Waffles chose a bad place to have babies....HELP

So, our dear little hamster friend Waffles was pregnant .... we didnt realize this of course until two days before she had the babies, 7 in total, last night.
Waffles lives in a CritterTrail 2 cage and there is a long vertical tube which goes up to a little room in the roof called the "petting zone" (haha), and that is where she has chosen to have her babies.
We're worried that as soon as the babies start to move around, they will fall, and that they will never be able to get down the tube. All the food dishes and water are down below in the main cage.
The "petting zone" can lift out of the roof without disturbing the mama and the babies, and we are considering moving that onto the cage floor but we're afraid that'll stress her out too much. Should we try that in a few days? or just let Waffles sort it out????


PLEASE let us know what the best course of action is.
Thanks!

[souffle]

This is not the first time I have seen this problem waffles with unexpected litters in the attic rooms. The bedroom is way to small for a litter and as the babies grow they will make it damp and smelly and they could fall down the tube too. The mother does not know this of course. It is very risky that you may lose the pups but I pesonally would risk moving this litter. This is what we did with the last person that had the problem and they were all fine. If you think the cage is big enough to take the pups and mum downstairs then I would move it down and try and persuade her to move the pups into a floor nest box like a cardboard box you should provide. If she moves them out take the attic bedroom out after rubbing your hands in the bedding. Dont touch pups or mum at all. remember to take out the tube and seal the gap up or she may keep trying to find the bedroom. She will likely be a bit panicky so as soon as you move the nest cover her and leave her very quiet for 12hrs.
If you dont think the will fit on the floor level then try this.
Prepare a new flat cage with a comfy nest box like maybe a large cardboard box with all of one edge cut out (shoebox size?) You might need to use a large plastic bin for now.
Take the attic and put it in the new home and scoop all the litter from th old cage in too so the scent is still there. Make sure you have a low water bottle available and if in doubt have a shallow dish of water in there. Put some tasty food in for mum like scrambled egg, tofu. a little veg, baby food and immediatly cover and sheild the cage with a blanket tend or similar. Keep the room completely quiet and do not be tempted to peek or check her for 12 hours. With luck she will move the pups into the new nest. She will likely be quite frantic and panic and may cull the pups so you must be prepared to take the risk. If she moves some pups and settles with them but leaves a few, rub a teaspoon in the bedding and spoon the pups into the nest. Do not touch mum or pups as she will not like your scent on them. Be sure to rub your hands in the dirty bedding before handling the box or adding anything.
I hope it goes well and wish you lots of luck.

[Hanlou]

Hi and congratulations on the unexpected new arrivals.

What sort of hamster is Waffles?! If she's a Syrian - the biggest sort of hamster - a Crittertrail cage isn't suitable for her at all, babies or no babies, as it just doesn't give the correct amount of floor space.

I would imagine that a Crittertrail could be very dangerous for babies - they could get trapped in the tubes, dropped down them etc and the height of a Crittertrail 2 could also be a big risk. Plus the bars would be wide enough for a baby to crawl out of.....

It's a difficult one to make suggestions on as if you disturb the nest she may kill the babies anyway through stress. I think if you could possibly move the whole petting zone (thing at the top) into a new cage such as a Zoozone 1 / Gabber Rex (all on one level) and make sure you put her old bedding / substrate in there too this may be an option for you - but I've never had a hamster with babies so I'm not sure what to suggest.

Perhaps it may be best at the moment to keep an eye on her and when the babies are moving around more move them into a safer cage as you are already considering? Wish I had more definite help for you but it's a difficult one to weigh up.

Whereabouts are you located? Someone may have a safer cage they can lend you for the babies.

Is she from a pet shop? If she is, and they sold you a pregnant hamster, you could certainly ask them for a free safe 'cage' (needs to be an enclosed one without bars like a Rody / Duna / Zoozone or a tank though you need to check the bar spacing on the top) for her to raise her litter in as this is their mistake. *Don't* hand her over with the babies though if they suggest it, I'm sure the babies will be better off with you!

ETA: Aha! Just read Souffles' suggestions in your duplicate post in B+V. It seems that she agrees that in this case the risk of danger to the babies in the cage they are in is greater than the risk of stressing Waffles out. I would go with this advice.