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Old 05-19-2022, 08:52 PM   #1
cactusflower801
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Default My Syrian Hamster Had Babies!

Hi! My name is Mikayla but I go by CactusFlower or CactusFlower801. I own 3 Syrian hamsters. 2 Females and 1 Male. My golden Syrian hamster named Honey had babies on April 30th but unfortunately as it was her first little they didn't make it I did everything right I feel like. I fed her boiled egg, uncooked chicken, fed her more food, more leafy greens, more fruit. But I also know that since it was her first litter that could explain it. Shortly after I noticed my other female named Xena was going to have babies! I started doing the same thing I did for my other hamster Honey. I fed her more protein and cleaned out the cage on the 13th day of her pregnancy that I believed. She had her babies on May 15th. I don't know exactly how many there are or if she's consumed any of them. I do check on them at least once a day when I bring her food. She had the babies in her igloo. So I carefully look inside the opening of it and they seem to be doing very well. I hope these babies will make it this time. That being said. I do have some questions if I could ask. A few of the question I haven't been able to find the answers by looking anywhere else online.

1. How often does the mom need protein?
2. Doesn't going into her cage to feed her so much upset her? I know I've heard to leave the babies alone for the first 2 weeks but I have to refill water bottle and give mom protein and other food and ensure she has enough hamster food right? But how do I be sure it doesn't upset her?
3. How many times should I limit myself to going over to the cage per day?
4. When do I start feeding the baby hamster's hamster food?
5. What is Millet and where do I get it?
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Old 05-20-2022, 05:55 AM   #2
Lilafernim
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Default Re: My Syrian Hamster Had Babies!

Hi,

I’ve never been in this situation before but some serious advice. Please never feed your hamster uncooked chicken and also are these litters caused from previous care and you’ve just found out? Or has this occurred because you’ve allowed the females and male to interact?

Please don’t let them interact if you are since having litters are incredibly risky for the mothers as much as the children.

All I do know is do not disturb them, and put too much food in the cage. If there isn’t enough food the mother may eat it’s young sort of as a coup de grace instead of starving so make sure there is plenty of food.

Don’t go over the cage unless there is immediate concern.

And as for millet I buy it in pet stores, you can also buy it online but it’s cheaper for me in pet stores. It’s not essential but can be nice for them.
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Old 05-20-2022, 07:28 AM   #3
Ria P
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Default Re: My Syrian Hamster Had Babies!

Hello,

i think Lilafernim has already answered your questions.

I have some questions myself:

Why do you breed hamsters?

What are you going to do with the babies? Do you have good forever homes lined up for them?
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Old 05-20-2022, 02:40 PM   #4
Pebbles82
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Default Re: My Syrian Hamster Had Babies!

One thing that makes the Mother cull the babies is any kind of disturbance, and that includes standing near the cage and peering in! So just put food and water out once a day, stay well away, and don't change or clean anything. Until you see the babies start to emerge from the house on their own.

It's the Mother's instinct to cull them if she feels they are under threat and any scent in the cage or someone too nearby, could do that. Maybe put the food and water out, quietly at set time of day. Wash your hands first.

Others will know more about feeding, but basically you want to put more hamster food out than usual, plus veggies and extras. Hard boiled egg is fine for protein, as are nuts. I wouldn't worry about millet.

So to answer your questions. Don't go near the cage at all, except once a day to put food and water out.

You're feeding the Mother extra so she can feed the babies. When the babies need food the Mother will take it to them. When the babies emerge from the nest on their own they will start feeding from the dish on their own, along with the Mother. Just keep putting plenty of hamster mix out - maybe a larger level dish like a saucer rather than a regular food bowl. Plus a bit of fresh veg and a few extras. If you use a good hamster mix you shouldn't need to supplement protein that much. A good hamster mix should have at least 18% to 20% protein in and be a muesli type mix. Tiny Friends Hazel or Harry Hamster is fine at this stage as it has the correct protein levels. Supplementing with hard boiled egg, freeze dried mealworms or nuts is good too (most like shelled walnut or brazil nut or half a plain cashew nut).

So you need to stop checking on them once a day! Or she might cull them.

I agree about the comments about breeding. You need to know the genetics of the hamsters for safe breeding and to avoid genetic inherited abnormalities in general.
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Old 05-20-2022, 03:36 PM   #5
Ria P
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Default Re: My Syrian Hamster Had Babies!

Another thing that concerns me is your avatar.

Why do you have three Syrians together when they are strictly solitary hamsters?

Maybe the photo was taken when they were young babies and had not been separated yet.

I sincerely hope so.
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Old 05-21-2022, 01:39 AM   #6
cactusflower801
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Default Re: My Syrian Hamster Had Babies!

