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Breeding hamsters can be a highly rewarding experience, but is important to remember than these little creatures need to be treated with care and love, to ensure that they develop to be strong, healthy, and happy.
The first thing to know is that after being born, baby hamsters, like all babies, need time to be nurtured by their mother. During the first 2 to 3 weeks you should not touch the babies, and you should leave the mother in peace to care for them. Check on them regularly to ensure that the mother has plenty of food, water, and bedding, but otherwise do not disturb them.
If you have to clean the cage during this period, be sure not to separate the mother from her babies. Also, when handling them, be sure not to do so for too long, as this can cause your scent to rub off on the babies, meaning that the mother may no longer recognise and care for them.
After a couple of weeks you will find that the hamsters begin to walk around on their own, and will also begin to feed themselves. Therefore it is important to make sure that they have plenty of food, and remember to lower their water bottle so that they can reach it easily.
At this time, you can begin to handle your hamsters, but do so with great care, and only for short periods. If at all possible, keep them in or very near to their cage, so that their mother can see they haven’t gone far. Again, you should keep contact to a minimum to make sure the mother doesn’t disown them.
Over time you should gradually build up the amount of time that you handle your hamsters. You will notice that the mother naturally becomes less attached to them, as they become more mature and better able to fend for themselves. It is at this stage that you can begin to sell your hamsters, if that’s what you bred them for, or you can separate them into different cages so that they can begin to live their lives.
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Source by Paul G Watkins
