Newborn Hamster

Question
My friend's hamster just gave birth and died. We know that the mother is supposed to feed the babies for like 3 weeks or so but without her is there a way to feed the babies?

Answer
Hi Bryan

I'm really sorry to hear about your friend's hamster - this is a very sad situation.

Babies rely totally on their mum for the first 2 weeks of their life - after that they stand a good chance.  The key things with new borns is keeping them warm and fed every hour or two.  It is a major undertaking for someone and even with round the clock care there is a high possibility most or all will die.  Having said that, I know of someone who managed to hand rear some hamsters from a few days old - sadly only 2 survived from the litter but they went onto live full/normal lives.

Until the babies grow fur they must be kept warm.  You can do this by placing the cage on a heat pad - but you must be very careful there is a cloth or something to protect them and you must check the temperature.  If you place the cage on the heat pad without protection the babies can overheat as they are too small and weak to move away from it so care must be taken - if you don't have a heat pad, your vet might be able to assist.

Secondly they need feeding between 1 and 2 hours, 24 hours a day.  They need a special milk that they can digest (normal cows milk is no good).  If you phone your vet they should have a powdered milk that is specially designed for new born orphaned baby animals - see if they will let you have some of this and they can advise you with regard to dilution etc.  You also need a tiny pipette to get the milk into the babies - normal droppers will be far too big for their tiny mouths - a local chemist might sell these or again, ask your vet.

As each day passes you stand a much better chance of them surviving, but I think your friend must prepare themselves for the worst.  When you contact the vet to discuss they will probably advise euthanasia but the final decision is up to your friend - if they are able to dedicate the time and energy and your vet can provide you with the milk etc. then it may well be worth a try.

Assuming your friend is able to feed them and they start to gain weight, from about one week you can drop raw porridge oats and tiny pieces of bread into the nest, along with seeds as they will be developing teeth by then and will need to start chewing.  They should be able to eat these.  At two weeks (in theory) they will be leaving the nest although under circumstances this litter may be less well developed than other litters and their development might be a lot slower.  When they do start to leave the nest you can also feed them human baby food along with their normal food.  If you buy a packet of the powdered variety (creamy porridge oats is a favourite with hamsters) and mix a little with water and put it in a low dish or jam jar lid they will be able to eat this.  it is a good idea to feed this along with their normal hard food mix for about 6 weeks as it will help them gain weight.  Continue feeding the baby milk for the first two weeks or so - after that if they are capable of eating baby food, you could mix some of the milk in with this as well as feeding through the dropper but you won't have to feed them as often - you can space out the feeds until by 3 weeks you stop feeding milk. When they are 2 weeks old you can also give a small amount of fresh vegetable (avoid lettuce as it can cause diarrhoea) daily, boiled or scrambled egg, small pieces of cheese, nuts etc.

Normally at 4 weeks you would sex and separate out the boys but if there are any survivors and they are tiny then the likelihood of them mating at such a young age is remote and you might want to risk keeping them together for another week or two.  Tiny hamsters often get on a bit better if they are kept in pairs or groups - I often keep a tiny male in with his sisters or mum for a week or two after this and they seem to thrive better - but there is always a risk they will mate - so be careful.  

If you lived near me I would offer to help, but unfortunately you are thousands of miles away.  I do wish you and your friend luck if you decide to try to save the litter - please let me know how you get on feel free to get back in touch if you are worried about anything.

Regards
Sheila