One of my (supposedly) male hamsters has had babies - help!

life_and_forks

A couple of months ago I bought two Russian Dwarf hamsters - I was assured that they were both male and when the sales assistant was sexing them I took a look and they did seem like they had the same 'bits'. A couple of days ago I went to clean them out and found some babies ! I've been 'Googling' like crazy and it seems that the male can get the female pregnant again almost as soon as the babies are born. I have bought a second cage to separate mum and dad, took the one that I was sure was dad out and put him in the other cage - he was so stressed - burrowing in the corner where the nest had been, running in circles etc. we took 'him' out to have another look and were not sure we had picked the male after all so in a panic have put 'him' back in the original cage.

I just can't sex them - they both seem to look the same and I'm scared I'm going to take the mum out and leave the babies with dad. Both hamsters are acting the same - spending loads of time in the nest, coming out for food and water and then going back to the babies. They are not tame so it is very hard to catch, turn and sex them and I don't want to make it all really stressful for whichever one is mum as I don't want to risk her killing the babies.

Is there anyone here who has either had experience of an unplanned dwarf hamster mating, or has bred them, that can offer advice? I've seen loads of 'sexing' pictures on Google, but it is so hard to tell with a hamster that is wriggling and squirming and trying to get away. If I don't separate I will get more babies in a few weeks (if it is not too late already)- I'm panicking! Can anyone help?

quietheart

This happened to me years ago. I ended up with 17 hamsters within a month of having them. I took them all back to the pet shop. It was disgusting the dad was eating some babies and mating with others. It gave me nightmares.
I foolishly kept the 2 adults in separate cages. They both burrowed the whole time and eventually escaped. It all felt quite cruel and unnatural. I'd never have hamsters again.
Sorry I can't be more positive.

ljonski

Can you get someone to take a pic whilst your holding him/ her and post it on a hamster forum ?

krlyr

I have to say, the testicals are normally quite obvious in male hamsters! Here are two photos of Russian Dwarf, male and female, side by side - so even if the testicals aren't too noticable, the distance between all the 'bits' is another clue
http://hamsterhideout.com/forum/index.php?/topic/10517-how-to-tell-the-sex-of-my-hamster/

You might find your vet, or a vet nurse, able to help out if you took the lot of them in (in their cage, to minimise disruption), I certainly wouldn't ask the petshop for advice though!

Just another thought - was it literally a couple of months ago that you bought them? Their gestation period can be up to a month, so if you only bought them around 30 days ago, it could be possible that they're both females and came to you pregnant already. Possibly one, or even both - some animals have been known to 'pool' their litters when in a confined space, which could explain why both are going to the nest and why both look the same genital-wise.

life_and_forks

Thank you for the replies The link was very helpful and so we had another go at trying to sex them. After a several struggles (wow those dwarf hamsters may be tiny but they do put up a fight!), we think we managed to get the male separated from mum and babies. This one was a lot calmer about being away from the babies so I am hopeful we have sexed right.

I did pull on some gloves and have a very quick peep in the nest this mornng whilst mum was out getting some food and the babies were all there and looked healthy so I'm quite sure we have sexed right and that mum didn't get too stressed and eat them! Will leave them all be now until they leave the nest. I believe the babies were part and parcel of taking on these pets and feel responsible for them so will be keeping them - when they are a few weeks older I will take them to the vet to get them sexed and separate the boys and girls - don't want to chance this happening again! Krlyr - think you are right, I will give the pet shop a miss with regards to sexing them lol!

Thanks again, and sorry to read your post Quietheart. How sad

krlyr

If you feel it's best to rehome the babies (remember that you'll need to separate the males and females, you may not necessarily be able to integrate the males in with dad, and there's the possibility that with groups, individuals may fall out with each other in the future - so that could be a lot of cages you need!), you could find a local small animal rescue who'd likely help if you explained the situation. Try a hamster forum, your local RSPCA branch, or finding local private rescues

~Chameleon~

I'm guessing you bought them from Pets at Home?

You should never keep two males together anyway. They will fight. Russian hamsters are happier in natural pairs and in the wild they pair up for life. Obviously that's a problem for people who don't want them to breed

life_and_forks

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

I'm guessing you bought them from Pets at Home?

You wouldn't be too wrong with that guess!

gettingready

Oh dear.. had this ones but with guinea pigs.

Had 3 girls and went to get their food etc and there was that pure black GP in the shop - asked the owner if it was a girl, he said yes.

Took the black "girl" home and had 3 pregnant females and a very happy black boy soon after.

~Chameleon~

gettingready wrote: »

Oh dear.. had this ones but with guinea pigs.

Had 3 girls and went to get their food etc and there was that pure black GP in the shop - asked the owner if it was a girl, he said yes.

Took the black "girl" home and had 3 pregnant females and a very happy black boy soon after.

And male guinea pigs can start breeding from as little as 4 weeks so many often impregnate their mothers before the owners actually separate them :rotfl:

aileth

gettingready wrote: »

Oh dear.. had this ones but with guinea pigs.

Had 3 girls and went to get their food etc and there was that pure black GP in the shop - asked the owner if it was a girl, he said yes.

Took the black "girl" home and had 3 pregnant females and a very happy black boy soon after.

We had it with a guinea too! We were told it was male, we went on holiday for two weeks and left 'him' with a neighbour, came back with a bottle of nice liquer to give them to say thanks, find out 'he' had had a baby the day after we left and had died in childbirth with the other one! They had stayed up with 'him' as he went into labour and then buried him with a cross in their garden, and had then had to buy formula for the baby and handfeed it all hours of the day for the rest of the two weeks!

Needless to say my dad quickly nipped to the shop and got them a few more bottles of nice liquer :rotfl: