hamsters diying

Question
QUESTION: Hi my name ia april and i have 5 baby boys and 2 girl hamsters. well i was getting ready for bed tonight and i checked on the hamsters and i was at the cage for the boys and i seen that there were 2 boys laying on top of each other. i moved one of them and it looked like it was dead. well one of them was. the other 4 looks like one is gasping for air. 2 are moveing around but draging thier hind legs. and the other is just sitting there moving some but not much and it looks like he aint moving on his back legs much. we put the mamma in with them  to see what she will do but nothing so we put her back in her cage. These are our frist liter of hamsters we got them for our son. They are 5 weeks as of July 8, 2007. just dont know what to do we are attacthed to them. got on line to see if i could find anything. if u could send me a email on what to do it would make me feel more at ease. we dont want nothing happing to these babies. so if u could help thank you.

ANSWER: Hi April

Sorry to hear that your hamsters are dying.

First question:  are the girls OK - is it just the boys who are dying?  

Are their cages side by side?  Do they have the same type of cage - does it have bars, or is it a plastic tubular cage?  Where is their cage situated - is it in a damp room/garage?

I'm assuming you separated them from their mum at 4 weeks - before they were separated were there any problems?  Putting mum back in with them will not help the situation and may make things worse.

By the sounds of things, from what you have already told me, they have all come into contact with the same thing that is making them ill.  The illness that springs to mind is known as Aspergillosis.  This is a fungus.  Fungal spores can grow in the cage in decaying vegetable matter and urine/faeces and these are released into the air and can be inhaled by the hamster.  The main symptoms for a hamster suffering from this are: respiratory problems, difficulty in breathing, sitting hunched or not wanting to move, lethargy.   Unfortunately there is little that can be done.  Occasionally they can be treated with antibiotics, but sadly the success rate isn't very good.

In case it is this condition, I would strongly advise you moving the girls cage away from that area immediately as these fungal spores can travel.  I would also suggest getting a vet appointment - while they may not be able to help they may feel it necessary to prescribe antibiotics for the girls to make sure they haven't come into contact with it.  Your vet may decide to put the boys to sleep.

This is a very sad situation, and I am hoping that your vet will be able to help and advise you on this.  The sooner you can get an appointment with your vet the better.  I would suggest taking the girls into see him too (but keep the cages far apart when you are travelling there).

Please let me know how you get on.

Regards
Sheila


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hey this is april again. just check on the last boy hamster and he is now dead too. just thought that u wanted to know since u gave me some advice. and the girls are still doing fine. they are up and playing around. do u know any web sites that i can look on to find more infomation. or just anything i could read one them maybe getting sick or whatever. me and my husband are thinking about putting the dad back in with the mom and trying this thing again. we are to give family members some of the babies and cant do that now. so like any info or web sites on careing for babies the feeding them after seperation from mom, what to feed them. if there are any vitimans we are to give to them. just anything would help. and thanks alot.

Answer
Hi April

Sorry to hear the other boys didn't make it. I'm afraid I don't know of any websites that give specific information on mating, however, you might find the following information helpful:

First of all, if you are thinking of re-using their cage I would suggest you soak it in pet disinfectant for a week or two. If you fill it with water and disinfectant, then change this every couple of days.  Wash thoroughly before re-using.

If there is any chance that they did die from fungal spores - check the area where the cage was situated to make sure it is safe so that this doesn't happen again.  Also, it is important to remove any uneaten vegetables daily, and remove any wet/soiled bedding/woodchippings on a daily basis to prevent any fungus forming.  They shouldn't have plastic houses (it is better to buy more natural toys/houses - a lot of are made from wood, or they love coconut shells) as these attract condensation.

What type of hamsters are these?  Are they Syrian or Russian?  

My suggestion is that you don't mate again for a while - if you mate too soon, the mother won't have recovered from having the previous litter and any babies will therefore be smaller/weaker.  Make sure the mum is healthy - I always feed my babies and their mother human baby food!  If you can buy the powdered varieties (mine prefer the Creamy Oat Porridge one that is designed for babies aged 4-6 months).  Mix a small amount with water and put this in a dish for them every day for a couple of weeks.  You should feed this in addition to their usual hamster food and greens.  This will give them plenty of nutrients.  Don't feed them this indefinitely as they will get fat, but now and again is OK.

When you decide to mate your male and female again, don't over-feed her - just give her whatever you'd normally give her until she gives birth to her litter.  As soon as she has given birth, start her again on the baby food.  When the babies are a couple of weeks old and they're leaving the nest they'll eat this too.  Also, when the babies are about a week old, start dropping small pieces of food into their nest: bread, raw porridge oats, seeds etc.

If these are Russians and you leave the male in with the mum, they will mate again the day she gives birth.

At 4 weeks, sex and separate the boys from the girls.  The girls can stay with the mum. If they are Russians, then they can stay with her indefinitely unless they fight.  If they are Syrians, then they will need their own cages when they reach 5-6 weeks old, at which time they are ready for re-homing.

Hope this helps.

Regards
Sheila