Daughters new Syrian has had babies, advice wanted

[souffle]

I think it was meant to read cedar shavings (a type of tree wood) You don't really get these in the UK so don't worry as the wood shavings will be just fine.
The fluffy bedding is the stuff that looks like cotton wool or candy floss as pinkneon said.
If your hamster has these then don't worry for now as it cannot be moved with a nest full of babies at the moment without a big risk so when you do clean out when all the pups have theor eyes open then it can be replaced with the tissue paper type or just ripped up plain white loo roll

[Dave W]

Well the bedding is cotton wool based to look at I guess but its more small clumps based than the long finer based fibre that stretches a lot before it breaks up. Id have thought this would be fine as I thought all hamster bedding is made from vegetable based fibres and fully safe?. In fact just checked and it seems the current bedding is wool based and it does say in the small print that its not suitable for new born hamsters, something id never have known or noticed untill mentioned on here. Will hopefully be ok because as said its more clumpy than fine and stretchy and mother (Charlie) had been using the bedding that was in the cage 9 days before giving berth.

We do or did have some of the paper strand based bedding that is vegetable based because the guinea pigs have used it in the past and they even eat that stuff lol. But I recall the last hamster not taking to the more paper based bedding so never thought to try it with the new hamster.

[GhostsInSnow]

I don't know much about the breeding side of things but congrats on the new hamster pups!
With regards to the fluffy bedding, it's dangerous if they eat it (which some hams do for some reason) and it can cause blockages inside them. Also it can get wrapped around legs and cut off circulation. There's a thread knocking about somewhere on here about the dangers of fluffy bedding.
Don't worry about not knowing, I didn't know until I did a ton of research about bedding and stuff (I used to use it with mice)
If you change it when you clean out, mum should use whatever you put in because keeping the babies warm will be her priority.
A lot of people on here get cheap toilet roll and just stick a load in for their hammies to tear up
Will you be posting pictures of the babies when they start venturing out?

[Dave W]

Yeah will be sticking some photos on as soon as, but read in the sticky not to post photos on here untill there eye are open, guess its the same case for video to?.

I gather they could start to wander out the nest from as little as 4 days old (which would be late this afternoon onwards) but probably more like a week onwards before we get the first sight of them which would also by then give a probable indication of the pups fur colour?.

Which brings me to my next question\concern, sorry lol. As said the cage is just that a cage and not a tank so is made of bars with only the tray at the bottom being plastic and about 3 1/2 inches deep. Is there any risk of the pups up to the 2 weeks of age period being able to try and climb through the cage bars?. What steps could I therefore take if there is a risk?.

[souffle]

I don't think the babies will be able to climb up to get through the bars anyway at that age but if you are very concerned you could put the whole cage in a large carboard box with space round the edge so if one did get out they would not go far. You could keep checking just to be sure. They can't see anyway so are unlikely to go anywhere but the food dish and toilet corner at this stage! At about 10-12 days they all stampede out when you put the platter in and are funny to watch!
The coat colours start to show around 5 days and you can tell if the have a pattern too.

[Pompompoms]

A very good question, hamster pups are much better at climbing that ytou'd think they'd be, and are naturally very inquisitive with little sense of danger meaning if there is something to get stuck in/under they will.

If you think there is a chance they could get through the bars, or get their heads stuck trying, it's better to have them out of bounds. The easiest way would be to just get some cardboard from say an old box, ensure it's high enough to stop them reaching up over it, and place a piece on each side taping at the corners to hold the pieces together. If the door to the cage is at that lower level, you'll need to have a fold back piece there with a tab that places over the next section. Stick a piece of Velcro to the tab on the door part, and the section it over laps, and that'll allow you easy access.

[NotsoLittleOlive]

I'd go with the box just to be on the safe side, even of they don't seem to be exploring too much.
I had an unexpected litter of mice and they went from being invisible in the nest, to wandering around my living room in one day! I had a very stressful afternoon whilst I waited for my dad to bring a storage box from work. Luckily they knew which side their bread was buttered and would go back to mum of their own accord.

[LittleElvis]

Cedar and pine became popular for pet bedding material because they are good at controlling odor and have some natural insecticidal properties (they kill or repel bugs, especially cedar). These softwood shavings smell nice due to the volatile compounds (e.g. aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols) that are given off. Unfortunately these compounds have been implicated as a potential health risk, especially with regards to respiratory problems (asthma, inflammation, allergic responses) and changes in the liver. You probably don't have this kind of bedding, but it might be good to check

Fluffy bedding is like pinkneon said the stuff that looks like cotton, it looks suuuper comfy and warm BUT it can get stuck in their little digestive system and cause major problems. It can also get stuck around limbs and cause amputation or cut off the blood circulation to their limbs (sounds really scary, I know but it's not common). I recommend using soft toilet paper, they love to shred it up and make nests AND if they should accidentally swallow some it will most likely dissolve and pass through their system normally

[LittleElvis]

Oops. I didn't see that someone had already answered your question

[Dave W]

A change of sorts at 4 1/2 days old, Charlie (mother) has during the night of this morning has opened the nest up and spread the bedding out. Can see mother but not babies, is this normal as I can hear some babies.