AboutKelly Expertise I can answer most questions involving Syrian hamsters - mainly housing and general care. I can also tell you what to look for when you are buying a hamster for the first time. I can answer a few questions about gerbils, mainly housing. I can also answer a few questions about dwarf hamsters and mice - again, mainly housing and general care.
Experience I have had several hamsters, both Campbell's dwarf and Syrian. I have also had a mouse who lived to be almost 4 years old! (A regular white mouse named, creatively, "Mousie.") Currently, I have 1 Syrian hamster, 1 Siberian Dwarf hamster, and 2 gerbils. I have spent countless hours researching these small animals from reliable websites (which I can recommend to you). I strongly believe in being *very* prepared before I get an animal.
Question QUESTION: Well,first can i touch the babies? And if i want to take care of them how do i do it?
ANSWER: Hi Nicole,
The most important thing is that you *do not touch* the babies at all until they are 2 weeks old (14 days old). If you touch the babies, the mother will stop feeding them. Also, don't disturb the mother, either, since she'll need to take care of her babies.
Since the wheel can be dangerous for the babies, take it out of the cage. And, lower the water bottle so the babies will be able to reach it. When the babies are about 1 week old, scatter some dry hamster food around the cage, in case they want to experiment with it.
When the babies are 2 weeks old, then you can begin handling them for short periods of time. You can also clean the cage when the babies are 2 weeks old.
When the babies are 3 weeks old, they are fully weaned from their mother. They should be placed in a different cage, away from their mother, when they are 3 weeks old. Let them stay in this cage for another 3 weeks.
Then, when the babies are 6 weeks old, you can give them away. If you have Syrian hamsters (the larger, more common type of hamster), you should give them away one at a time, because Syrian hamsters can't live more than one to a cage. If two adult Syrians are in one cage, they will fight violently. If you have Dwarf hamsters, then you should give them away in same-sex pairs. Here's a couple of websites which will further help you:
If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask :)
Kelly
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QUESTION: She had 7 babies and ate 5 of them and she is staying in the wheel when her babies are out of the wheel. She will not feed them and the mom won't go near them. Is that bad or fine? Should i take them out or keep them in?And they are both BOYS.What shoud i do?
Answer Hi Nicole,
It sounds like the mother may be rejecting her babies, since she's not feeding them. I would recommend that you go to your local pet store and ask a knowledgeable staff member what to feed the babies, and how to take care of them yourself. (Unfortunately, I don't personally know how to feed babies. However, I wanted to answer your question and hopefully give you some helpful advice, and direct you to someone who does know how to feed baby hamsters.)
If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask :)
