All about newborn hamsters

Small rodents, to which can be attributed, and domestic hamsters - this is extremely prolific animals. Their puberty occurs quite early, already in the second month of life, and the offspring brought by the female can be very numerous for one offspring. It often happens that after buying one hamster, soon a whole flock of them appears in your house, since the female was pregnant at the time of purchase.

The birth of babies is a joyful and surprising event, but it often happens that the mother is not ready for the birth of babies and refuses to feed them. In this case, the care of the kids completely goes into the hands of man. What to do and how to cope with such a difficult mission, we will tell in this article.

In one litter, between 3 and 15 cubs can be born in a mature adult. It all depends on how well the female is provided with food, whether she is healthy, what kind of breed she is. Animals are born very small (only 2 or 3-5 grams in weight), while they have no fur at all, their eyes are closed and they see nothing, through the translucent thin skin, blood vessels are clearly visible, the kids have no hearing at this time - that is, they are absolutely helpless little creatures. The first 8-10 days of their life newborn hamsters can not navigate the world around them.

From the moment of birth, hamsters have a very weak physical activity; babies keep together to maintain heat, forming a single living lump. Congenital sense of smell helps them find their mother and find nutritious milk.. After a couple of weeks, the sense of smell in hamsters begins to sharpen more and more, which makes the kids touch and crawl to explore the territory of the nest and then the space behind the nest. By the end of the second week of life, crumbs begin to open their eyes, hearing is activated, the fur starts to make the way.

Hamsters literally from birth have the ability to make squeaking sounds. With such a signal, they inform their mother that it has become cold or hungry. This sound is not loud at first, you can not even hear it, but over time it can become piercing.

Often there were cases when the hamsters' hosts learned about the offspring only during the cage harvest or when the little ones themselves crawled out of their nest. At the age of 4-5 weeks, small hamsters can already be distributed to new owners. - by this time they are completely independent and can already begin to mate.

Young females, especially on their first litter, may not know what to do with newborn hamsters - this is because maternal instinct they have not yet fully formed. If you notice that the female does not show interest in her offspring during the first day, then the babies who turned 2 days can already be considered abandoned.

You will have to take care of the newborn hamsters completely. If there is an opportunity to add litter to another female, which has enough milk and maternal instinct is well developed - this will be the best way out of the situation, but it will work only if if you have not taken the babies in your hands and have not left your smell on their calves.

In order for the failed mother to not accidentally injure the babies or even eat them, the female and the pups need to be seated in different cages. Now it is very important for you to be patient and try to keep the whole offspring to the maximum. For the success of your actions, you can follow the following instructions.

• In a cage with newborns should be clean - it is necessary to wash the pallet, replace the litter, and also for the safety of the kids, all things should be removed from the cage - toys, objects with sharp edges and corners, containers with water.
• Babies should be put in a makeshift nest. - A box or a plastic bowl with small pieces of paper towels. It is possible to heat the crumbs with the help of small bottles with warm water, the backlight is made with ordinary fluorescent lamps. The optimum air temperature around the clock should not be below 21-22 degrees.
• Purchase a special dry substitute at the pet store milk for hamsters. If you cannot find it, then take a dry milk formula for newborns as a substitute. Dilute the composition with warm water according to the instructions, strictly observing the rules of hygiene.
• Feed babies need milk formula temperature no lower than 37 degrees, you should always wash your hands thoroughly before feeding.
• When feeding hamster take in hand drip next to him a drop of milk, bring his nose to this drop and give it to lick. You can make an improvised nipple - to do this, a hole is made in the rubber tip from the pipette using a thin hot needle, and then milk is poured from a syringe. The feeding interval for the first 7 days is 1 hour, the second 7 days is 2 hours.
• After the baby has eatenHe needs to gently stroke his tummy to improve digestion. So you need to do all the hamsters, and after each feeding.
• From the second week It is necessary to introduce additional supplements consisting of porridge cooked on crushed grains, and small pieces of vegetables. After the hamsters can open their eyes, feeding with milk can be reduced to 2-3 times a day.
• Upon reaching two weeks of age babies in their cage need to make a drinker with a spout, from which they can drink themselves if necessary. If hamsters can not use the drinker, then put them in a cage a piece of fresh cucumber or celery - eating it, hamsters can provide themselves with the necessary amount of moisture in the body.

For grown-up hamsters, if you left them to yourself, you need to continue to care for both adults. The main food of these animals is dry food. It should be cereal grains, chopped grass, dried fruits in small quantities, peeled sunflower seeds, pumpkins, nuts, pieces of fresh vegetables or fruits.

The daily diet for rodents should be made up of various components, but at the same time take into account that a hamster can eat only 1 or 2 tablespoons of food per day. If the food is not eaten, it should be removed to replace the next day with a fresh portion.

Weekly, you can enter a piece of boiled egg as a protein and vitamin-mineral complex in the diet.. An egg can be replaced with a teaspoon of yogurt or whole cow milk.If you make a balanced diet for you is difficult, in pet stores sold ready-made feed mixture, but the lure vegetables and fruits, they can not replace.

By two weeks of age, the female, as a rule, is already losing interest in her babies and can be taken into their hands without fear. If you cared for the crumbs instead of the mother from their very birth, then we can assume that your hamsters are already tame. In two weeks, the babies are already overgrown with fur, they see, hear, and run quite smartly on their little paws. Hamsters need to be picked up so that they get used to people and react to them adequately.

It is worth remembering that contact with a little hamster must be very careful - try not to cause him discomfort by squeezing or awkward movement. The bones of the baby are still very soft, fragile and, through carelessness, he can easily damage his foot or break his chest. The young hamster is very active and mobile - it can slip out of your hands and fall to the floor. To avoid this, be very careful.

At about the 20th day of life, hamsters can already use toys - climb the hill, run around the wheel, play with each other. Kids love to play with cardboard sleeves of paper towels or toilet paper, climb stairs, and also climb into small boxes.

To teach a young hamster to hands, you need patience, goodwill and act in stages.

• If you bought a hamster in a store, you need to give him a few days to get used to new conditions for him, this period is called adaptation. It is best to leave the baby alone and let him settle down in a calm atmosphere. When you notice that your pet is quietly eating and drinking from the drinker in your presence - this means that you can begin to tame it.
• Take a piece of nut or dried fruit, place it in your palm and bring it to the hamster so that he takes the treat. It is possible that he will take a treat at once, or it may be that the baby will not approach you. Then just leave the treat in his cage and stand back. Let the hamster calmly eat the proposed treat. If you do this regularly, he will soon realize that these gifts do not pose any threat to him and will feel more confident.
• When the hamster grows bolder, Stretch him a treat again in the palm of your hand and give the animal the opportunity to sniff your hand. Do not jerk it away and do not shout. Gradually, time after time, accustom the animal to your smell and encourage this action with a delicacy. After a few such sessions, the hamster gets used and already quite boldly climbs into your palm.
• Try to stretch the hamster empty hand - he will come to you, sniff and climb on the hand. Thank him with a treat and stroke the back. Now your little animal is not afraid of you and you can play with it.

In the process of learning a hamster, as befits a rodent, will want to try your hand to taste - do not be afraid of this and scream. A possible bite will be light, it is likely that the kid himself will be afraid of an unusual subject.

The safety rules for the care of hamsters are described in detail in the video below.