HAMSTER BABIES ASAP HELP!!

Question
QUESTION: Hi Elle. I'm kinda in a disturbed mood. My hamster just had unexpected babies yesterday. She ate all but two healthy ones. I woke up this morning to see mom dead and the two still squirming around. Without their mother, I need to know how to feed them, how to care for them, basically everything about caring for a baby hamster without the mom. If you could just tell me how to keep them alive I'd be so grateful. I don't want to see another hamster die. The clock is ticking for these babies please get back to me ASAP.

Thanks

ANSWER: Hi Elle,

    Hand rearing babies under 7 days old is nearly impossible and the survival rate is very slim.
    The babies will need to be fed two drops of kittens replacement milk every hour, 24 hours a day until they start to eat on their own (which is when they are about 7-10 days old), then you can reduce the milk to every 3 hours. After every feeding, the babies will need to be stimulated. This is done by gently rubbing their tummy and moving down towards their bottom until they relieve themselves.
    The babies can not maintain body heat so it is best to put a heating pad(on the lowest setting possible) under the part of the cage where the babies sleep.
    When the babies start to eat on their own, It will be best to put the food dish close to the nest (even put some food in their nest). The water bottle should be close to them and low enough for them to reach. You may have to show them where the water bottle is a few times. Watch to make sure they are drinking.
    Foods to feed are the smaller pieces out of the hamster food mix, bits of apple, carrots and hard boiled egg.
    This is a very challenging task and I wish you the best of luck.
    If you have anymore questions or wouldn't mind giving me an update on how they are doing, please write again.

Thank you for writing.

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

QUESTION: Thanks for getting back to me. So you mean I cannot even sleep? I mean every hour? Well the pet shop said they have a mom mouse and they said they can see if she'll take care of them. Do you think this would be a bad idea? Also, on one of the hamsters, the umbilical cord is still attached. Is this normal? Please write back. Do you think I should take them to the pet shop?  

Answer
Hi Elle,

    Yes, every hour. It wouldn't hurt to try with the mouse. A Mom hamster would be better. No, the umbilical cord is usually chewed off by the Mom, but it should dry up and fall off. The babies would probably have a better chance of surviving at the pet shop.

Thank you for writing and best of luck!