Winter White Dwarf Hamster, super runt

[cassie]

Hi everyone, new to this forum looking for some help on a baby dwarf hamster. I've bred hamsters for over 4 years and never experienced this before! I have a small petshop and breed some hamsters to sell (well i'm suppost to sell them but it's hard )

Anyway i have a pair of winter whites and first bred them 5-6 months ago and got a lovely healthy litter of 6. No problems at all, then she had a wee break and lots of tlc and now the 2nd litter is just over 3 weeks old and i have the super dwarf! He is TINY, I always leave dwarfies alone untill the babies eyes open and last week (day 14) they started leaving the nest and i found this! He is so small i'm scared i break him!

For the past week i'v been hand rearing him and to start with i hooked up a heatmat as he couldn't keep his temp up and fed him every hour. He had trouble walking and couldn't sit to eat or clean his face. I had to help him do everything!! He seems to be thriving and is getting bigger and better by the day but i know it's early days yet.

He doesn't need the heatmat anymore and it roaming around looking for food all the time now He's living with his brother now (he had a bad eye infection and needed it bathing LOTS) It's nearly back to normal now though

Anyways i wondered if anyone had experienced this before, could it be genetic and long term could he grow to a normal size?

Heres a pic of him (who i named plop) next to his brother john.

Thanks

[Jessie]

He looks like a toothless, eyeless white would at that age, but not white, if they're almost 3 weeks old I would just let nature run it's course. Its not really fair to the little guy or you to hand raise him, There is obviously somethign wrong with him and it will more then likely be a life long problem.

[cassie]

He defo has teeth and his eyes are a bit clamy but defo there. I'v been feeding for almost a week now so i dont want to put him back with mum incase she kills him

Don't think i'll breed these guys again incase this happens again

What could be the cause of him being so small?

Thanks

[souffle]

He certainly does not look like a well hamster cassie. It could be anything and hard to tell at this age. Possible causes are something wrong or poorly formed inside him. Could be bowel, heart anything and it may give out before he reaches adulthood. Could be genetic or just plain bad luck. You can't tell.
He could have had an infection which has overwhelmed his system and arrested growth. If he recovers he may grow a bit more though and catch up. They tend to lose fur if they have been ill or malnourished as pups but this usually grows again.
Is that fluffy bedding in the pic? If it is you should get rid of this right away. It could be the cause of his illness if he has a blocked bowel with it. It is really dangerous stuff especially for pups.
Sometimes they pull through so you can only wait and see. I'd have left him with mum and let her decide but too late for that so I am sending my best wishes for him.
I wouldn't breed this pair again in case there is a genetic fault.

[cassie]

That sucks I dont know what to do for the best :/ He is growing and progressing well but if he is going to suffer in the long run i don't know. So hard to tell!

Never use fluffy bedding as i've seen adults get caught in it! It's actually cat hair, paper bedding was too rough for him and this was the best i could think of until he's bigger. Very good for keeping him cosy and warm.

[slatted]

I am not sure about this but I would think cat hair is also likely to cause blockages as otherwise cats would not end up with furball problems....

Poor little mite.

[sully]

Dear, poor lttle baby!

[cassie]

Plop tonight, He's a little fighter but it's early days yet

[icklemunch]

Awww look at the size of him. Bless him!!

[KKritters]

Poor little guy. I hope he pulls through...you're going to be SUPER attached.