Baby ham - WORRIED!

Question
Hi Sheila, baby's eyes opened last night and he seemed quite lively. Today however, he seems a little sleepy, wandering but then tucks himself under something and seems to go to sleep. Mom didn't seem concerned but eventually got him back to the nest. Is this normal behaviour. When he would find a piece of apple or kale, he would squeak very loud and excitedly yesterday, but not today. I've never had a baby hamster. He is still with mom in the nest and he shows interest in other foods but I don't know, I'm a little concerned. He's 11 days old, how do I know if mom is caring for him properly?? They are in the same area of the cage, which is quite a large nest with tunnels. I have put a little jar lid with barley baby food and a bit of skim milk mixed in, is it okay if he eats it too? Sorry...just a bit worried. if something is wrong, how would I take over care???

Answer
Hi

Babies can be a bit of a worry - most times they are fine, but there is always the chance that they haven't developed properly or mum  hasn't looked after them well.

At this stage he needs his mum, although as each day passes he will need her less, so don't take him away from her unless she shows aggression towards him.  Even if she is neglecting him it is still much better for them to be together and he has a much better chance of survival.  I've had mums who don't seem to want to raise their litter, but most times the litter turns out fine. The fact that yours are in the same nest together is really encouraging.  I've also had a litter where I had to move the whole nest into a larger cage and the mum went crazy and two babies ended up dead - at this young age they need her not only for food, but also for body warmth.  So going near a baby at this age is a difficult decision and something that really should only be done in an emergency.

It sounds as though everything is fine - sometimes mums do ignore their babies but providing they sleep with them, usually all is well.  If mum is Ok with you going near and handling her, will she let you touch her baby?  If she is stressed, then leave well alone and you might just have to trust nature to try and get the baby through the next few days.  Once the baby reaches 2 weeks of age it is OK to handle him, in fact you need to start regularly handling him any time after that so that he becomes tame - also handle mum and make a real fuss of her. Baby should be able to eat all the same food as mum and baby food is fine for him.  You can also give him some seeds, small pieces of bread, scrambled egg, raw porridge oats etc. but avoid giving lettuce as this can cause diarrhea.  

If mum is becoming laid back and you feel that she won't mind you picking her and her baby up then you could try feeding him. You need a tiny pipette/dropper because his mouth will be small but you could try giving watered down baby food - this way he won't be dehydrating or starving.  If you do this, give mum some too - the important thing is not putting any different smells on the baby that mum might react to.  Also, make sure you warm the baby in your hands before returning him to the nest.  Make sure that the water bottle in their cage is low enough for him to reach - if necessary you will need to fit a second bottle.  I often tape one really low down in the inside of a cage and raise it every day or two - just make sure that the bottle doesn't drain into bedding.

How is mum generally?  Is she bright and behaving normally?  If she is not, or if you can handle her then it would be worth just having a look at her belly.  Sometimes hamsters develop mastitis and therefore it is painful for them to feed their babies.  Therefore the babies don't gain weight, don't get the right nourishment and mum can ignore them.  This isn't that common, but it is always worth investigating as an option if there is a problem.  Whilst her nipples should be slightly raised right now, they should not be obviously swollen or bleeding etc.  If they are then she needs antibiotics and she would need taking away from baby - but this is an extreme situation, so it is unlikely to be this.

Without seeing these hamsters it is difficult to know if there is a problem and really the decision about intervening is up to you.  As long as the baby has got access to water, is eating something and mum is sleeping with him and not getting aggressive towards him I would be tempted just to monitor the situation over the next few days and leave well alone.  If he starts sleeping out of the nest, if mum is aggressive towards him or clearly ignoring him, if he doesn't appear to be gaining any body weight and his energy is clearly depleted, then if you can intervene and give fluids etc.this would probably be the best option and you probably have little to lose by doing this.  

Sorry I can't give you a definite answer as to what to do.  I hope this helps, however.  Please let me know how you get on.

Regards
Sheila