My hamster and her babies

Question
My Syrian Hamster had her babies and their 19 days old and i
noticed today that one of the babies was licking the rear of
the mom and she frozed still. Like she did before her and the
father of the babies mated. Is this something sexual?? Thanks
if u can answer,im so confused.

Answer
Hi Elisa

Congratulations on your litter.

The mum does sometimes behave like this.  She might be slightly sexually aroused, although there is no way they will mate.  Sometimes the female raises her rear so that the babies can get under her to feed. I wouldn't worry about this.  The key thing is making sure that you remove any males from the cage when they are 4 weeks of age as they can become sexually active from that time and although they would be unlikely to mate with mum due to their small size, if the babies are well developed there is the danger they will mate with their sisters.  The girls can stay with mum for another couple of weeks after this, but from 6 weeks they will start fighting and will need a cage of their own.  The boys also can remain together until they are 6 weeks old or if they start fighting before then they will need to be separated.  Don't put the boys in with dad otherwise there will be serious fighting and injuries.

I hope this helps you.

Regards
Sheila