Hi everyone, I read a bunch of stuff here yesterday night and didn't find exactly the answers I was looking for so I'm going to present my predicaments.


I got two grey/beige winter white russian dwarf hamsters on September 18th. I thought they were two girls, but I was prepared for them not to be.

http://picasaweb.google.com/emmarosemc/Hamsterbabies# - Meet Pube & Queef

So i waited 20 days and nothing happened, so then I really started to believe they were girls. On October 31st I saw two little babies in the cage (after hearing baby squeaks). They've done fine so far (read A LOT online and everything went exactly to plan).

http://picasaweb.google.com/emmarosemc/HamsterbabiesBabies# - Meet the babies (trying not to name them)

Since I didn't know they had babies and I was gone that they i immediately assumed she was already pregnant again (which wouldn't be a big deal for me, stressful for her though). So I did not split up the parents, obviously before she gives birth again I need to get the dad (Queef) out. I have a make shift bin cage that will do.

My first question would be, when? The babies are now 16 days old, so the next litter should be along shortly. I'm going to get the cage ready today, BUT who do I move? Can I leave the babies in with her? Because they shouldn't be split up from their mother yet. They get along fine with dad though so should I move all 3 of them (dad and babies)?
I really do want to move the babies out asap, yesterday she was being pretty vicious towards them, they seem ok today, probably nothing to be worried about but it might get worse once she delivers.

I talked to the pet store where I got them and the guy who gave them to me said it's the first time he's ever missexed hammies. Not a big deal, I'm pretty responsible and have time to take care of them.

So my follow up question, who do I keep in the long term? I wanted two hammies, but I don't want two cages. I've dealt with having to split up Queef and Pube (even though they did so well together and I was really happy with them), but now my options are basically:

- Keep Pube (mom) who can be pretty hostile (mightve just been the pregnancy?) and isn't very tame (she bites a lot) with a daughter from the next litter. Basically hoping I get a nice tame daughterbaby.

- Keep Queef (dad) alone, I would risk keeping a son for him but I hear they tend to fight, is there a realistic chance of this happening? Queef is such a nice little dude I would hate to give him up, he lets me do anything.


Anything you guys can say to help I will appreciate and take into consideration, I might've forgotten a few (obvious) things/issues.

Hello Emmarose and welcome to the forum.
I'm afraid that I can't be much help but there are plenty who can. Catherine is a hamster breeder so I'm sure she will be able to help. Hopefully some one will be along soon who can.

Quoted from cibach

Hello Emmarose and welcome to the forum.
I'm afraid that I can't be much help but there are plenty who can. Catherine is a hamster breeder so I'm sure she will be able to help. Hopefully some one will be along soon who can.

Thanks
Wasn't expecting an immediate reply, I'll wait to see what everyone has to say. Np, I'll keep myself busy by watching the little ones bounce around

Welcome to the fourm! I can't help with the problem but those are really cute hampsters.

Hello Emmarose! I am sorry that I cannot help you; I don't know much about hamsters, but I am sure Catherine will get on here sooner or later and reply! Just wanted to welcome you to the fourm!

Hi. Welcome to here. I have no idea because I know nothing about them. I bet the hampster babies are cute.

Theirs no reason father won't get on with his sons but if they were from the second litter you would need to introduce them to him slowly, mother is probably nippy because she is pregnant plus to be honest you havent had them that long so she probably needs time to get used to you too.

The mother will be easier to keep with her daughter because she has been with them without seperation so in plain veiw that would be the more practicle option.

They should ideally be 3 - 4 weeks old before you split them from their mother so i would not seperate them yet.

You would of probably seen her be vicious because they tried to feed when she dident feel like it. I would be expecting babies imminently so make sure to have a clean of the cage while you still can. Provide mother with plenty of high protien foods - a little broccoli or tofu would be great for her.

Quoted from mollldoll

Theirs no reason father won't get on with his sons but if they were from the second litter you would need to introduce them to him slowly, mother is probably nippy because she is pregnant plus to be honest you havent had them that long so she probably needs time to get used to you too.

The mother will be easier to keep with her daughter because she has been with them without seperation so in plain veiw that would be the more practicle option.

They should ideally be 3 - 4 weeks old before you split them from their mother so i would not seperate them yet.

You would of probably seen her be vicious because they tried to feed when she dident feel like it. I would be expecting babies imminently so make sure to have a clean of the cage while you still can. Provide mother with plenty of high protien foods - a little broccoli or tofu would be great for her.

