Considering that hamsters are often sold in pet stores as adults, it's not unusual for them to give birth to a surprise litter. To prevent shocks like these, it's preferable to buy your hamster from a pet shop that separates males from females at an early age.
When you buy a hamster from a pet shop, it's possible that they'll already be pregnant when you bring them home. If a litter of young hamsters appears out of nowhere in your hamster's cage, you may be perplexed as to what to do with them.
 |
| Your Hamster Is Expecting Babies. How Do You Handle That? |
Create a Comfortable Environment for Your Hamster
Strips of toilet paper or face tissues may be placed in the cage to provide soft, clean bedding material for the nest, which will assist your hamster take care of its new kids. If you know your hamster is pregnant, you should do this procedure, but it's OK if you don't. The sheer size of a pregnant hamster's abdomen is typically a good indication of how close it is to giving birth.
Do a thorough cleaning if you recently discovered that your hamster is pregnant. For the time being, don't stress about cleaning the cage after the newborns have arrived. If the woman has never given birth before, let her and her newborns alone for at least seven days. Even if you have to use a wet-spot cleaner to get rid of the worst of the messes, try not to disturb the mother or chicks in the nest.
Feeding a Hamster That's Pregnant
Keep your hamster fed with plenty of high-quality protein as soon as you detect she's pregnant. You should stick to this diet for the duration of your pregnancy and until your children are ready to be weaned. Besides a nutritious diet, you may supplement it with tiny quantities of hard-boiled egg, cooked chicken, cheese, and wheat germ. Make sure the water is constantly clean.
Keep Your Hamsters Separated
In the event that your hamster is pregnant, you may wish to remove them from one other. This will ensure the safety of the infants while also preventing adult conflict. Having a male and female hamster in the same cage will also prevent future pregnancies.
Privacy for your hamster is a must.
For at least seven days, avoid any contact with the newborns at all.
Your goal is to avoid contaminating the newborns with your fragrance and moving them too much. If you must move a newborn hamster for any reason, use a spoon to avoid transferring your fragrance to the hamster. Even if a youngster is no longer in the nest, it is unusual that you would have to relocate them. Strays are frequently found and returned to the nest by their mother.
Feeding and watering should be done in a calm and timely manner. When you're near the hamster's cage, be careful not to disturb it. It's OK to have a peep at the hamsters from time to time, but don't spend too much time staring at them.
Make sure to keep in mind that the mother hamster is going to be quite protective of you while you're in the cage, so it may become even more hostile against you. If you come too near, it may charge at your hand or stand on its hind legs. This is quite normal and poses no danger to you, but you should take care not to be bitten or frighten your hamster more.
Weaning the Hamsters' Offspring
At three weeks of age, the young hamsters will be able to wean themselves from their mother. It's recommended to separate the sexes now if you have dwarf hamsters; however, Syrian hamsters may remain in these groupings for another two to three weeks.
Young Mother Hamsters
It is possible that if you bought a pregnant hamster from a pet shop, it is too young to be an effective mother. They could abandon or even eat their young as a result of this. Sadly, if you discover your hamster's nest or kids aren't being cared for and they're under 10 days old, it's very impossible to rescue them.