Russian Dwarf Hamster Babys

Question
Ok my boyfriend purchased 2 dwarf hamsters for me they were together in a cage at the petstore and we were told they were of the same sex, i've had them a little over 2 months and imagine my surprise when i heard squeeking and thought they were having a little fight so i lifted their home and then lifted the stuffing to find 8 babies...now i cleaned the cage about a week and a 1/2 ago and there were no babies...the babies seem to be about an inch long their eyes aren't open yet and momma (Taz) took all the babies up to their wheel and dad (Bugs) lay on top of them while she collected them all to keep them warm, i'm very excited about the babies..but i was wondering how do u tell the difference between the sexes and should i remove Bugs (dad) from the cage, he seems so helpful and when i lift Bugs out to pet him and talk to him Taz (momma) gets anxious so i pick her up and she calms down..(they are very very sociable i handle them daily) i'm amazed i didn't notice the babies before, do they make any noise when born and if not then how old do they start making noise? sorry i'm rambling but these are my first babies and i want to care for them right....i love my hamsters.

thanks for any help

Answer
Hi Beverly,

To help you determine how old your babies are - At 5-7 days old, short fur will begin to emerge.  At 9-10 days, the babies are covered in the short fur.  At this time, the babies will begin wandering around the cage.  They're still blind, so if they bump into things, don't worry :)  At 14-16 days old, the babies are covered in fur, and the eyes open.  You can begin handling the babies for short periods of time.  Also, the cage should be cleaned at this time.  

With dwarf hamsters, the male should remain in the cage with the mother.  The male will help to take care of the babies and will not harm them.

At 3 weeks of age, the babies are fully weaned.  At this time, they should be placed in two separate cages - one for the males and one for the females.  Instead of trying to describe the difference between males and females, which can often sound vague and confusing, I've found a picture on a helpful website.  Here's the link:

http://www.hamsterhideout.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=10517

Good luck!

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.

Kelly