baby dwarf hamsters w/out a mother

Question
Hi, like my subject says my mother dwarf hamster got out of her cage
today and the left her seven 11 day old pups. We are feeding them New
born kitten milk. They are doing well but I would like to know what I
should do to keep them going. They should open there eyes soon and
adventure from the nest what kind of things should I do?
We are trying to find the mother now. Is there anything I can do to
find her?
And we were told by many ppl that we CAN'T put the male pups with there
father at 5-6 wks. Is this true? Will he attact or will he enjoy having
them in the cage?


Answer
hi jess,

first of babies and pregnancy in hamsters isnt really my field but ill have bash at your question anyway :)

ok here goes, as far as what to do when they open their eyes and start to roam. this should be fine for first couple of weeks after, make sure they are well fed, watered and are kept warm. you will however need to find out wether they are male or female as hamsters can breed after 6-8 weeks, not only this but they can breed every month of the year so you not only will you have your hamsters children, but by the end of the year her great great great grandchildren as well!!. once you have done this, keep a very close eye on them and seperate if fighting happens. they should be fine for next 3-4 weeks. once you have passed this stage its entirely up to you what you want to do with the new hamsters.

to locate a lost hamster, put food in a corner of every room and close the doors. after one night or two, look at the food to see which has been taken/eaten and you will know which room shes in. once you know, its just a case of looking, and look everywhere, including the backs of sofas as these are good places to build nests. you could also go to the pet shop and simply pick up a small animal humane trap, instructions will come with these.

in reguards to the reintroducing the father to the pups, hhmmm, i would put them in bar cages next close to each other first to see how dad reacts. however i do know that they can sometimes be put back togther but only when mum is still around, so chances are yes he will attact the pups in the absence of the mother.

well i hope ive been of some help, if not you should ask a another expert who specialises in breeding and pups. but thank you for asking me and best of luck with this, also great job in helping the babies survive.

joanne :)