hamster mum: bathing

Question
i have a hamster who recently just gave birth. I have left it alone till today, when i realised it is really dirty(milk stains everywhere, i have been giving her milk and water; not mixed. so i went and washed her. will it agitate her such that she will eat the babies? maybe due to the difference in smell? or will she cont to take care of the pups?
the pups are 2 days old and im careful not to touch them.
the mum had taken good care of the pups. (i have not seen her eat any pups). i dont know if i should put her back into the cage immediately or wait for a few hours.
please reply soon, tq

Answer
Hi Lun

You really ought to leave mum alone with her babies in these early days. Often there is blood etc. on the bedding which looks pretty horrid, but it is safer to leave it like that until the babies are older.  When babies are this tiny they need feeding every hour or two and also their body temperature drops rapidly and therefore it is vital that mum stays with them all the time and that their bedding is dry.  If you think any bedding is damp then you can give her more dry bedding.  I never clean out a cage of babies until they are at least 2 weeks old and leaving the nest - up until then they may start to smell slightly but changing the surroundings for a hamster who has given birth can be very upsetting and distressing.

Hopefully mum is back with the babies - in this case I suggest you leave well alone for another 12 days.  Drop food close to the nest for mum and she will put it in the nest for her babies - such as tiny pieces of bread, raw porridge oats, seeds etc.  Also make sure she has plenty of her usual dry hamster mix and a small amount of fresh vegetables.  You can give baby food - I usually buy the powdered type and mix a little with water.  When the babies are leaving the nest they can eat this too - it gives them a lot of nutrients.  I would avoid giving the babies milk (cows) as this can be indigestible for them.  

Once the babies start leaving the nest you can handle them - try and handle them all the same amount of time each day - just a few minutes each.  This will get them used to you - they may be jumpy in the early days but if you keep handling them they should calm down.  Always return them all to mum after a few minutes, and always handle mum too so that your scent is on her.  At 4 weeks you must sex and separate out the boys.   If these are Syrians, they will all need a cage of their own at 6 weeks otherwise they will fight (sometimes this can be horrendous).  If they are dwarf hamsters they can live in single sexed cages. If they start fighting or one is being bullied you will need to separate them - once separated you can't put them back in together.

Regarding bathing - you should only ever use water in emergencies when there is a medical reason to do so.  The best thing is to get a low level dish and buy some of the special 'chinchilla dust' from a pet shop.  If you fill the dish your hamster will roll around in this.  They love having dust baths but make sure you use the proper 'dust'.

I hope you get on OK.
Regards