homes for them. Is this the correct move? or should I ask the shop to take him back?
3. The last few days I have been feeding a diet higher in Protein, did one last thorough cage cleaning, put some soft paper in for her to shred and been giving her all the attention she has been asking for. Anything else I'm not thinking of?
Thanks in advance for your helpful advice.