Babies!

ohsnapitscharity · 06-13-2013, 12:36 AM

Ok so I have 4 hamsters. 2 female and 2 male Syrian. Firstly, they all have seperate litters. Secondly, NO, I did NOT breed them to get babies. The mom with pups I bought from a pet shop May 18, and well, my addiction grew quickly haha. The babies were born June 3rd and eyes aren't open yet so no pics but I'm so in love haha. Luckily, I have homes for 4 of the babies so far. Just thought I would make my first post though since the pics will be comin very soon. If I have this right, I can clean their cage when the pups eyes are open right? Coincendently I cleaned her cage June 1st so it's not horrible but it's not great either.

ILSMarki8 · 06-13-2013, 01:38 AM

Don't touch the babies or cage. You can clean cage as soon as babies are about 15 days old. While waiting try to line up homes for babies if you are not keeping them. Good luck.

ohsnapitscharity · 06-14-2013, 12:19 AM

Haven't touched the babies or the cage. I'm not so patiently waiting lol. Homes are lined up for all but one that I'm aware of. I really want to start breeding th though. Where do I start?

evel_lin · 06-14-2013, 01:44 AM

You'd be best to start researching complications that can occur, genetics, how different genes interact etc. You'll also need to get your breeding hamsters from good stock so that you know their genetic history, if you're in the UK then you'll want to look at NHC breeders. You might find this site interesting to start reading through: The River Road Hamstery

ohsnapitscharity · 06-15-2013, 02:16 AM

Ok so eyes are starting to open now. How do I go about cleaning the cage? Do I leave the nest alone and clean around it or what?

ohsnapitscharity · 06-18-2013, 01:32 AM

Anybody? Almost all of their eyes are open. They were born June 3rd. When can I clean their cage out and how do I go about it?

souffle · 06-18-2013, 02:48 AM

If the babies are out and about with their eyes open then it should be safe to clean out as long as mum is fine with you going near the pups.
What we do for the first clean is put mum and babies in a large storage bin then remove the dirty litter while leaving the nest intact. We then wipe with a cloth and pet safe disinfectant then a clean water dampened cloth to 'rinse' dry and put fresh litter in plus a bit extra tissue bedding. From now you can clean the potty area daily or as needed as it gets wet quickly. When they go back have lots of food and dishes of yummy babyfood and veg to distract them from the clean cage smell!