bit of a dilemma with dwarf hammy...UPDATE

[Bunsey]

oh, i read it wrong. i thought it said they were 3 weeks last friday!
i'd think probably not take them out in that case then

[ami_j]

ok i will do thanks for you help.

[nooboo]

personally i would leave all in and keep an eye on the little male/s

the young girls wont be a strain on mum in fact they should help raise the new borns. the males should be fine really untill 3.5 weeks old, then they will need removing but there is no reason for the girls to come out. luckily dwarfs are usually well behaved at sharing mum and her milk!

[ami_j]

phew! will get otis out in about a week then and hopefully he will have little brothers to keep him company

[littlemissdwarfhamster]

I am with Nooboo on this one.

I would leave them all in. Removing the litter would be stressful to mum and detrimental to the psycological development of the older litter - they learn their social skills from Mum and dont do this properly until 4wks+.

Unfortunately the males will have to be removed. They will be able to mate from 4wks so need to come out at this age. Hopefull any male babies in the young litter will be able to go in with the older males.

The females could all be left in indefinately with Mum. The most important thing is going to be food. Make sure they have lots of it and some higher protien foods too for growth.

[ami_j]

ok thank you will take the male out when hes 4 weeks then will have to look into introducing his little brothers. how easy would it be to integrate an older male into a group of young males.

[nooboo]

with campbells its very very easy, simply pick up young boys put into recently cleaned out tub belonging to the older boy/s.

the accept young hamster very well, even full adults will, must be some necessary skill for survival.

ww are as easy, same basic procedure but tend to break into fights later down the road, and will at around the 8 to ten week mark need to really be in pairs rather than groups. some groups work but ww seem a lot happier in pairs.

[ami_j]

ok will hope they take after their campbells side more. why pah have to hybridise and miss-sex them i do not know

[ami_j]

hey all just to let you know that zag had her babies today i went to feed them and took some mealworms for protein and zag was out of the nest in a flash (she was with the last lot shes quite people orientated so im glad she wasnt stressed plus i didnt expect the babies until tomorrow or saturday) wasnt expecting the nest to be left open saw the three week old ones sat with the second lot of babies and the new ones snuggled them so they are helping mum. had a quick count without disturbing the nest , like i said it was left open and counted seven poor girl this is going to be soooo draining on her. any suggestions what else i can supplement her with shes had a bit of boiled egg and a few mealworms. am i right in thinking that the first lot will be weaned? thanks for everyone who has helped me with them will get pics of everyone when they all have eyes open and will be keeping an eye on the mum and feeding her up lots

[souffle]

Congrats to Zag and hope she has lots of help from her daughters with the new babies. You could try her on some cooked chicken, pasta, rice, porridge, rice pudding and babyfood along with some omega mix seeds and linseed, millet, roast soya seeds too.