Hey, thanks for your post.

Ok I'll leave the babies in with the mother for now, and split the father up alone, will give me a chance to see how he does alone too. I'll make a neutral territory and put the dad and first babies in there once day (hopefully without bothering mom too much). Just to keep them acquainted, that'll help a bit right?

Ideally having dad and son would just thrill me to bits. I think I'll do that.

I changed the cage out yesterday, so it's clean for the new litter and she has time to get used to it and build a nest before they come. (Last time I cleaned the cage almost right before she gave birth and she was clearly unprepared because I had taken out all her nests (didn't know she was preggers)).

Yeah the babies have their own little house and the parents have the big box, but when the babies venture into the box the parents really don't appreciate it :p

I've been feeding them all a bunch of fresh stuff (not too much), they love it.

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

You mentioned something about the mom hammie being a little nippy and "untamed"? Well, I've done some work on that and if you do want her to become tame, you just have to get to know her a bit more. and try out this thread, it helped me alot   :

http://www.animalloversweb.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1206701485/

And about the father and son, most likely it would work out awesome but sometimes, just occasionally there might be some problems, so perhaps get ready to seperate if you have to.

So there are only two babies right? When youre able to tell the sex of each baby clearly, then you should decide whether you want to keep them with the mom. Right now, since they are still in quite some need of their mother, its best if you keep them with her first. But as soon as they're wean (3 weeks i think) then you need to take the boy baby out, because he is fully capable of mating with his mom. Which is really not what to you want.

My answers to your questions are basically:
1. Keep them with their mom until wean.
2. Keep mom (she can be easily tamed  ) or dad. OR BOTH! Really, its not so much of a problem to have two cages. It doesnt take that much time to clean, and when you think about it, you'll have double the fun!

I hope this was helpful and good luck!

Quoted from Hammielover8

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

You mentioned something about the mom hammie being a little nippy and "untamed"? Well, I've done some work on that and if you do want her to become tame, you just have to get to know her a bit more. and try out this thread, it helped me alot   :

http://www.animalloversweb.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1206701485/

And about the father and son, most likely it would work out awesome but sometimes, just occasionally there might be some problems, so perhaps get ready to seperate if you have to.

So there are only two babies right? When youre able to tell the sex of each baby clearly, then you should decide whether you want to keep them with the mom. Right now, since they are still in quite some need of their mother, its best if you keep them with her first. But as soon as they're wean (3 weeks i think) then you need to take the boy baby out, because he is fully capable of mating with his mom. Which is really not what to you want.

My answers to your questions are basically:
1. Keep them with their mom until wean.
2. Keep mom (she can be easily tamed  ) or dad. OR BOTH! Really, its not so much of a problem to have two cages. It doesnt take that much time to clean, and when you think about it, you'll have double the fun!

I hope this was helpful and good luck!

Well I live in a big place now, so I can manage two cages but I'm looking to move to a small apartment soon so I really don't want to be stuck with two cages and have them cramped in somewhere.

I will be trying those techniques to make her tame, I really think she's just too new and overly preggo to try anything, so I'll just leave her be for the moment.

I'm having a hard time estimating when she's going to deliver. I love watching the little ones bounce around, they're adorable.

Ok I just tried to see what the babies are, I !THINK!  there's one girl and one boy, but goddamn is it hard to tell!
I tried taking pictures but they also are very difficult to take, if anyone can help, please do. I'll be checking back every day when I put them in Dads cage, but it would be nice to know now :p

Heres some pictures, I know they suck, but if you downlaod and zoom in close enough you can see http://picasaweb.google.com/emmarosemc/HamsterbabiesBabies#

So are you just looking to keep one hammie? or is there a possible chance that you could keep both?

yea, if shes pregnant, that may explain why shes being so "untame" or aggressive.

Baby hammies are just the cutest arent they? not that full grown hammies arent, just that baby hamsters make you feel more involved with their lives, cuz they depend on you so much  

sorry, i couldnt really see the pic. it wouldnt open up for me. do you think you could post on on here instead?  

hammielover8 (or elena  )

Baby two looks like a male to me, baby one does look female though id not take my word for it - their hard to tell at that age - keep checking as in a weeks time it should be easier to tell. I spend allot of time sexing hamsters yet its still one of those things i think its best to be in person to tell.

Quoted from Hammielover8

So are you just looking to keep one hammie? or is there a possible chance that you could keep both?

yea, if shes pregnant, that may explain why shes being so "untame" or aggressive.

