I just got a baby hammy! - Page 2

Glimt · 01-18-2009, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chase

Not sure which breed of Hamsters you are talking about. If they are Dwarf Hamsters then the Male will definately have mated the Mum on day of giving birth. Yikes

When the Mums babies reach 18 days to 3 wks old she may kill any babies left with her as she feels they might be a threat to the next litter. I have been breeding Dwarf Hamsters for quite a while so also know to get the Father out as Mummy will get exhausted having 3 litters in a row. Accidents always happen as we know & the deed is now done. If you have a housing problem, how about making a bin cage for Dad & another for the babies when they're old enough. Good luck with all.

Eep! Do you mean she may kill the baby she had now in order to keep a litter safe? Argh x(. They are so troublesome xD. I hope the baby can get old enough before any possible new litter may arrive, so that the hamster baby will be fine when removed from the mum. I've ordered cages, so I'm hoping the dad gets a new home very soon =(. But really thanks for the advice! I'll help my hamsters in any way I can.

haziebabie · 01-18-2009, 06:41 AM

Look Glimt, I'm sorry if I was over the top. I'm sure you are doing the best you can. I guess it would have all been simpler and better for you hamsters if you had split them when you suspected they had been incorrectly sexed. I know what you mean about pet shops being thoughtless with hams, I bought a pregnant one and I have heard terrible stories of hamsters being uncared for by owners and I am sure you are not like that..

So I am sorry that I have upset you. I was just worried about your pets. I guess you have ordered the cages and hopefully the best can be made out of the situation.

suga · 01-18-2009, 09:48 AM

Great news about the cage

. Just wondered and i may have missed it somewhere - have you posted pictures of the parent hamsters - there seems to be a little confusion about what breed they are and also about possibility of hybrid - might help to clear up some of those questions for you.

chase · 01-18-2009, 09:56 AM

Hi glimt
Assuming the Dad Mated the mummy on day she gave birth then her next litter will be born at approximately 21 days after your little baby arrived. So it's probably best to get the baby into another house perhaps with Dad before mum gives birth again.
I have bred Winter whites & Roborovski Dwarf Hamsters & always made sure the babies started weaning at approximately 18 - 19 days old. It would be best to get the baby away from Mum before she gives birth as it's better to be safe than sorry. Which kind of Dwarf Hamster is it?
Perhaps we can see some piccies of this little baby soon.

souffle · 01-19-2009, 05:02 AM

Personally I would leave the baby in with mum till four weeks even if another litter is on the way then he can move in with dad. Is mum looking fatter now? I have looked back on your posts Glint and I notice one in healthcare where you said one of the hammies had a problem with bleeding from the rear and the other hamster mating with it. I think that this hamster had just given birth at this point and this is what the blood was from. It has also been mated as you witnessed. Perhaps the baby was born then and well hidden?
Hybrid breeding is bad because it can result in inherited illnesses. Also because the shape of the winter white head is different from the campbells the mother can have difficulty birthing the pups resulting in death of the mum. There can be problems with diabetes, glaucoma and horrid neurological disorders such as spinning and head tilt. It is also not good to destroy the purity of a species. Although very close genetically, which is why they can breed, Campbells and Winter White are two different species who would never interbreed in the wild.

chase · 01-19-2009, 07:02 AM

I think it could be a big risk for the baby, leaving it with the Mum if she has another litter expected. Especially if the Mum happened to be a WW. Thats just my personal opinion though.

Glimt · 01-19-2009, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haziebabie

Look Glimt, I'm sorry if I was over the top. I'm sure you are doing the best you can. I guess it would have all been simpler and better for you hamsters if you had split them when you suspected they had been incorrectly sexed. I know what you mean about pet shops being thoughtless with hams, I bought a pregnant one and I have heard terrible stories of hamsters being uncared for by owners and I am sure you are not like that..

So I am sorry that I have upset you. I was just worried about your pets. I guess you have ordered the cages and hopefully the best can be made out of the situation.

