AboutSheila Adby Expertise Syrian hamsters are my specialty, however, I have kept Campbells,Winter Whites and gerbils in the past. I can advise on most subjects associated with hamsters, including housing, bedding, feeding, handling, new borns and catching escapees. I have had some experience of various health problems with hamsters and can offer my opinion and advice on basic health issues, however I am not a qualified vet and therefore cannot recommend drugs etc. My website is www.thehamstersite.com
Experience I have been keeping hamsters and other small animals for more than 12 years. My favourites are Syrian hamsters and I foster litters and 'difficult' hamsters for a rescue centre. My job is to tame hamsters ready for re-homing, which is extremely rewarding. I also enjoy looking after new litters and raising the pups. I have co-written a book on hamsters with my local vet and have a website: www.thehamstersite.com
Publications Hamsters in Sickness and in Health - Sheila Adby and Dan O'Neill ISBN186163218-5 (Capall Bann Publishing)
Education/Credentials Educated to A Level standard in the UK.
Question my friend's grand daughter has a female hampster which gave birth 13 day's ago and we caught the mother eating one of them, we took the others away and there eye's are still not open, they wont eat we have tried some apples and water but all the do is sleep and might move around. what can we do? this is very sad
Answer I’m sorry to hear about your friend's hamster.
Sometimes the mum will kill her babies, but this is only because either they are ill or she is afraid for them. Alternatively, if she is ill (with mastitis) and therefore unable to feed them properly she may also turn on them. It would be good to have a look at the mum and check her nipples to make sure they are not inflamed, swollen or have pus coming from them. They may be a little raised, which is normal, but if they appear swollen it would be worth getting a vet to check them.
They desperately need nourishment right now – if you have a local vet you could ask them for some of the special powdered milk that is designed for orphaned animals. This is easy to digest (rather than cows milk). A little of the powder should be mixed with water and fed to the hamsters through a dropper/pipette. This ideally needs to be feed every couple of hours if possible. You will have to hold each baby and drop the milk direct into their mouth to make the eat.
It is also a good idea to buy some packets of human baby food – especially the creamy porridge oats. Mix a little of this with water and give them this in a low dish that they can reach morning and night. If you water it down enough you can also feed this through a dropper.
In addition to this they need other foods – they should be able to eat solids at this age, but I suggest that you give small pieces of bread, raw porridge oats and seeds in addition to the usual dry hamster mix. Regarding fresh vegetables/fruit – only give small amounts and definitely avoid giving lettuce. Vegetables such as sweet corn, peas, broccoli, spinach, cabbage etc are fine. Also don’t give citrus fruits. A small amount of cheese or scrambled egg are fine and these will give them some extra protein. Avoid giving just these due to the high fat content.
Hopefully this will help. It is always a very difficult decision to remove hamsters from their mum as they are so dependent on her especially in the first couple of weeks of their lives. Sadly, sometimes it is better to let nature take its course and hope that the mum doesn’t kill the whole litter as it can be very difficult to raise young babies and unfortunately the success rate isn’t all that great. The important thing is to take this one day at a time – every day that passes, the more chance of their survival and once they get closer to 3 weeks old the better.
At 4 week of age, it is important to sex the hamsters and separate out the males.
