Hamsters have a short life cycle, generally living between 1 and 3 years, and can have on average up to 12 babies at a time. The number of pups in a litter depends on several criteria: age of parentsthe reproduction period and especially the hope of the hamster
How many babies do hamsters make?
Depending on the breed of your hamster, if your female is pregnant, she will give birth to a litter of young as indicated in this table:
| Species | Number of babies in a litter |
|---|---|
| Russian Hamster | from 4 to 6 babies |
| Syrian Hamster / Golden | from 5 to 12 babies |
| Hamster Roborovski | about 6 babies |
| Campbell's Hamster | from 4 to 6 babies |
| Chinese Hamster | from 4 to 6 babies |
When to separate baby hamsters from their mother?
The separation between the baby hamsters and their mother is important. If you don't separate them at the right time, the mother can become increasingly aggressive towards them.
Don't take this as malice on the part of the female, it's a natural behavior that's easy to explain. In the wild, once weaning is complete wild hamsters females leave their nest to find another, leaving their young to fend for themselves.
| Species | Weaning |
|---|---|
| Russian Hamster | between 18 and 28 days |
| Syrian Hamster / Golden | between 21 and 35 days |
| Hamster Roborovski | between 20 and 25 days |
| Campbell's Hamster | between 18 and 28 days |
| Chinese Hamster | between 21 and 25 days |
In captivity, hamsters try to reproduce exactly the same behavior: the mother will try to stay away from her young after the weaning period. If you leave them in a single cageThey'll fight until some of them die.
You will have understood that after a period (called weaning), you will have to separate the little hamsters from their mother. What is this period? Here it is, it depends on the breed:
Having baby hamsters is a responsibility, including separating the young from the female and buying a second or third cage for your hamsters.
When you separate them, you will need to know what is the sex of the hamstersIf you don't, you will quickly find yourself with a new litter of babies!
How to take care of baby hamsters?
What should be done after the birth of a baby hamster? The answer is simple: nothing! Their mother takes care of everything. Many novice hamster owners wonder how to take care of their babies when they are so tender and helpless: leave it to Mother Nature, their mother vs. provide for all their needs during the first month.
During the first 15 days: do not touch the pups, let the mother take care of them. If you touch them in the first hours, the mother could smell a foreign odor on the skin of her babies and kill them. Again, don't think of this as cruelty, just avoid human intervention in a process in which he should not be involved. Just watch for 15 days, except for adding water and food. food !
Some baby hamsters, the weakest or smallest ones, may die, this is a natural process that you should not interfere with.