Thanks, Haziebabie, I'm glad you understand I'm only trying to do my best for the hamsters, that's why I'm here asking for advice as I know I don't know everything and I'm willing to help the little ones in any way I can. In the petstore I was at I noticed they did seem to care for the hamsters but when it came to sexing them it went so quickly and one of the women asked the other one "how was it you could see the difference of the sexes" and she should definitely have known, I mean they're selling hamsters. I got two of my hamsters from my sister who have a lot of kids who sort of got bored with them, and I have definitely cleaned the cages a whole lot more often than they ever did. But thanks for understanding, I appreciate it a lot. Made the day better!

Glimt · 01-19-2009, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suga

Great news about the cage

. Just wondered and i may have missed it somewhere - have you posted pictures of the parent hamsters - there seems to be a little confusion about what breed they are and also about possibility of hybrid - might help to clear up some of those questions for you.

I updated my first post with pictures and a video! Hope this helps O:

Glimt · 01-19-2009, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chase

Hi glimt
Assuming the Dad Mated the mummy on day she gave birth then her next litter will be born at approximately 21 days after your little baby arrived. So it's probably best to get the baby into another house perhaps with Dad before mum gives birth again.
I have bred Winter whites & Roborovski Dwarf Hamsters & always made sure the babies started weaning at approximately 18 - 19 days old. It would be best to get the baby away from Mum before she gives birth as it's better to be safe than sorry. Which kind of Dwarf Hamster is it?
Perhaps we can see some piccies of this little baby soon.

When exactly is it safe to remove the baby from the mummy, is the 21 days alright? I wouldn't wanna hurt the little newcomer. I really hope that the cages arrive before that. I am really not sure about what kind of dwarf hamsters they are, perhaps you can help looking at the pictures I have just posted. Including the baby as you wished for =D.

Glimt · 01-19-2009, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by souffle

Personally I would leave the baby in with mum till four weeks even if another litter is on the way then he can move in with dad. Is mum looking fatter now? I have looked back on your posts Glint and I notice one in healthcare where you said one of the hammies had a problem with bleeding from the rear and the other hamster mating with it. I think that this hamster had just given birth at this point and this is what the blood was from. It has also been mated as you witnessed. Perhaps the baby was born then and well hidden?
Hybrid breeding is bad because it can result in inherited illnesses. Also because the shape of the winter white head is different from the campbells the mother can have difficulty birthing the pups resulting in death of the mum. There can be problems with diabetes, glaucoma and horrid neurological disorders such as spinning and head tilt. It is also not good to destroy the purity of a species. Although very close genetically, which is why they can breed, Campbells and Winter White are two different species who would never interbreed in the wild.

I will see if it is possible to leave the baby with the mother for an extra week, I wouldn't wanna remove it too soon and in any way hurt it. I'm not even sure if the mum is looking fatter, I have had quite a hard time deciding if she looks fat or not, I've been trying to look at the stomach but it doesn't exactly seem pregnant to me, but I wouldn't know. I mean, her stomach doesn't look like a little ball, but she isn't like thin either. Eek. And yes it's true, I once noticed there was small blood stains on the paper on the second floor where I had the food for the hamsters, they had been mating up there and it worried me. But everytime they mated for a few seconds they would sit and sort of clean themselves, so I was hoping maybe they had somewhat cleaned themselves too roughly and nothing bad had happened. But the thought of the mum just having had babies is definitely scary, I don't like the thought they didn't survive x(. Oh, and I haven't seen them mating yet, not that I can observe them at all times, but they are right next to my computer and for a lot of weeks I haven't seen them mating, but of course that doesn't ensure anything.
Eep, the hybrid breeding does sound disturbing, I hope I haven't caused them too much trouble having them live together.. I will seperate them as soon as possible =(.

Oh, btw, the baby and the mother mainly stays inside a glass jar, do you know any way, perhaps removing the jar, that would make it easier for me to see if she had any pups, so that I know I should definitely remove the baby? Is it okay for them just to live out in the hay? (would make it easier to look perhaps as I can see nothing inside the jar) Thanks for your reply!