Another Introduction.

[Rynoah]

Well, after visiting with and handling my sister and niece's dwarf hamsters, I just couldn't resist. So I bought a Campbell's dwarf hamster last Saturday. She was a bit nippy at first, but then she began warming up to me.

And then she dropped a litter of three pups--apparently the result of an unknown pairing between herself and a cagemate at the pet shop (disturbingly, the salesperson informed me that she was the mother of all the hamsters in her cage, meaning these pups are inbred).

But ah well. She's adorable and such a joy to watch and hold. This is my first-ever rodent, so I'm a bit nervous about caring for her and the pups, but I've done a lot of homework and am at least somewhat confident that I won't screw up.

And to top off the long-winded story, here are a few photos of her (none of the pups yet; don't want to stress Mama-hamster):

 

[geo7x]

aaww shes adorable and such a nice colour! good luck with the babies, and you did the right thing by not disturbing them and her

 

[Rynoah]

aaww shes adorable and such a nice colour! good luck with the babies, and you did the right thing by not disturbing them and her

Thanks. She's a real sweetheart, and her color's what initially attracted me to her. Just hope some of the babies inherit it, though I wouldn't mind a light caramel one like their dad.

 

[jokester]

Very cool! I'm suprised she warmed up to you so quickly; hamsters can be very anti-social, even with their care givers Enjoy the pups!

 

[Rynoah]

She's quite fun, all small and fuzzy.

Here are some pictures of the pups. She went into her ball for a few minutes, so I could get a couple of shots without stressing her too much:

 

[tank212]

She's really pretty reminds me alot of mine but if those are inbreed I'd be really worried. They could suffer big time...

I didn't know if you were keeping the babies or not but I'd think it'd be best if you did. They might turn out to be healthy and have no problems hopefully.

 

[Rynoah]

I was planning to keep at least one, but unfortunately, they've all been claimed already. Fortunately for me, they'll be going to family members, so I'll be able to visit them. All the family members have been informed of the possibility of their inbred nature, so they're aware that problems could arise.

 

[Synirr]

Awww little babies
You can already tell that one is going to be dark

 

[Rynoah]

Yup, like its mama. The other two are turning out to be light gray; their fur is already starting to grow in. Now they're fuzzy squirmy things.

 

[tank212]

I'm sure they will be healthy but be sure you seperate them at or little bit before they reach the 5 week marker! Don't want any more inbred little ones!

 

[Kiarra]

Actually, by 5 weeks, it can already be too late. Hamsters can breed at 28 days.

Separate by sex at 21 days, keep them around your house for at least another week if not two, and then send them off to their own homes. They'll be bigger and stronger for it, and more tame if you're handling them regularly and patiently after they're two weeks old.

 

[moray]

She is very pretty, and babies are lovely, hope they are all ok. congrats.

 

[Rynoah]

Thanks indeed. They'll be separated into same-sex groups before they reach three weeks, since I've heard that's when they can start reproducing (and they'd be waaaaay too young to reproduce at that age, even if they were mature enough!), so it's all good. I've been doing a ton of research on rearing pups. Thanks for the advice!

And here are more pictures of them, just to show off their new pretty colors. Eyes aren't open yet, but it'll happen pretty soon, I think!

"What's that?"

"This place is so big! Where's my mama?"

"Hide! Hide!"

This is one of the caramel/fawn ones. Lookit that face!

And lookit this face!

Here they all are side-by-side. One of them doesn't fit in with the rest!

Oh, and the mama has been named Pandora, as she seems to have unleashed evils upon the world. I'm sure they'll grow up to be just as evil/cute as their mother.

 

[Kiarra]

You don't want to take them away from their mother any earlier than 18 days---they stop nursing usually about 18, are completely off their mother's milk by 21. That's why it's good to separate at 21---you can be pretty sure they're fully weaned.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Absolutely adorable hamsters and young !
Make sure the mother has a good diet particually because she is such a young mother, having pups can take a lot out of them- it would be more than worthwhile adding some hamser vitamin/mineral supliments to her water just to make sure the mother and young stay strong and healthy and develop healthy coat and strong bones .
De-shelled sunflower seeds make good baby hamster food while they are moving onto solids as they are soft, small and nutritious seeds- placing a small shallow bowl of water in the cage for them to drink from is also good while they are weaning off their mother .