Baby hammies are just the cutest arent they? not that full grown hammies arent, just that baby hamsters make you feel more involved with their lives, cuz they depend on you so much  

sorry, i couldnt really see the pic. it wouldnt open up for me. do you think you could post on on here instead?  

hammielover8 (or elena  )

Im looking to keep two hamsters in one cage, without mating :p  So two of the same sex.
Full grown hammies stay cute, but just seeing the babies grow up is adorable, everyday they do something new and I'm all 'awwwwww'.

I'll retake some pictures one of these days and post em.

Another follow up question, when I'm out of the house I take the male out and put him in a separate cage, will I notice when she gives birth though?

its best to take him out and leave him out really, you might not notice when she gives birth as they are very quiet about it, do you remove him overnight?

Quoted from mollldoll

its best to take him out and leave him out really, you might not notice when she gives birth as they are very quiet about it, do you remove him overnight?

I only have him in with the rest if I'm right here next to them.

Welcome to the fourm! I can't help with the problem but those are really cute hampsters

Well, yeah, if you just supervise the time the male and female hamsters are together, and make sure that they dont mate, im sure its fine. OR you could put a wire mesh in the middle of your cage (the cage should be big so the hammies can have enough room) so that they can still smell each other. Catherine would be able to tell you some details on that  

Its really rare to notice when your hamster might give birth, and they usually prefer some privacy. But how would I know. Still, it'll be magical if you do happen to notice  

Wire mesh isn't really appropriate considering theirs babys, and remember where theirs a will theirs a way, of it's not secure at the top the hamster will climb and get through any gap possible. Mating with hamsters is veryfast - they can be done in around 5 seconds and keep trying after that to ensure he has got her, what I am saying is don't take your eye off him for a second lol

Well once she gives birth I'm not letting them anywhere near each other, but up til then I just feel bad for splitting them up. Dad seems very depressed to be completely alone He even bit me yesterday and peed on me (he has NEVER done this before). Also his gland is getting very dirty so I think he is having a hard time adjusting, poor thing

Sorry I have been watching my baby guinea pigs and neglecting my posts. Baby two looks male. Baby one is not so clear so try to post another picture. Do they look the same?

Pregnancy is usually 18-21 days. Her sons are not old enough to breed her yet, but she will be fertile right after giving birth. If the babies are 18 days they can manage without mom. Take the for sure male and put him in with dad. You can wait and see about the other one a little longer.

I can see how dad and son might work, but what will happen to mom and daughter(if it is a girl). The pet store might take the second litter of babies(and the older female baby), but they won't take the mom back. Females are nippy when they are giving birth, she should settle down and be better when she stops having litters. Can you find a friend to take the mom.

It is hard to spot when they give birth because it is so quick and they are so quiet. The babies only squeak after a few babies. They are red at birth. If they are not really red then they are not newly born, but possibly days older.

They are beautiful babies. You have done a good job of raising them.

Keep us posted.

If you are from England and have a pets at home with an adoption center you can take the mom there, they don't take baby animals unto the adoption part though. You would have to call them up and check they have space though, sometimes theirs a waiting list.

I spoke to the petstore the other week, they will take the babies (second litter) and which ever parents I decide to give up.

She still hasn't given birth. I will be putting the for sure male baby in with Dad soon, Mom seems to be getting very stressed out with both babies and she seems to be favoring one of them.

Dad gave me such a scare yesterday, he escape out of a mid-air hole in the lid of his cage (plastic bin) and I dropped food on the floor but he didnt come to it. Thought he'd fallen through the unfinished heating pipe holes, looked for him for over an hour when finally just thinking he was dead... and out popped his little head from across the room. Grrr!

Alrighty, first litter is 21 days old and looks like she had her second litter either last night or this morning. Gave her a treat to make her come out of the box and she was a lot skinnier so i shone a flashlight into the nest and yep, saw a little squiggly red. Dont know how many there is yet, probably not very many. Mom looks good, she didn't bite (for once, she really hurt me yesterday, probably starting to get very uncomfortable).

Moved the two babies in with dad to give mom a break (they can be pretty invasive space-wise. Dad doesn't seem to mind, actually seems a lot happier, I bet he was super bored, don't like having the 3 of them in the small bin but oh well Won't be long before the girl baby goes to her new home (if indeed it is a girl, it's still hard to see).


Edit: I saw 2 babies nothing else, 1 was moving for sure. Not sure if the second one is still alive, but it's a small litter again

Glad that things are going so well