hi, I have 2 questions. First,...

Question
hi, I have 2 questions. First, how old do baby hamsters have to be to be seperated from the mom? second, My hamster has a really big, red swollen toe. It's really weird. It looks like it was bleeding and its HUGE! Do you think she just hurt it on her cage? Should I put antibiotics on it?
    thanx for your help!
         -Alexa

Answer
Hi Alexa,

(I'm assuming you're talking about Syrian (Teddy Bear) hamsters.)  The babies may be separated from their mother at 3 weeks of age.  For another 2-3 weeks, the babies should be kept in 2 separate cages: one for the males and one for the females.  After this time, they'll each need their own separate cages.

As for your other question, I'm not sure what happened to your hamster's toe.  She may have gotten it caught in rungs in her cage.  Also, check her wheel.  It needs to be a solid surface.  If it is a wire wheel, simply thread plain typing paper through the rungs to make it safer.  When you have a wire wheel, their feet can slip off the rungs and they can injure themselves.  You can put antibiotics on it to prevent infection.

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

Kelly