hamster babies

Question
my hamster had babies.They are now only a lil over a week old..At what age can you tell if they will be short or long haired..They are syrians..And any info on the babies would be a help i have done all the reasearch i can

Answer
Hi LeAnn

Congratulations on your litter!!  Assuming it was planned.

It is difficult to know if they will be long or short haired - often you don't know until they are a few weeks old.  At this young age you can usually see their eye color - if you can see their eyes even though they are closed, you know they will be black - if you can't see anything then they will be red/pink.  As they start to get a fluffy coat you can see if they will be one colored or banded.

I tend not to handle babies when they are this young.  This is because the mum can get nervous and babies are incredibly vulnerable for the first 2- 3 weeks and rely on her totally for food and warmth and if you upset mum she can turn on her babies.  Having said this, as soon as the babies start leaving the nest (around 2 weeks# it is good to start handling them then #and also make a real fuss of mum# so that they tame quickly.  Don't handle them for long,  however, just a few minutes at a time before returning them, and always try to handle each one the same amount of time otherwise you find you get some who are really tame and others who are really nervous.  They are incredibly jumpy and can fly out of your hands when they are 2-3 weeks old so it is always advisable to sit on the floor with the cage so that if they jump they won't fall too far and hurt themselves.

You can drop small pieces of bread, raw porridge oats and seeds close to the nest now - if mum has left the babies for a short while and she is comfortable with you could could gently open up the nest and drop a little food in it.  If you accidentally touch a baby you must gently place your hand on all of them so your scent is everywhere.  If mum gets nervous or aggressive then don't go near the nest.

I like to feed my nursing mums with baby food in addition to the usual hamster mix and a little fresh vegetables daily (avoid lettuce as this can cause diarrhea).  If you buy a packet of the powdered creamy porridge oats or similar and mix a little with water, mum will enjoy this.  When the babies leave the nest you can put some of this in a jam jar lid or very low dish and they will eat it too.  This gives them some extra nutrients and helps fatten them up a bit. AT around 3-4 weeks the babies can eat scrambled egg, small pieces of cheese, nuts etc along with the standard dry mix and fresh vegetables.

I never clean my hamsters out when there is a new litter - just remove any smelly corners if you need to.  When the babies are 3 weeks old you will need to start cleaning them out daily as #depending on the size of the litter# the cage will soil easily.  When you do this try and return any bedding that is clean so that their scent is still on it.  I tend not to disinfect the cage at all when there are babies.  

If you have space in the cage you will need to fit a few wheels - make sure they are the solid ones and not ones with drainage slits or bars as babies can get caught up in these and injure themselves. They will all want to run in the same wheel, but by fitting a few more this tends to avoid arguments.

Make sure their water bottle can be reached by the babies when they are leaving the nest - if necessary you may need to fit a second bottle, much lower than the other one and then raise it a little every day.  Do make sure the nest is away from the water supply so that it doesn't drain as you don't want any dampness/condensation etc. getting near the babies as this can make them sick.

At 4 weeks you must sex and separate out the boys.  The girls can stay with mum providing she is Ok and not too tired (it really depends on how big the litter is and how many girls are in the litter).  If she is tired, or the babies are hassling her I tend to remove mum at this stage - but if there is a real runt in the litter, regardless of its sex, I often leave them in with mum for another week or two so that they get to feed from her on their own and gain a bit more strength.  Whilst hamsters become sexually active from 4 weeks it would be very unlikely that a runt male would be able to mate with his mum.  At 5-6 weeks of age all the hamsters will need a home of their own as they will start fighting - gentle squabbles/play fighting will suddenly turn to be more aggressive with one sleeping alone, or being picked on - this is a definite sign to separate them.

I hope this helps you.  Sorry I can't answer your question about them being long or short haired but until they start growing their full coat it is difficult to know this. You will get a pretty good idea in a couple of weeks, however.

Any problems, please get back in touch.

Regards
Sheila