My Dwarf hamster had babies around oct.16-20 and is fat again. what should i do?

Question
Hi Sheila,
I had gotten two hamsters, not really caring what sex as i knew getting it from a petstore if it was female it was probably pregnant anyway, i got home and noticed i had a boy and a girl, well i had to go on vacation on the 10th and i got back on the 20th and i had a friend here keeping care of all of my animals while i was gone, i noticed the day after i got back when i went to go get my female out she was very "edgy" and i noticed her hair around her nipples were wet. i looked in her igloo and there were 6 babies. i took the dad out right away. and put him in one of my old fisktanks, well momma ended up eating only two and now i have 4 left. havent really been able to sex them, finding it kindof difficult. and now being November 5th she is REALLY big again, i was wondering if i could take out 3 of the babies now and place them with the dad until they are about 5 weeks and then try sexing them again, for seperation, hopefully im sucessful then, and then when mom has the new babies taking the one last baby out and placing it with dad as well, im just worried about my momma girl and weather she will be okay, and wondering if i did do this with the older babies if they will be ok as well. they are eating food on there own and drinking on there own but i still am not sure if its ok, Please help.
Thanks a Bunch,
Echo

Answer
Hi Echo

I'm sorry to hear that you are becoming over-run with hamsters.  The fact is that dwarf hamsters will mate again the day the female gives birth and as she is at her most fertile then there is a strong possibility she will fall pregnant - it sounds as though this is what happened.

The usual gestation period for a dwarf is 18-21 days and you will be able to determine the rough age of her first litter when she gives birth to the second litter.  If she is very big right now I would think that she is getting ready to have the second litter.

Regarding the first litter - they need to be sexed and the boys removed when they are 4 weeks old. Prior to this age they are fine living together with mum.  The girls can remain with the mum. If you are unsure about sexing the best thing is to have a look at some of the photos/video on the Internet which might help.  Here are a few links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63SohHao5hA
http://www.hamsterific.com/HamsterUniversity/SexingHamsters.html
http://www.animalloversweb.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1199290713/

You shouldn't put the babies in with the dad.  Firstly, when you have separated out a dwarf it is quite difficult to re-introduce it (not impossible but it needs to be done very carefully).  Also, if there are any girls in with dad he will mate with them.
If you want the boys to live with the dad, then you can try and introduce them (when they are 4 weeks old) by putting the boys in a cage of their own and then swapping them over from their cage to their dad's and also mixing up their bedding.  Do this a few times a day for a couple of days.  Do not let the boys come face to face with the dad at all during this process.  You are trying to mix up their scent so that they start to recognize each other but if they come face to face they will fight so it is important you don't let them meet. Then find neutral territory - such as a dry bath - put the plug in so they can't fall down the plughole - or you could use a washing up bowl.  Then put them in together.  Watch them all the time.  If there is any aggression towards the dad, then remove them immediately.  If this happens you will have to leave the dad living on his own.  If after 5-10 minutes they seem fine together you can try putting them in one of the cages.  Before you do this I suggest you wash out the cage thoroughly and then place some of their 'mixed' bedding back in.  Watch them all the time.  Any sign of fighting you must separate them.  It is important to keep a close watch on them for the next week or two to make sure none is being bullied or attacked.  Sometimes dwarf hamsters will live happily together, other times they won't. I've ended up with loads of single caged dwarf hamsters because of this.  There are sometimes minor squabbles, but if they turn into anything more than this or if the squabbles become more frequent you must separate them. Once you separate fighting hamsters you can never re-introduce them.

Regarding litter 2 - at 4 weeks of age sex and separate out the boys.  The girls from both litters can stay with mum providing they don't fight.  If the cage is small you will have to get them a bigger cage.  The reason why mum sometimes kills her young is if she feels there won't be enough food or space for the litter.  This is a natural instinct for her so to prevent this from happening it is important to make sure there is plenty of room and food.

If you weren't planning on having loads of hamster cages I suggest you go back to the pet shop and tell them - either they might let you have a cage or two, or they may agree to re-home some of the hamsters for you. It is worth asking them.

I hope you get on OK.

Regards