when can i touch my baby hamsters

Question
my dalmation hamster had babys on june 10 i am wondering how old do the babys need to be before they can be touched/held?

Answer
Hi Tasha,

Since your babies are now 16 days old, you can begin handling them for short periods of time.  Be very, very gentle with them, and hold them for only about a minute at a time.  Also, you can go ahead and clean the cage out and fill it with plenty of Aspen and Carefresh bedding.  (Avoid Pine and Cedar beddings, which are dangerous.  Also avoid Bed Fluff.)  And, scatter hamster food around the bottom of the cage, so that the babies can begin experimenting.  Also, lower the water bottle so the babies can reach it.

When the babies are 3 weeks old, then they are fully weaned and ready to be moved into a separate cage.  Let the babies stay in this separate cage for another 3 weeks.  Then, when the babies are 6 weeks old, you can give them away.  Since you have Syrian hamsters, each hamster will need his/her own cage when it's 6 weeks old.  (If Syrian hamsters are kept more than one per cage, they will fight violently.)

Good luck with your new arrivals!

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask :)

Kelly