parent eating baby hamsters

Question
We have two Chinese Dwarf hamsters, one male and one female. She just gave birth two days ago (surprise!) To our horror, the dad ate one of the babies. We immediately bought a separate cage for him, but then the mother ate a baby! She seems to be doing o.k. now- nursing, etc. Should we expect her to eat any more of the babies? Can we put the dad back in with them? If so, how soon? Also, how will we know when they are ready to give away? When will they get hair? Thank you so much for your help. Laura Deen

Answer
Congrats on being a granny!! You should keep the male seperated until the pups are able to be away from their mother. That is 21-28 days after birth. Give the mother a week by herself to rest. Once you put them back breeding will begin. You should always take the male out a few hours before giving birth. Hamsters are cannibals and will eat their young. Females will eat their young if there is not enough food, if you stress her out and she feels she is in danger, or if she feels she can not handle all of the babies born, she will kill the weakest one first so there is no telling if she will eat another one or not. Do not touch the babies or disturb them. Let mommy take care of everything. Provide her with food and water and leave her be and she will be fine. Give her lots of privacy and she will be the best mother ever!! They will get hair in three to five days. It's so cute to watch them grow up! They are so tiny and cute and I love them!! Good luck with them and keep me posted :-)