From three weeks of age, baby hamsters can already be weaned to start receiving solid food. In some cases, due to circumstances of force majeure, they can be weaned even earlier. It will depend on each case.
In this article on our site we explain how to take care of a baby hamster and also some advice on how to proceed if you try to remove forward to pups that have not yet reached weaning age.
Everything you need to achieve the survival of these small rodents here, on our site, keep reading:
When to separate the mother from her offspring?
From three weeks little hamsters can and should be separated from their mothers, at most it could take a week more, because from five weeks of age hamsters are sexually mature, even when they have not reached their adult size, and there can be fights to the death as well as unwanted litters.
Feeding the little hamster
A three-week-old baby hamster can in principle be fed in the same way as an adult. However, it must be borne in mind that their incisors are not yet the size they will be as adults, much less their cheek pockets (the cheeks with elastic skin where they store food to transport it). For this reason, we must observe that if we provide the typical mixture of seeds that is already prepared, our pet may reject the larger ones in the first few days. As it is a dry food, which does not rot or spoil, it is always better to put too much food than too little and let the hamster hide it in his private pantry. But for hygiene reasons, we will always place the food in the same place, and if possible in a small container.
The hamster may nibble on the food container, and worse, swallow the fragments, which could result in death. For this reason, I personally do not like plastic feeders very much and I prefer to use a small metal or ceramic container. Not all hamsters bite your "furniture", although there are some, and it is better to prevent.
Hamsters need throughout their lives to supplement their diet based on seeds with fresh fruits and vegetables. When the hamster is not yet an adult, it may prefer these foods to the hard ones, but we should not let fresh vegetables be the bulk of its diet because they can cause diarrhea.
Also Hamsters are omnivores, in nature they eat some insects. There are complete mixtures for hamsters on the market that add a small dry meat croquette and avoid headaches. Although the usual thing is 100% vegetable mixtures, which tend to be somewhat low in protein for what is the nutritional requirement of a hamster The small portion of source substances animal can be provided with a dog biscuit from time to time, or with a little soft boiled egg.
Meat, both raw and cooked, is controversial among experts. Some indicate that it encourages cannibalism with the young, although in other cases it can avoid it. Hamsters also go crazy for fish. Find out how to prevent my hamster from eating its young on our site.
Something very important with fresh foods, especially those of animal origin, is to make sure that the hamster does not hide them, as they rot easily and hamsters are very prone to intestinal infections from raw foods. disrepair. These infections in hamsters are usually fatal even with treatment.
Then we have to watch and remove the remains of undried food that our little hamster may have hidden. We must also take extreme precautions and hygiene in the rare event that our hamster decides to place his pantry right in the corner that he had been using as a latrine.
In addition, the hamster must have clean and fresh water at all times, even if it is an animal that drinks little. The most comfortable way to avoid spills and concerns is to use a tube drinker, which slowly dispenses water on contact with the hamster's tongue. Make sure that the hamster does not leave the tube positioned in such a way that it cannot dispense the water and that air bubbles do not form that prevent the functioning of the drinker.
When a hamster opens a cage, as is logical, he may not find the water source at first. We must bring the tube of the drinker to the snout a few times a day in case it is very absent-minded and thirsty, after a few days it will no longer be necessary.
Young Hamster Care
In addition to food and drink, our little hamster will need material to build a bed or shelter The safest materials for this purpose are Pharmacy hydrophilic cotton or goat hair sold in some specialized establishments.
The hamster bites and molds the material until it forms a cave where it sleeps and takes refuge from the cold. But a very young hamster probably does not have that instinct well developed yet and it is best that we, with our fingers, create a kind of cave with a hole or a nest with the chosen material and try to make our hamster sleep in it, or covered for that material.
Hamsters should be at a temperature between 18 and 25 ºC, below 14 ºC they can go into hibernation as well as suffer from colds or pneumonia. In the case of hatchlings, the optimum environmental temperature is an even more important factor than in adults.
A hamster's cage must have a bed that will be renewed every few days, depending on the size of the cage, which will keep the floor dry. The materials to be used for this purpose are diverse, from hay to sawdust, although the most comfortable from my point of view is cat litter, which in addition to being absorbent is a little deodorant. Of course, we have to use the normal versions, not scented. In the hypothetical case of wanting to deodorize a hamster's cage, it should be done with suitable products, since hamsters are very sensitive animals and with multiple allergies
In our hamster's home there should be an exercise wheel, or some other toy to replace it. When buying the wheel or the cage that incorporates it, we must think about the size that the adult animal will have. The best ones are those that can be removed and put on and do not have a central axis, although they are made of plastic and we must make sure that our hamster does not want to eat them. Metal exercise wheels are often too small for adult hamsters other than the Russian, Chinese, or Siberian breeds, and many have a built-in hub that can be uncomfortable for the animal.
