Roborovski hamster babies

Question
My daughter's roborovski hamster gave birth on the 18th July (2007), they are 13 days old today, and have come out of the nest and are walking on their own, with their eyes almost completely open. When, and how, can i hold the babies? Also, the mother pushed them onto their backs when they were walking, then it looked like she was sniffing their tummies and faces, what does this mean? Thankyou.

Answer
Dear Trudy,
thank you for your question.
You can start to handle the babies now, but not for very long and you must be careful that they don't jump off your hand, they will just run over and jump off any edge around that age. Just form a cave with both hands, place it over the hamster and gently bring your fingers together under it.
The mother was probably just checking on the babies, maybe cleaning them. She will also lick their tummies to make them poop.
You will need to separate the males from the females when the babies are 28 days old, they will be able to breed at the age of a month. Here are pictures that show how to sex hamsters:
http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/sexing_hamsters.htm
I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer