accidental hamster litter URGENT

[H.Z]

Wow... I am shook...
Came back home after a week away just to be greeted by a naked hamster pup. How not fun.

I own 2 adult roborovski hamsters which I adopted from what could possibly have been a hoarding situation (11 hamsters in 1 cage). The previous owner separated them from the rest saying that one of them had been acting aggressively towards the rest. I only intended to get one of them but after checking I thought they were both males. The owner stated that they were a bonded pair of siblings.
I ended up separating them.
I don't know wether the babies are a result of inbreeding but chances are high that they are .

I don't know what to do. I know a lot about hamster keeping but very little about hamster breeding.
I don't even know how many little ones there are (too scared to lift up the hide cuz I don't wanna scare the mother).

What should I do next? Can I uncover the nest to check their wellbeing or is it better to leave them alone? By how much should I increase the mum's food intake? How much protein should I add to their diet? What should I remove/ add to their enclosure? Should I give up scater feeding for the time of raising pups?

Please help .

 

[Chatot5]

I would not uncover the nest, definitely leave her alone.
Some people remove the wheels because some moms take the babies in there.
I would make it easy for her to find food, and just keep offering a variety of food. Don’t overthink it. You probably want to avoid cleaning the cage for a little bit too.

 

[MangoTheLB]

Hi H.Z, I'd recommend leaving the mother with her babies. Keep the father separated in a different enclosure since he might want to kill the babies. DO NOT TOUCH the babies since if the mother were to pick up your scent on them she will unfortunately eat them. Try and remove anything that may harm the baby hamsters such as the wheel or any large toys.

 

[H.Z]

I would not uncover the nest, definitely leave her alone.
Some people remove the wheels because some moms take the babies in there.
I would make it easy for her to find food, and just keep offering a variety of food. Don’t overthink it. You probably want to avoid cleaning the cage for a little bit too.

Thanks a lot! I don't think I'm going to remove her wheel just yet because she's a super hyper hammy (I'm deffo gonna remove it once the babies open their eyes). It's hard not to overthink when I'm constantly worried that my mistake might cost the babies their lives. I'll try to chill out a bit though .

 

[H.Z]

Hi H.Z, I'd recommend leaving the mother with her babies. Keep the father separated in a different enclosure since he might want to kill the babies. DO NOT TOUCH the babies since if the mother were to pick up your scent on them she will unfortunately eat them. Try and remove anything that may harm the baby hamsters such as the wheel or any large toys.

Thanks! The mother has already been separated a couple of weeks ago because they started fighting. I've removed some toys as you suggested. I left the main hide (ceramic), a cardboard multi-chamber hide, a couple of cardboard tubes, a seagrass hide, chew toys, a birch log tunnel and a coconut shell dig box (empty).
I've also moved the food dish and water bottle as far from the nest as possible, so as not to disturb the mother while I'm changing their food/ water.

 

[Sparkles99]

I’d also contact your local SPCA or humane society. You’ll want to have a place that will vet the homes lined up for when they’re weaned. They can ask for & check licences, ID, how frequently they adopt, etc. You can’t. And they’re experienced at reading people.

 

[MangoTheLB]

That's great! I'd also recommend leaving some treats around for the mother since she'll require some extra nutrients such as calcium whilst nursing her babies. I'd suggest giving her small pieces of broccoli or hard boiled eggs.

 

[Sparkles99]

I agree. Extra protein should help. There may be lists of ideal ones on the internet.

 

[H.Z]

Thanks y'all for great advice. I'll update this thread with some photos of the ham fam once the babies start coming out of the nest .

 

[H.Z]

update: They're out! they're out! Thankfully the litter is small (2 or 3 babies). Can you spot them in the photos?

 

[Emma&pico]

Aww cute little babies

I was going to say I bred my hamsters when I was younger 13years old my mum was friends with a breeder and I use to take my hamster to shows my lighting won first place loads of times fudge second place

obviously babies are grown now but my female domino was super tame and I could check on babies she still come out for treats so while she was out I would check on babies Clean her nest out etc

loads of fresh veggies I just made sure her bowl of food veggies etc was full clean water just normal care

 

[Lady Jane]

3 Ways to Care for Newborn Hamsters - wikiHow

If you have baby hamsters on your hands — whether you bought them or bred them — taking care of them can be a lot of work. Even if the babies are with their mother, you must watch them carefully to make sure she's caring for them properly...

www.wikihow.com

 

[April]

Aww they're so tiny and precious.

 

[Spearmint]

Wishing you luck!