Albinism in Dwarf Hamsters

[Kiarra]

Are there any known genetic problems (beside eyesight problems) associated with Albinism is the Campbell's Russian Dwarf Hamsters? After fearing that my young ones would have no eyes and no teeth, I have since handled them (they're old enough now) and discovered that they are fine on that respect. However, their skin is in varying states of dryness, and they appear to be albino, as they lack a dorsal stripe, they have red eyes, and they are purely white. 6 of the 8 born to my little hamster are this way.

Is there anything that can be put on their skin to soften and moisturize it?

 

[OrkyBetta]

I would contact a vet. I don't know of anything safe for those small animals to lick off themselves. If you don't mnd your animals pooping a lot, you could try putting a little mineral oil on them (it's a laxative, but I find it is good for a thousand other things too.)

 

[Bloo]

Well I know you can get some enriched oils at the vets for cat's and dogs with skin problems. So yes, try them

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

No do not use anything on their skin, if you change their smell too much the mother hamster may reject them- are you feeding the mother hamster any mineral/vitamin supliments?
Dry skin is often a sign of malnutrition or dehydration in hamsters and if the mother isn't getting enough herself then this will affect the quality of her milk which the babys rely on and thus they become malnurished.

 

[OrkyBetta]

Oh the babies are still with their mothers? Didn't catch that. In tha case, wait until they are older and take them to the vet then. It's not life threatening.

 

[Kiarra]

There are no local vets I can take them to. The only one that specializes in hamsters is so bad that I wouldn't even trust them to trim the nails.

The mother is fed a hamster mix, plus she gets fresh foods most every night, like cheese and such. The babies are two weeks old.

I am now down to 6 of them, 4 of them albino, as the runt died overnight, and one has gone completely missing, and I'm assuming was eaten, but I can't find a single trace or so much as blood on the bedding.

 

[OrkyBetta]

Hmm, maybe try calling a vet? Even if they don't specialize in hamsters, they should have an idea of what to do.

Be careful with feeding cheese to your hamsters. A little is ok, but really the best foods are fruits, vegetables and grains.

 

[Kiarra]

Suddenly, she's killing them. I waited the requisite two weeks before touching them, and she's still killing them. 5 Albino dead, all with something obviously wrong with them the night before she decides to off them. Mostly that skin problem. I'm not certain if it has anything to do with me, but I'm backing off completely until they're weaned, and I can take the remaining three (1 Albino, 2 Agouti) away from her.

It's just not pleasant watching three little babies chewing on their little sibling.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Don't take the babys away from her even if she has eaten the others, their best chance is with her- they won't be weaned at 2weeks old and you will have to buy special hamster milk for which is hard to get and they are going to need very regular feeding intervals- you also need to keep their nest warm and all kinds of other things...
Once you separate them from her, she is never going to accept them again. Leave the dead babys in there, she will eat them or her other babys will but this is natural behavior for the situtation, she ate her own afterbirth when she gave birth and an stillborn babys when she gave birth and she will eat her dead babys too.

How much and for how long were you handling the babys and were you doing it when she was about and about and could see them?

If she's a first time mother, first time mothers often get malnourished especially if she is a petshop hamster as she most likely got pregnant soon as she was mature at 3-4weeks old- female hamsters should only be pregnated at 4months old after they have stopped growing because any sooner the mother can get stunted growth and often get malnourished.
When a female hamster gets malnourished anytime after she has given birth and is looking after her babys, she will cannibalise them because she can no longer provide them with the nutrition they need without herself getting sick/malnourished. First time mother hamsters also get very stressed at times when dealing with their first ever babys and if the babys were ill for whatever reasons this could have also pushed her over the edge.
There is little bottle of liquid hamster vitamins/minerals you should be able to get at your lps, buy it and start adding it to her water ASAP.

 

[Kiarra]

I know the importance of mother's milk in mammals. I'm Pre-Med.

