My Syrian(f) is biting me and fighting with my Syrian (m)after first time mating?

Question
Good Day and thank you.
My two Syrian Hamsters were let out of their cages to ply at the same time by my 8 yr old son on June 22 and were found mating.
Female is a Golden and Male is a Gray Teddy Bear.
Now she is biting me every chance she gets and she wasn't like this before. Why now? And she is fighting and biting Male when ever they are out together.Why? I keep them apart now but she has also started to bit apart my carpet and has moved all her bedding into her sleep area.Why? If she is pregnant what do i need to do to help her get ready for her first litter of babies?
Should I let the male near her if she is?
PLEASE HELP ME. What do I do?

Answer
Hi Zina

Thanks for your feedback and kind comments - one other thing you should know is that she may well be pregnant, but you may not end up with a litter.  Sometimes the female conceives, but reabsorbs/miscarries, in which case after 18 days there will be no sign of a litter and in theory she should be back to normal personality-wise.  Also, if she does produce a litter she might be very territorial and protective (I've been bitten once or twice by tame hamsters who thought I wanted to harm their babies) but again, once the babies are older and are leaving the nest and you get a chance to handle mum again, she should go back to her old self.  When handling her, don't keep her away from her litter for too long.  if the litter is large she may well enjoy a bit of quality time away from them when they are about 3 weeks old as they will be demanding, but always return her to her cage after about 10 minutes.

Good luck with this.

Regards
Sheila



Hi Zina

thanks for your question.  Firstly, Syrians must never be introduced to each other unless you are trying to mate them and even then they must be monitored closely as they can/will fight and this can turn very aggressive.

The female comes into season every 4th day, and on days when she isn't in season she can be incredibly aggressive towards males.  The fact that her personality has changed makes me think that she may well be pregnant.  When they are pregnant they can behave like this if a male gets near them.

I would advise making sure that she does not come into direct contact with the male.  I would also assume at this stage that she is pregnant.  In this case, there are a few things you can do.  Depending on what her cage is like, it is much less stressful all round if any litter is born out in the open or under a platform - this means removing any tubes or small houses inside the cage (I don't know if you can do this).  The last thing you want is a litter being born inside a tube or on another level as sometimes babies get separated and you could end up with a disaster.  If she is in a tubular cage you would need to find a way of blocking off any tubes to upper platforms etc. until the babies are 4 weeks old.  Also, if she has a wire wheel or a wheel with a drainage slit, this should be replaced with a solid wheel as babies can get trapped in the wire gaps.

If she is pregnant, she might keep relocating her nest, will probably start drinking more water, and when she is close to the date of giving birth if she stretches up the bars of the cage there will be a bulge on her hips.  Also, sometimes you can see her nipples.  When you clean her out, make sure you put any stored food back if it is clean as she will want to have plenty ready for her litter.  Do not over feed her right now, or give her milk products etc. as you don't want any unborn litter getting too large.  Once a litter is born, then you can give extra food, including baby food etc.

The usual gestation period is 16 -18 days. I tend to give the cage a clean around day 15, then I don't clean them out again until the babies are at least 2 weeks old.  This is because you don't want to do anything that will worry her otherwise she can abandon her litter or turn on them and in the first two weeks the babies are totally reliant on her.  You can always scoop out any soiled corners during this time if necessary.

Usually the birth of the litter is straightforward - it is important not to disturb her unless there is a problem.  She will remain in the nest with her babies and tuck them in if she leaves the nest at all.  When you know that she has a litter, drop food closeby so that she doesn't have to walk far in search of it.  Don't be tempted to look in the nest, or handle the babies as you don't want your scent on them.  Only touch them in an emergency - if one gets left out of the nest, in which case gently warm it in your hands before putting it back in the nest and gently place your hand on the others so that your scent is everywhere.

You can drop small pieces of bread, raw porridge oats, nuts and seeds around the nest, in addition to the usual hamster mix and a little fresh vegetable (avoid lettuce).  Also, if you buy a packet of powdered baby food (creamy porridge oats or similar) and mix a little with water, mum will like this when she is nursing the litter, and the babies will start eating this when they are about 2 weeks old and leaving the nest.

Once the litter starts leaving the nest it is OK to handle them.  try to handle them all the same amount of time (just a minute or two).  They will be jumpy and can fly out of your hands.  Make sure you make a fuss of mum too.  If you can, fit as many solid wheels as possible into the cage when they are 3 weeks old as they will all want to run in it.

At 4 weeks you must sex and separate out the boys.  Do not put them in with dad - he must not play any part in their up bringing.   A word of warning - Syrian litters can be as high as 14, so when they are about 2 weeks old you need to try and find homes for them, because when they are 5-6 weeks old they will all need a home of their own as they will start fighting.

If you go beyond the 18 days with no litter (double check the bedding when cleaning her out as the mum can bury them really deep) then she isn't pregnant.

i hope this helps you.

Regards
Sheila