surprise babies

Question
Hey there,
I just bought two (I think) girl dwarf hamster littermates from a
local pet store last weekend, 9/2/06. I brought them to college
with me, thinking it would be great. They get along fine. But this
morning, I hear a lot of squeaking when they've been quiet, and
suddenly I've got 8 babies. I was not expecting them at all, never
having owned hamsters before. I had planned to clean the cage
today, because it's been a week, but now everything tells me not
to try. I don't want to leave such dirty bedding in for another two
weeks. I also don't know if I should leave the one that's not the
mother in the cage, because I'm not sure of the sex, even
though they're littermates. There's been no agression at all.
Help! What's your advice?
Thanks.  

Answer

    Take the other one out of the cage. That way the mother, or the other hamster won't eat the babies, you can change the cage at two weeks. Until them you have to leave it. Only handle the babies for as little time as possible when changing the cage. At five weeks you can give the hamsters away.


Thanks for writing