Hamster Mom/Babies

Question
Sadly, my hamster died, it had babies about 3-4 weeks prior to her death...could any of this be the reason. Something to do with the babies?? She was active about 1 1/2 hrs before she died.

And about the babies...they now have no mother, and attacked one of the weaker ones...but that one is now doing fine...should i be concerned?? What should I do??
Hope you can help..Thank you

Answer
Hi Ashley -
I'm sorry for the loss of your mommy hamster. However, the good news is that the babies should be fine without her now.

I can not be sure of the reason for her death without further info (i.e. how old she was, was she showing signs of illness), and even then it will be hard to say.

However, if the hamsters are fighting, you should separate them. Hamsters can not live together very long at all, and will fight "to the death" if housed with one another after a certain age. I have experienced this personally, and it's not pretty!

This article is a wonderful reference on breeding and rearing babies, and it will give you more information on how to care for them:
http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/rearing_syrian_babies.htm

Good Luck!