In any case, if we can offer our hamster long free walks around our house (Be careful if there are other pets!) or with a special sphere so that it does not hide under the furniture, the swing or exercise wheel could become expendable. We have to keep in mind that we should not overload the hamster's cage, and that there is no cage that is too big but there is one that is too small.
If you want more information about your hamster's residence, don't hesitate to visit how to prepare my hamster's cage step by step.
Caring for a very small hatchling
Mommy hamsters may abandon her young, even kill and eat them, for various reasons. One of them is because we manipulate the cage and stress the mother. It can also happen if the female leaves the cage and when she returns, for whatever reason, she does not recognize the litter
The best thing is to have the cage prepared in such a way that in the three weeks from the birth of the pups we only have to clean the latrine corner and place food very carefully. We should not touch the pups until they are self-sufficient because our smell could cause the rejection of the mother. We will try not to change the nest at that time so as not to stress the mother. In addition, we must bear in mind that the nest or bed must be much larger than usual, before giving birth the mother must have enough material to build it to her liking.
But no matter how much care one puts into the care of a mother hamster and her litter, sometimes the worst happens and we find that the mother kills her young. In these cases, if the babies are already 12 days old and already have a cap of hair similar to that of an adult hamster, not their first fluff, we can try to finish rearing the baby hamsters by hand, as it were.
It is essential that to achieve this the young have incisors, even if they are very small, and that they can suck food.
With the hamster babies separated prematurely we have to be especially careful that they do not catch cold and return them to the nest every so often, if necessary that we cannot ensure an adequate environmental temperature. A tip could be to place an electric mat just under the cage, separated by a towel, in this way we ensure that they receive adequate heat.
We will also watch for them to drink, bringing the drinker closer to their mouths every few hours. If you notice that they cannot drink directly, I advise you to get a syringe without a needle and offer them little drops little by little. It is essential to keep it hydrated. But the difference will be the diet, the important thing is that a baby hamster weaned before time can feed and survive.
Small hamsters should always have small caliber seeds on hand, for when they begin to eat solid food. We can select the smallest grains from the mixtures already prepared for hamsters and mix them with mixtures of seeds intended for birds. But very young specimens will feed especially on soft foods: bread soaked in milk (very important), some fruit and vegetables and chopped hard-boiled egg or a little cooked ham. You should also be very clear about the prohibited foods for the hamster.
As they are able to eat semi-solid foods, bread soaked in milk will gradually be removed, although not completely. Milk spoils easily and the same happens with hard-boiled eggs and cooked cold cuts. Pay attention to the hygiene of the cage.
The success with calves weaned before time is not guaranteed and depends a lot on the moment of weaning and the regularity of the care that we offer to the little ones. My first hamster was weaned at 17 days because the mother became aggressive and killed one of her siblings, and she was already eating small seeds from her compound food, it was not difficult to get her out and I was a girl.
Before breeding, find a home for the babies
Hamsters are animals that can have litters of up to 14 young, although litters of five to seven babies are normal.
If we intend to breed our hamsters, we must first have found good homes for all those that could be born. That is to say, it will be necessary to look for responsible people who wish to have one or more hamsters and are going to take good care of them, and explain to them that depending on how many are born and how many survive they could if there wasn't a little hamster for them. But it's better that way than finding yourself later with the problem of not having good homes for everyone.
In the event that we adopt a female hamster and she comes pregnant, surprise! The time to look for a responsible human family will be less, and the scare will possibly be anthological. This is how my first hamster came into my life, because a friend's hamster had come pregnant and they couldn't take care of all of them. And it was a wonderful experience, so much so that I have been the proud human mother and grandmother of many hamsters over many years.
If you liked this article and want to know much more about hamsters, don't hesitate to visit other articles on our site:
Heat stroke in hamsters - First aid - These small rodents are susceptible to heat stroke in the event of excessive temperatures or permanent contact with sunlight. Find out what the first aid is
Fruits and vegetables for hamsters - Very important to offer them a rich and varied diet. We will also inform you about the properties of each of the foods
Caring for a hamster's teeth - Fundamental to increasing their longevity and quality of life, we must take care of their teeth properly
Don't hesitate to comment if you have also experienced a similar situation or want to share photos of your hamster!
