Cannibalism

Question
hi, this is dana again... before iasked if my hamster was pregant. SHE WAS lol. She had the babies about 11 to 12 days ago (it was night so im not really sure) but now hamsters keep disappering. we started with NINE  who were all alive but then about three or four days ago some hoamsters went missing. This morning there was 6 ACTIVE hamsters, however now there are five hamsters and one of them was pushed under a tunnel and the babies started eating it. What's going on? Please help me.
                         Thanks,
                                Dana
P.S. I never touched them or interfered with them in any way (should I?)  

Answer
Hi Dana,

Is your hamster younger than 4 months?  If so, she was too young to breed. (I realize it was an accident; it happens all the time in pet shops).  When a hamster is too young, she gets stressed, and she is not mentally or physically capable of caring for pups.  That is the biggest reason for cannibalizing her pups.  Also, she could be cannibalizing them to reduce the number of pups.  Hamsters do this to ensure survival for the others.  You're right not to touch the pups or the mother.  You shouldn't touch the babies until they are 14-16 days.  After this period of time, you can handle them for short intervals.  Here's a website which will further help you in the rearing of the babies:

http://www.petwebsite.com/syrianrearing.htm

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

Kelly