Crazy Hamster mom

Question
Hi -
My Syrian hamster just had babies on the 26th of May. I wasn't sure she was pregnant, so I left her in her small "first home". It's two floors and has a wheel and a chewing toy. Because the cage is so small will the mother get irratated by her babies and eat them? Late at night she seems like she wants to get out, but her babies are only a few days old. Is it too soon to let mom out and have her play in her ball? I heard her babies squeeking and she ignored them and kept running in her wheel and climbing in her cage. Also, should I buy a new cage and try to make them all relocate? She has about 6-8 babies. I'm afraid the cage is too small and also once the babies start moving around they might escape or get caught in the bars. Can they climb in their first 10 days of life? I've been reading up as much as i can but feel like I don't know enough. The last thing I want to do is find out she ate all of her babies. Please tell me what I should do!

Answer
Hi Sarah,

Frist the wheel needs to be removed from the cage if possible. If it can't then try blocking it so the mother can't get to it. The cage should be fine for now. It is too early to move the babies and mother into a different cage. When the babies get to be 2 weeks old it is safe to touch them and hold them for a short period of time. This is when you can move them to a bigger cage. I suggest a 10 gallon fish tank with a mesh lid, these are great and the mother nor the babies can escape.( Do not place the tank by a window) Also the mother needs high protien foods such as hard boiled egg and bread soaked in milk. In my experience, the mothers like the hard boiled egg best. You can also dice up carrots. When the babies are 10-14 days old they will start to wonder around the cage and will start eating the smaller bits of hamster food, hard boiled egg and diced carrots. When the babies are 3 weeks old they need to be seperated from the mother and females in one cage and males in another. It is very important that the babies or the nest are not touched until they reach 2 weeks old.
At this time I also have baby hamsters, 15 of them and they are a joy to watch as they grow and change.
If you have anymore questions please feel free to write again.

Thank you for your question and best of luck to you and your new bundles of joy!