How to Take Care of a Newborn Hamster
- 1). Clean your hamster's cage and make sure there is plenty of fresh nesting material available to the mother hamster prior to her giving birth; pieces of toilet paper work well.
- 2). Do not disturb the nest for at least ten days after the litter is born, if nest is disturbed, it can result in the mother getting nervous and "defending" her litter by actually killing and eating the baby hamster pups. Refrain from touching the pups; If a baby strays from the nest, it will find its own way back, or the mother will bring it back.
- 3). Make plenty of food and water available at all times; if the mother hamster senses that her litter is in danger of starvation or dehydration, she could kill her pups to save them from perishing from other causes. Feed mom and pups fresh grated fruits and vegetable in addition to dry hamster food; pups will start eating food after a week or two.
- 4). Place water at a low enough level for the baby pups to reach it by the time they are a week old.
- 5). Clean the hamster cage and replace the litter after the pups have reached 13 days of age, which is also around the same time that their eyes open. Handle the mother hamster first, so that her scent is on your hands before handling the pups. Use care handling the babies as they are still delicate; gently pick them up by the scruff of their neck when moving them to clean the cage.
- 6). Separate the male and female hamsters by the time that they are 4 to 5 weeks as they start to mate by the time they are 8 weeks old.
Source...