Baby Dwarf Hamsters
For those interested in breeding dwarf hamsters, a pregnant dwarf hamster will need a gestation period of 18 to 20 days before giving birth to a litter of one to ten babies with an average litter size of about five or six newborn. Breeding dwarf hamsters and raising dwarf hamster pups is both exciting and fun. Owners however should be well informed on how to do this, starting on how to take care of a pregnant dwarf hamster.
At least ten days after birth, the job of raising dwarf hamster pups should be left to hamster mother alone. The cage does not need to be change and the pups should not be touched. In about four days, the babies will start getting pigments and in seven days they will have fur. In ten days, they can already see things and they will start crawling and move around. In this phase they can be handled for short periods at a time. Carefully observe the mother during the handling of the babies because she might not be ready to share the burden of raising the dwarf hamster pups yet. The handlers should be cautious and exercise great care in handling the pups; they can be quite jumpy and run the risk of injuring themselves if they fall from your hands. Breeding dwarf hamsters require constant handling to make the pups tame as they grow older. In two weeks’ time, the pups are now ready for their first solid food. These babies must be given fresh and regular servings of oats or oatmeal, wheat germ and small birdseed. When they are three weeks older they can be already be offered lab blocks which can become their staple meal as they grow older. In order for them to grow faster and healthier it is advisable to feed them on small grains, maybe even slices of cucumbers or red apples. By the time they are ten days old they can already reach for the water bottle. Their mother will start to lessen her nursing as they become more able to eat on their own.
After four week, they are already fully weaned and ready to be transferred to their separate cages. If a male pup stays with the mother, this can result in a pregnant dwarf hamster who is at the same time nursing that male pup. In this situation the litters should be put in separate cages 18 to 20 days after the mother gives birth again to another set of litters. The pups should be separated by gender, male and female to prevent inbreeding.
