New baby development question

[Niamhb]

Hi guys,

My hamster, Daisy, gave birth a week ago. It was a surprise and when I discovered she'd given birth I also discovered there was only one pup. She is only 3 months old and this is her first time giving birth, so I think there may have been more pups but they didn't make it. The one that is left seems to be growing a bit and colouring has changed, but when I looked online at other 1 week old hamsters it looks much less developed. My hamsters are Campbell's dwarves. I'm hoping that someone with more hamster experience can tell me based on this picture whether the little guy is doing OK. Also, can anyone tell by the pic if it's a boy or girl? I thought it looked like a boy from what I could see but maybe it's too early to tell. Thanks in advance for any input ��

[Pebbles82]

I'm not an expert on breeding I'm afraid, but I'm sure someone will answer who is! I think the important thing is not disturb anything in the cage for now other than to discreetly put out food and water. If disturbed the Mother might cull the baby. On a positive note, the fact that she hasn't suggests there's not much wrong with him possibly.

[souffle]

Sorry but we do not allow posting of pics of pups with eyes closed. Please check the rules on posting pics of pups in the breeding section.
I have looked at the pup but you can't really see from the pic what sex it is or what age it is really. It isn't a great idea to disturb mum by taking pics etc at this age as it can stress them and cause them to cull the pups so best leave her very quiet for now.
Can you check that isn't fluffy bedding you have? If it is remove it as soon as possible when the pup is bigger and use only tissue bedding as the fluffy stuff is very dangerous.

[Niamhb]

Oh gosh I'm really sorry I just saw that rule now. I tried not to disturb it too much I was just concerned because I hadn't heard any squeaking all day and wanted to check it was OK. Daisy let me do this and I just unfolded the bedding that was on top I didn't touch it at all, but I 100% understand the rules and I won't break them again my apologies Souffle!

The bedding I have is fluffy and they have wood chippings and tissue too but I had no idea the fluff was dangerous, what should I do? I've removed the bedding from other parts of the cage and left the nest well alone but should I try to remove the fluffy stuff in the nest? Is it dangerous for adult hamsters too?

[Shannonmcn]

The fluffy bedding is dangerous for all hamsters, yes. So it needs to go as soon as you can get it out without disturbing mum and pup which I think is going to be a while yet. Leave the fluff in the nest for now, once the pup starts moving around a bit more and leaving the nest by itself you can think about getting it out. It's dangerous in that it can get caught around limbs causing them to lose circulation or it can cause digestive blockages if it is pouched and accidentally swallowed so just keep a close eye for signs of either of those things and fingers crossed there won't be any problems in the short time until you get rid of it.

[Niamhb]

Thanks Shannonmcn I'll get rid of it as soon as possible. Thank you both for letting me know, I feel awful that it has been in there all this time I wonder why the pet shops sell it for hamsters if there is a potential risk for them. I'll be sure not to buy that again!

My adult hamsters usually sleep in the fluffy stuff, is there another kind of substrate that you would recommend for the hamsters to sleep in, or will they just sleep in the wood chippings happily?

Gosh I can't believe I didn't know this, I spent a lot of time researching hamster cages, substrate, food etc before I got them and I never knew about the fluffy stuff being dangerous, I will be making sure to spread the word to my friends who also use the fluff. thank you so much for telling me

[Shannonmcn]

Plain torn up toilet paper is what I use, it's cheap and warm and safe and they weave their own little nests out of the strips so it gives them something to do that mimics their "wild" behaviours. You can also get paper based bedding in bags from pet shops but it's much cheaper to just use what you have in the house.

Don't feel guilty about not knowing, it happens and it is really very irresponsible for pet shops to keep selling the stuff, some even going so far as to write "Safe" on the bags of it There have been a few petitions I've seen floating around to get pet shops to stop selling it but it's hard to get a decent number of signatures for something that only really affects the most conscientious hamster owners.

[Pebbles82]

Don't worry. Glad you came on here and hope the pup does well. If you hadn't come on here you'd never have found out about fluffy bedding! As others say, best not to disturb anything in the cage until the pup is a bit older. At the moment, leaving the fluffy bedding in is a lesser risk than disturbing Mum's nest while she has a baby.

Mum will probably chuck out any mucky stuff so the nest should stay clean. Just put food and water out. If there is any issue with the bedding meanwhile you will know about it (ie you will see Mum in difficulties). Mum will take care of the pup so it should be ok.

I tend to refer to substrate/litter as the stuff on the floor of the cage - in your case the wood shavings. And bedding/nesting material as the stuff they build their nest with. I agree with Shannon that torn up strips of white toilet paper are best. I take few sheets, tear them into single sheets, and tear each sheet lengthways into about 5 or 6 strips, then put a big mound of it in the cage. You might not see the hamster take much - sometimes they pouch it for nest building at night, but the pile will go down gradually. It's actually good for them to build and weave a nest rather than have something provided as it encourages normal behaviours.

Yes fluffy bedding should be banned and it certainly shouldn't be labelled safe. Paper is the safest nesting material.

If you're interested I wrote a blog about it recently with the whys and wherefores and hamster's mentality, as to why it's bad and it also covers cage cleaning and other nesting issues.

https://hamsterbedding.wordpress.com/

[Niamhb]

Thanks for your help everyone �� I've removed the fluffy bedding from both cages and left the nest with the baby (in their little house) alone for now. The hamsters are burying away since I added more of the other bedding

[Pebbles82]

Excellent. I'm sure your other hammies will build some nice cosy nests!