Confused - surpise babies

Dapickle · 01-15-2015, 01:38 PM

Hi everyone... I'm new to the site,

I'm posting because my son's hamsters had babies.. only found out when cleaning the cage... there are 6 in total but weird thing is 4 are furry and about an inch and a half in size eyes opening as the day went on but the other 2 are pink. Didn't know 2 females would share a nest especially given that they have 4 nesting houses available to them... also I didn't realize there were babies until I was changing the nesting fluff and they were in my hands...will they be ok?

souffle · 01-15-2015, 02:41 PM

What species of hamsters do you have - I presume if they are together they are dwarf hamsters?
How long have you had them. If it is only a short while then they may have been pregnant when they came to you however it may be that you have a male and a female there. Two females will often share nursing care of the pups and may even suckle each others babies so the pinkies are likely a younger litter of the second female.
As too the handling well you just have to hope for the best as it is done now so for now leave them in peace and give lots of protein rich foods.
The male pups will need separated at 4 weeks or else they will start mating with mum and sisters but they should all be out and about by then and you should ensure they are sexed properly. Good luck and ask any advice as our members will help

Thin Lizzy · 01-15-2015, 07:04 PM

Hi and welcome!
What a shock and surprise for you!

Rempanda · 01-15-2015, 07:23 PM

Gosh! Good luck

certainly a surprising way to bring in the new year! I agree with Souffle, some great advice there

Just one thing - you mentioned changing the bedding fluff. Are you using the fluff that is like cotton wool? If so, I would advise you change it as quick as possibly onto something else as that can get trapped in their throats and lead to death.

What are you thinking of doing with the babies?

Shannonmcn · 01-15-2015, 08:41 PM

Hello fellow Irishperson! Glad you came here for advice, what's been given already is the best you can get though. Sorry you had a surprise litter and so much extra stress! Hope both mummy hams (I hope they're both mummy hams!) and all the babies are okay!

Piebald · 01-15-2015, 11:54 PM

Hello fellow Irishperson indeed! I am new too but there is lots of good advice here. I recently read this thread which has a lot of info:
Help, my hamster just had babies
But if you look around there is probably lots more.
Good luck with the babies!

cypher · 01-16-2015, 01:19 AM

Sorry to hear you've has such a shock! You've come to the best place for advice though, really hope it goes well for all the little hams.

I was a bit concerned by the mention of fluff too, if it is cotton bedding it will be dangerous, there's nothing better than a load of toilet tissue shredded up a bit for nesting.

souffle · 01-16-2015, 03:26 AM

as advised taking out as much fluffy bedding as possible will be the best thing however you need to weigh up the risks to the hamsters from the bedding compared to the risks to the litters of the mums culling them due to to disturbance. Personally I would leave it until all the pups have their eyes open and are out and about.
You can remove it from unoccupied nests though if you do it quickly and quietly.

Dapickle · 01-16-2015, 04:08 AM

Thanks for the advice everyone... I wasn't too surprised there were babies we have a male and 2 females... I'm using shredded kitchen paper as of yesterday... I'd run out of fluff but I kept some of the old fluff when I realized there were babies in it... yes they're dwarves

I think we may have lost a pinkie... I noticed it's foot was missing yesterday.

And since I put everything back together I can't really see who's in there now...
We definitely have one of the pinkie left. I went in to check on them last night before bed and watched for ten mins while Luigi no 2 (girl replacement Mario's brother - I know you all probably think I'm a right idiot getting a girl but Luigi no1 passed unexpectedly a couple of months ago and after searching all the pet shops in town she was the only look alike, please don't eat me

) and Peach (I think you could hazard a guess as to what our son is into - Peach is Luigi no 2's sister... Mario was 6months old when we got them and twice their size at least... I just wanted to make sure Luigi no 2 had back up... sorry for all the tangents) anyway Luigi and Peach, I watched them for ten mins last night as they basically fought over a pinkie.
Luigi decided that she wanted her own nest and brought the pinkie there. She was subsequently followed by Peach who then pupnapped the pinkie and brought it back to the original nest. Luigi then followed suit and restole the pup and brought it to the new nest... Peach took it back... Luigi took it again... this was going on before I came in and I watched for 5 or ten mins. It was a little funny but I decided I had to intervene.
I came to the conclusion that as Luigi wasn't moving the furry pups and just a pink one that it was her pup but either Peach didn't know the pinkie wasn't hers or she just didn't see eye to eye with Luigi about moving it... anyway we have two cages with a pipe connecting them... as Peach already has 4 furries to attend to I let Luigi keep her pinkie herself and separated the cages. Otherwise that pup was gonna get hurt in all the commotion of the game takeybacksies. I did a king Solomon on it essentially.
Mario(dad to all pups) is with Luigi - he's a paws off kinda dad tho and is in his own nest downstairs in the cage. Peach has an older pup who's only a few weeks old - 6 or 7 (it's going to live with my cousin shortly - I don't want any cross eyed, webbed footed offspring) that pup is in with Peach.. he's a great help with his new siblings he keeps them cosy while Peach is out galavanting. Once I figure out how... I'll post pics, introduce ye to everyone.

souffle · 01-16-2015, 06:24 AM

OK so unless you want endless back to back litters you MUST move all males over 4 weeks out of the cages with the mothers. They will already be pregnant as mating takes place immediately after birth so new babies will be due in 18-22 days after the previous pups. I'd keep them separate now if the babies are being harmed by the too and fro jaunting.
Get Mario out now as it is not fair for the females to be having too many pups. Mario could live with any male pups from this litter or that older one. The older one should be removed if he is a male as they can mate from 4 weeks.
If that older pup is a female she would need to be on pregnancy watch for 22 days if she has been in with Mario as he may have mated her.
Basically you need to separate the sexes. You could end up with 100's in a very short time and if they are too inbred there could be health issues.
I'm a bit confused as to how many you have and what sexes and in how many cages so forgive me if I am telling you something you have already done but please, please get the males out. I saw the RSPCA had to collect over 100 dwarfs from someone who just let it get out of hand a while back and it was very sad. From what you say about Peach having an older pup, this litter plus she will be pregnant agin this must be her 3rd in a matter of about 8 weeks! That is too much and will impact on her lifespan.