Uh oh...

Circe · 09-08-2012, 10:54 PM

I am a new owner of three dwarf hamsters. I purchased them on Wednesday and am completely in love with them. They are siblings and I couldn't bring myself to split them up. I was told by the store that while they couldn't tell me their gender, they would have likely already mated as they are over two months old.

Well, tonight I noticed something on the underside of one of my hamsters bellies that I now know is a prominent male scent gland. Further investigation of all three leads me to believe I have two males and one female. Crap.

I knew this was a possibility but was naively hoping it would not be a problem I would encounter. I suppose at this point I'm just looking for any advice. I hate the thought of splitting these guys up but now I fear it is my only choice? Really, any words of wisdom from seasoned hamster owners is welcome please. Ignorance was bliss, but now that I have had a clear look at all their genitals reality has set in.

Circe · 09-09-2012, 01:18 AM

So I have to admit the past few hours have been less than pleasant. I went from being investigative, to being scared, to being emotional, to freaking out a bit more. I've checked their genitals so many times they are sick of being turned over onto their backs. Everything tells me I was correct and they are two males and one female.

I kept her in the cage and moved the boys to a large clear plastic storage bin we bought yesterday as a playpen and temp housing for when cleaning the cage. I woke up my poor sleeping boyfriend, who is now driving to pick up a cage from his brother who once owned a hamster.

Right now I'm just fearful she may already be pregnant and also fear she will not adjust well to being apart from the siblings she has known all her life.

Four days into owning hamsters and I'm already spazzing out. Ugh.

HorseyMandz · 09-09-2012, 01:44 AM

Take a deep breath.
The most important thing is to treat the female as if she is pregnant. Clean out her cage asap so that it won't be too stinky if she gives birth soon. Give her lots of high protein foods, mealworms e.c.t (Other members might be able to give you more ideas) and ensure she's comfortable.
The babies could have complications from inbreeding, but the pet stores do it all the time so some of them may be okay. Sorry I ccan't be of more help...

Lougarry · 09-09-2012, 01:59 AM

Oh no. Good luck, hun. Luckily there are plenty of members here who have experience of both planned and unplanned hammy pregnancies x

Circe · 09-09-2012, 02:15 AM

Thank you both. Luckily I found out about the gender thing right after cleaning their cage. They were still in their "playpen" (a clear storage bin) so when she was put back into her cage it was fresh. I'm just crossing my fingers now...

Angel_Cookie_Vanilla · 09-09-2012, 01:21 PM

Sorry I can't give information for you because I only breed Syrians (as a love for the animal and not to make money

)
Good luck! There is a lot of information here on Hamstercentral about hamster pregnancy for Dwarf's and Syrians.

**Pompompoms** · 09-10-2012, 04:54 PM

Ok, don't panic. The store really should have been able to sex them, anywhere selling animals should be responsible enough to make sure males and females are not together, but it is done now.

It may be that your girl isn't pregnant, and if so no harm done. I'm not sure what species your dwarfs are, but robo boys can often be a little lazy and not get going till later which in a situation like this is ideal.

If she is pregnant, you can only do your best, so from now on you need to keep a good eye on her. Gestation will be about three weeks, so if you get past that marker you know you are ok. Watch for any signs, is she building a large nest, eating more, any behavioral changes, changes in size, is she nippy, restless?

If there are babies, they will be inbred, not ideal at all, and there can be problems both physical and mental, but also you can be lucky with healthy hamsters from the worst breeding too. My rescue boy is severely inbred, many of his siblings didn't survive and had limbs missing ect, but he and several others so far are all doing really well.

I would treat her as if she is pregnant, lots of peace and quiet, extra protein foods such as egg, chicken, tofu, dried meal worms ect. If in a couple of weeks she is really rounded you need to make sure her cage is safe for babies, and if she isn't already you need to have her registered with a good vet.

Good luck, there are plenty of us here that have dealt with dwarf litters both planned and not, and we will help you all we can

Mikayla · 09-10-2012, 05:03 PM

And because you're in the US, I wanted to mention a few other things. (HAI! I'm from the US too!)

Cage size is important here. Most people agree that a good minimum is 60 cm by 40 cm, or just a bit less. In the US the only cage commercially available with those dimensions in the WARE natural, which is a great cage, I've heard. However, another way is...BIN CAGES!

A quick forum/google search is great for those and I'm honestly too lazy to move my hands from the keyboard to the mouse. In a nutshell, it's a storage bin made into a hamster cage.

Lucky you, being in Cali. YOU have hamster shows!!! It's not fair...not fair at all!

obscura · 09-15-2012, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pompompoms

The store really should have been able to sex them, anywhere selling animals should be responsible enough to make sure males and females are not together.

Very true, but hardly ever the case.

I would never trust a pet store employee to sex a hamster for me. Fortunately, places like Petsmart only sell males so you know what you're getting. However, there are those times where a female gets tossed into the box and shipped to the store along with a whole bunch of males. The employees expect them all to be males, since that's what they ordered. It's just like when you get an order of gold fish, and find a huge tadpole swimming at the bottom of the bag. It happens. Sometimes it's not the pet store's fault. BUT since there IS a possibility that a female can get mixed in before they are sent to the pet store, they should always double check when putting them in cages together. The unfortunate thing is that many pet store employees are scared to handle the hamsters because they are unsocial and likely to bite out of fear. I've seen Petco employees drop hamsters onto the floor, and scurry after them but too afraid to grab them for fear of getting bit!

I have also gone into smaller stores, like the Pet World branches in Virginia (US). I have only seen one good one in the last 23 years that I've lived here. Most Pet Worlds are absolutely terrible, with animals that smell and sometimes look like they haven't been cleaned in weeks. A lot of the times their rodents look sick, as well. I saw an adult Syrian in a 10 gallon aquarium with about seven babies. They had to be at least 6-7 weeks old. I asked if any of the employees might be able to sex the hamsters (with intent on suggesting they separate any females from the males since they were old enough to reproduce). The employee said, "Those hamsters are really young, so you can't really tell what gender they are yet." They must have thought I was an idiot. Hey, a lot of average people probably would have believed the guy. Except I've been learning a lot about breeding lately from my breeder, and knew he was full of crap. He was either too lazy to sex them, or just didn't know how to and didn't want to admit it. I could have sexed them myself if that were the case.

Accidental pregnancies in pet stores drives me insane. It's all due to ignorance.

GemmasMom · 09-15-2012, 07:37 PM

I had a pregnancy scare when I first got my 5 girls! I thought that Caylee was a boy! luckly, she isn't, but try checking for nipples. That is the easiest way that I think to tell boys from girls. If you look closely, the nipples are easy to see on girls. boys won't have any. Good luck