hamster help!

Question
hey uh my hamster are 13 days old they are leaving the nest. and i was wondering can i hold them. tomorrow they will be 14 days old soo can they are 14 days old on Thursday the 20th

Answer
Hi Priscilla

Yes you can start to handle them.  The mum will be a bit nervous and stressed initially as they start to leave the nest and she will be rushing around trying to get them back in, but after a day or two she will realize she can't control them.  At this time it is fine to handle them - be careful because they are very jumpy at this young age.  Also make a real fuss of the mum so that she doesn't get left out and jealous.

When handling, I usually sit on the floor with the cage or put it on the sofa beside me and always handle the hamsters close to the ground.  This is because they can fly out of your hands and you don't want them hurting themselves.  Try to give the same amount of handling time to all the babies, ideally a couple of times a day.  I usually only handle them at this young age for a minute or two at a time before returning them to their nest and their mum.  As they get older, increase the handling time and try to get them used to you picking them up so that they aren't jumpy.  A word of warning is that they do tend to pee a lot at this stage, especially if they are a bit nervous.  I tend to put an old towel on my lap and handle them on that to save getting soaked each time.

Regards