ST's Hamstery D-16 Litter

[Kissa]

The whole litter are gorgeous, but your keeper girl is especially cute!

[Nancy's Hamsters]

Yet another lesson to learn when deciding to raise Hamsters has occurred with the D-16 litter. Since the last photos were taken I have had to watch pups in this litter wither away and die with nothing able to help them.

At about or near day 5 till day 7 pups begin eating their mom's dropping. Though gross to see this must occur in order for the pups to be able to digest properly solid foods which they usually start to eat at days 8 to day 10 for their first meal of something other then Mom's milk.

From day 10 until day 21 they still suckle and Mom's milk can still keep a pup going and growing but eventually the pup must switch to a solid food diet, and after day 21 only the calmest of Moms won't start weaning her pups.

The reason the pups need to consume Mom's poops at 5-7 days is she has good bacteria and Enzymes which help the pups start building up their own digestive agents in their guts which aid in the breaking down of solid food into digestible foods. Nainsie though and excellent Mother lacks these needed digestive agents in a large enough quantity to help her pups be able to gain these aids. The more solid food they eat the sicker they become because their digestive tract can't break down the food in the stomach so the rest of the body can extract the needed nutrition that sustains a pups body. So they eat and the food just sits in the stomach and ferments and becomes toxic. Slowly even though the pups are eating like adult hamsters they actually starve to death.

You can't see this problem in the Mother until she has a litter, and the pups start dying, it causes her no problems at all. This usually begins to show it's ugly face when the pups are close to fully weaned. It causes the pups to become very slow growing, and as the food ferments their mind says they are full so they quit eating. Slowly they start to fade and get weak and can't drink and then life ends rather quickly for the pup. My little Black tort skunk patterned girl was the first to die, and my keeper Golden Banded Dominant Spot girl was the 2nd pup to lose the battle. And last night another of the Black Tort Banded Ds girls was gone. I have one LH Black Tort Banded Ds girl in critical condition and though she is trying to fight she is very emaciated and dehydrated cause she feels full. If she shows no improvements by tonight she will be helped to the bridge as it is a horrible death for them. I have all SH pups left with the one remaining Black Tort Banded Domspot girl the smallest and most vulnerable to not make it. The Black male, Golden Band Male and the Golden Tort female seem to be OK and growing and producing their own good bacteria and digesting their food well so will most likely be fine.

Until they are all out of the woods no new photos of this litter will be posted.
Had I known Mom had this problem I could have gave her a probiotic boost before breeding her and added probiotic powder to her food after bred to boost the enzymes in her droppings to a proper number for her pups to be fine when switching to solid foods. However this was Nainsie's last litter so she will be pet homed as soon as her surviving pups can be weaned away from her. Because of lack of proper nutrition the pups growth rate has been stunted and they are VERY small so most likely they all will be sold as pets with agreements to never breed them.

[WinnieTheHam]

I'm so sorry Nancy, It will always be hard to go through this no matter how experienced you are. I think this is what happened with my litter - Belle is 200g, so the pups may still grow once this vulnerable stage is over. I really wish you all the best of luck for the remaining pups to pull through.

[Enh98]

Sorry to hear! Hope the other pups make it!

[Nancy's Hamsters]

Well Miracles do happen when you pray. All five pups are still with me and the LH Black Tort girl nick named Tiny Tina for now is improving daily. She is still slightly dehydrated but can now climb on a bowl and reach and work the water bottle. The other spotty dotty Black Tort Banded Ds polywhite girl will be going to Erin and by the will of God she will grow big enough to be safely bred in the future though if she doesn't get big enough Erin will enjoy as a pet like her RIP Oreo was. I had a HUGE and very upsetting discovery this afternoon finding my two Chocolate males Ari and Chepe dead in their nest with no apparent cause for their deaths. That and two females gone who were a major part of my Chocolate breeding as well as Erins loss of Elsa means we are very short on Rust genes at this time. None of the dead hamsters had any obvious signs of illness so we have to suspect a hidden genetic flaw coming from The Abraham litter which was out of Ahuva. As things happen I am right now breeding one of my new males who is done with their quarantine period breeding Kadisha who is Ahave's full litter sister. Kadisha is Black Tort so only carries the rust gene but she is Homo Polywhite. When dealt Lemons make Lemonade as they say. I have several pups coming to me from Mama2six who are rust carriers so I am far from giving up on the Rust gene, and Foma and Cherie are not related to Lavi or any of his Rust lineage. Chances are very high Tiny Tina will be staying with me.

[oddlyoblivious]

Goodness! So sorry to hear about the chocolates. Hopefully things work out and improve.

[Golden_Syrian_Hammmies]

I always really enjoy reading your threads Nancy and seeing your pups, as well as getting an insight into breeding and hearing you discuss all the different colours (which boggles my mind lol with understanding it all). I am very sorry to hear that this has happened to this litter, extremely sad and must have been very hard for you to watch. This is the part of breeding hamsters that isnt nice, when problems with mothers or pups arise. Praying the remaining survivors and mum do well and get lovely homes (which I am sure they will). Sorry to read that you have also had some deaths with your adult hams. Hope you can replace them and keep the rust gene alive. Praying things pick up soon!

[Nancy's Hamsters]

Thank-You for the Prayers and well wishes to all Tiny Tina seems to be holding her own now. I said no pics but I just must share with you all.
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This was the whole litter on Thursday night just 24 hours after I thought I was going to lose TT.

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This was TT on Friday evening. LOL she looks like she is praying and thanking God for another chance at life but really she is pigging out on crushed Lab Blocks wet down with warm water mash.

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An action packed shot of Erins soon to be Girl from this litter. No fears she would hurt herself my hand was just high enough to raise her above the other pups for Erin to see how she is improving.

To see just how small Tiny Tina really is here is a picture of her in the 94 Oz Jiff Peanut butter jar lid and her Golden Tort Sister whom I would keep if I knew for sure she carried Rust but alas every pup had a 50/50 chance to carry or not and she is not worth the effort to see which 50% she gained when I have 3 beyond any doubt Rust carrier girls coming here some time in Summer or Fall.
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As you can see all five are gaining weight and some have good size. The other reason to not keep any from this litter is the unknown of an inherited health issue via Lavi who is their sire.

[Golden_Syrian_Hammmies]

Tiny Tina is such a wee cutie! Hard to believe the difference in size compared to the others. I love the markings on her head. All the pups are lovely. Awh that's a shame, theres so much to consider when breeding suitable males and females I am learning! but they will make lovely pets all the same

What does a rust coloured hamster looks like? I am currently making my self a folder gathering info on genetics, colours and lots of hamster info in relation to breeding as i find it really interesting and want to learn more.

[Nancy's Hamsters]

Originally Posted by Golden_Syrian_Hammmies

Tiny Tina is such a wee cutie! Hard to believe the difference in size compared to the others. I love the markings on her head. All the pups are lovely. Awh that's a shame, theres so much to consider when breeding suitable males and females I am learning! but they will make lovely pets all the same

What does a rust coloured hamster looks like? I am currently making my self a folder gathering info on genetics, colours and lots of hamster info in relation to breeding as i find it really interesting and want to learn more.

Here is Hani who is NOT a Dominant Spot but is a Homo Polywhite Rust Tort pup born and raised here at ST's Hamstery. In fact she is a 1/2 sister to the litter.
Hani 4-2-16-c.JPG