At 21 days, I'm taking them away from her, but not a moment before. I think the remaining ones are 2 boys and one girl, anyway, so I'll have to separate the boys from their mother, anyway.

I didn't start touching them until they were 12 days old, like most everything I've read said to. Sometimes before her very eyes, but usually not. They were always placed back discretely within the nest, without a lot of fuss and trouble.

She's not a first-time mother. Unbeknownst to me when I bought her, she had been nursing some at the pet store where I got her, and then the stupid pet store employees took her away from her babies, even though I TOLD them I didn't want a nursing mother, I just wanted a female. I had thought the enlarged nipples were just because she was pregnant, but that theory was squashed when it was a full week before she had her babies.

I don't have the foggiest idea how old she is, but she's larger than the male-female pair I got at about 5 weeks of age.

I've been feeding her a very high-nutrition (especially protein) food mix, and she's been getting fresh food and vitamin supplements.

All 5 of the dead ones were Albino, with a minor skin problem. There is one Albino left, still with a minor skin problem. The 2 Agouti babies have no skin problem, and she hasn't killed them, even though I held them as much as I held the dead Albinos. I think there is something wrong with the Albinos, and that's why she's killing only them. But that's just a theory. I don't really know. I just know that she's killing them.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

You should try not to handle the babys in front of the mum because it will stress her out, when i had my baby hamsters the first thing i did when they were 12days old was give their house a very quick clean out- they had 2 houses and the mum simply moved her babys into the clean one after a day and then i did the other one.
When it came to handling the babys i only did it when they crawled out of the nest and the mum was inside the house, only then i did it for a couple of minutes before putting them back outside the nest door where they crawled back in.
It sounds like to me she killed them mainly because they were ill, its what would have happened in most cases in the wild and not your fault.

I wouldn't let this experience put you off breeding hamsters again as you appear to have the responsability to handle the experience, as much as hamsters make good pets for children and adults alike, they are very difficult to breed successfully.
If you want to do this again after the babys are full grown and rehomed, give the female hamster at least a 4month break to let her gain her full condition back as this will take her some time as raising baby hamsters takes alot out of them.
Hopefully after been given some time to get herself back together again she will be mature enough and strong enough to handle having babys again

 

[pnyklr3]

When I was about 15, I worked at an animal shelter. A man brought in 3 baby (eyes still closed) squirrels. The mother had probably pushed them out of the nest (so I was told). I woke up every few hours and fed them regularly, but they all died within a few days of eachother. I was told that I did nothing wrong, but that perhaps the mother new something was wrong with the babies, and decided not to raise them. I have no idea of the validity of this (they could have just been making a 15-year-old feel better).

 

[Kiarra]

I really hope it wasn't my fault. I'm positively sick with guilt over the whole thing, even though I suspect there was something wrong with them.

I'm just glad that any future babies from her won't share the same father, and will be conceived under my own roof, with proper nutrition from the very start, so that this kind of disaster will hopefully be prevented!

I think I'll get another chance at this whole thing soon enough, as I believe my other female is about a week pregnant, with a planned litter. I'm giving her all kinds of good food and vitamin supplements to give her and her babies the best chance they can, and avoid any of the problems that this litter suffered. I think I'll do the same thing concerning handling that you suggest.

I just hate this situation, especially since there is one Albino left, and I don't know whether it's going to make it or not. I really hope so, as it's so lovely...completely snow white. A very good sign is that the mother is obviously nursing the little one, even though there's still a minor skin condition present (it's just a little dry, but I'm offering lots of fresh, moist foods in case it's minor dehydration, for both mother and babies).

 

[OrkyBetta]

Don't blame yourself. Seriously. Maybe the babies had something wrong with them that you didn't know about. SOmetimes the mother will play god when she feels the babies have little chance. And some mothers just eat them, no matter how many things you do right.

 

[b.c.f.c]

im so sorry about the babys but i surpose its natures way,im just glad my hammy was such a great mom and all 11 survived.anyways as i said im so sorry for the loss and i hope the other 3 still make it threw.