my dwarf hamster abandoned a baby

Question
i just adopted her a few weeks ago. i didnt know she was pregnant. they are about five days old. i wasnt home when she had them so im not sure. but they just started getting a darker colored skin but now she left one alone and hasnt bothered with it. what can i do if she decides not to take it back to the nest at all. my closest pet stored is closed so i cant get kitten milk but there is an open grocery market near. is there anything i can get from there that i can feed it? also i heard that you can cover it in flour or something to trick the mom. please help me.

Answer
Hi Alison,

The same thing happened to me.

I brought a 'male' Russian Campbell and a few days after i brought 'him' i found out it was a girl and she had one baby.

Unfortunately the baby died, i dont know why really as none of my hamsters since have had only one baby so i do not know if the baby may not have been able to keep itself warm when the mother wasnt there?  but the mother was very very young and i could have been she just didnt know what to do or couldnt produce milk, but she didnt eat the baby, it just died.  I removed the dead baby and the next morning she had bitten her way out of her plastic tank trying to find the baby - i felt so sorry for her because even though she didnt know how to look after it she tried all night to find it and in the morning she just stood in the middle of the floor looking up at me waiting for me to pick her up.  Since then she has always 'groomed' me when i pick her up, she licks my hand all over - maybe replaing the baby she lost.  I have never brought a hamster from that shop again!!

I still have 'Lilly', but she has never fully recovered from the birth so young, she is still only half the size of an adult Campbells and i dont think she will grow anymore, but she is the sweetest hamster i have!

Anyway, sorry to ramble on!!

Your babies seem to be doing fine if they reached that stage.  Can you see milk in their stomachs?  If you can then it means she is still feeding them.  If the one baby is still being left out gently rub a small spoon in a little bit of the hamster bedding and scoop the baby up - DO NOT TOUCH IT WITH YOUR HANDS - then put it on top of the nest - it will then probable wriggle its way into the nest or the mother might pick it up and put it in the nest.

This is very stressful for the young mother and you should leave her to look after them on her own - she seems like she is doing ok at the moment, but sometimes the worst does happen.  Please get back to me and let me know the latest news - it is sometimes possible to hand feed an baby but it is extremely difficult so please try to get the mother to feed them first.

Let me know and i can advise you more.

Tammy