baby hamsters died

Question
My Hamster gave birth to 9 babies. They were all perfectly healthy and happy for about a week. They even got their fur. Then one morning i noticed one of the babies looked greasy. I kept an eye on it and about an hour later it died. Then three became greasy, and died within an hour. The mother became frantic and separated the greasy ones, but still tried to keep them alive. Finally when she was down to 3 babies, she killed the 2 that became greasy to try and save the last one, however, they all died. Once that happened, she refused to eat and became depressed and wouldnt move. She died as well too. I dont understand what happened and i was hoping you could tell me. They were perfectly normal, fuzzy, and happy before they got greasy and died within an hour. I hope you can let me know what happened. It was horrible to lose a total of 10 hamsters to this horrible ordeal. thank you.
Tara

Answer
I'm honestly not sure, this question is probably best answered by a vet.  It could be a lot of things. If this was her first litter, she may have had complications that you could not prevent. When breeding hamsters, it's always best to clean the cage as soon as they start to move around.  Hopefully you were using carefresh or aspen bedding to prevent respiratory infections. I'm not sure what the greasiness could be, especially if they died within an hour. (Sometimes, hamsters' fur will appear greasy if they are not able to groom themselves.  Providing chincilla sand for them to bathe in will usually clear this up.) You may have simply had a sickly litter to begin with, especially if the hamster has pregnant when you got her.  She may have been inbreed.  In the future, you may consider taking them to the vet even though in most cases it is best not to disturb the nest.

However, I am very sorry for your loss.  Try giving an exotic vet a call to see if they can give any insight into what happened.  Also, be sure to completely sterilize the cage as well as any food/water dishes and toys before putting another hamster in the cage as whatever they had may have been contagious.
~Lauren