Thank you so much everyone for all the advice. I want to just leave them alone but I also sometimes wondered if me not even going over to the cage at all for a day or two would be bad.
But I guess it's good as long as there is enough food and water. I am confident that I can do that now. I just wanted to be sure. Also to answer your questions yes I did intend to breed my hamsters.
I only was wondering about Millet because I read it said when the babies turn 10-14 days old I should put millet around the nest. Also these hamster's are not related if that's what you
mean by genetics or if you mean like health related I do believe these hamsters are quite healthy I bought the girls from a reputable breeder from my town and I bought the boy from another reputable
breeder but not the same one. Also in the photo was when they were younger and since then I did seperate them all into there own cages. They all have there own bin cage now.
I also do have friends and family who already want a baby hamster when they wean. They are aware of how much hamsters cost yes. Thanks again everyone.
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Old 05-21-2022, 05:29 AM   #7
Lilafernim
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Default Re: My Syrian Hamster Had Babies!

I can answer the question about genetics. To be classified as an ethical breeder, owners must have several generations is successful offspring free from disease. Also certain patterns and types of hamsters within the same breed should never be bred together because of health risks. You need to know a lot about the genes and alleles of a hamster before you breed them.

I’m sorry to sound blunt, but from what you’ve said you don’t seem to know much about breeding responsibly and I would highly recommend you refrain from doing so until you have done thorough research on the topic. Breeding because family wants a hamster isn’t fair on the hamsters if you don’t know what you are doing. You should only breed if you genuinely have an interest in ethically breeding.

Health doesn’t come into genetics it is what you’re born with.

Glad to hear they’re all in separate cages too, another suggestion also is I think in the image you’re using wood shavings. I would recommend paper based substrates as wood shavings have been linked to respiratory problems, plus paper is just much nicer for them such as kaytee clean and cosy.
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Old 05-21-2022, 05:33 AM   #8
Pebbles82
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Default Re: My Syrian Hamster Had Babies!

It is such a nerve wracking time after the Mother has the babies. Wondering if they are ok and wanting to check. But you need to sit it out. And not disturb the cage or nest - it's one thing that can cause the Mother to cull the babies. Can you hear any squeaking coming from the nest yet? That's always a good sign - but sometimes you don't hear anything. It will just take some nerves of steel and patience to wait for one of the babies to emerge from the nest on their own. Once all the babies are out and about in the cage and coming out of the nest on their own, then it should be safe to handle them I think but it might be better to wait a bit even then, before handling them. When they are three or four weeks old you'll need to handle them to sex them and separate the boys from the girls and Mum.

Don't take it to heart people questioning about you breeding - we didn't know the back story! Genetics is more about knowing their colouring history - certain colours should not be bred together as that can cause "eyeless whites" - hamsters born without any eyes. There's probably more to it than that.

I agree though, it's better to research it all before breeding and one criteria is to not disturb the cage and nest after the Mother has given birth. You know now.

You also need to be registered with a good vet in case of any emergency - sometimes the Mother can need emergency treatment if she struggles to give birth and the babies get stuck and that could cause suffering or be life threatening.

Agree about the pine shavings. If you're in the US, pine shavings are not safe, unless it clearly states they are kiln dried and dust extracted (because there is no legal requirement for them to be kiln dried as there is in the Uk and Europe). It also needs to state what type of wood it is. If it just says "softwood" it's not safe as that could include cedar and cedar is a big no no. If it says pine shavings that are kiln dried and dust extracted, that is technically ok, but it's safer to use paper based bedding.

Posted before I saw Lila's post initially. Responsible breeding is an important topic. We are not meaning to criticize you but just make you aware of some of the dangers. And the kind of things to ask about from breeders.

If you start another post on here, about what to look for when breeding, there are some registered breeders on here who can give you all the advice you need for the future.

The main thing is knowing if a hamster is a pure colour type and what recessive and dominant colour genes they have I believe. I know nothing about millet round the nest so I'd kind of ignore that - never heard of it before.

Don't believe everything you read on google!

Last edited by Pebbles82; 05-21-2022 at 05:45 AM.
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Old 05-21-2022, 06:05 AM   #9
Pebbles82
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Default Re: My Syrian Hamster Had Babies!

But don't change the bedding now! That'll put the babies at risk. It'll be fine in the short term until you need to clean the cage when all the babies are safe. I personally don't know how long you need to wait to clean the cage but one of the experienced breeders on here may come along with some tips on that.
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Old 05-21-2022, 06:12 AM   #10
Pebbles82
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Default Re: My Syrian Hamster Had Babies!

Do keep us posted on how things go and if you have any concerns - there are experienced breeders on here can help you. Souffle may have some tips for you. I know there are some bad sources for hamster owners in the US (pet stores using back street breeders etc) and it can be very hard to find good breeders, so at least you have sourced your hamsters from a breeder and have homes for them - better than supporting some of the pet stores.

Did you take the wheel out?

Also just to let you know, forum rules don't allow photos of babies with their eyes closed, but once their eyes are open it's fine to post photos.
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