My baby hamster has no mom. How do I care for it to help it survive?

You'll need to set up a baby safe cage. A basic cage (preferably one without fancy tubes and tunnels), paper towels, Pet-safe bedding (NOT sawdust), Hamster muesli, Fresh vegetables (carrot or cucumber being better choices for babies), and a water bottle. Keep this all warm with a hot water bottle wrapped in two thicknesses of towel or a heating pad underneath only half the cage, that way if it gets too hot they can move away from it. From 1-14 days old hourly feeds with kitten formula are required. Pups get dehydrated in a matter of hours so not feeding them hourly could kill them. It is a very time-consuming task hand feeding pups.You have to take it slow. Any hurry or forceful feeding can lead to milk being inhaled into the lungs and causing death within the minute. Gently hold the pup in your hand being careful not to squeeze them tightly. Using a pipette or eyedropper full of milk, place it near the pups mouth. They are not used to being fed this way so resistance is natural.

Other hamsters in the environment can harm and bite babies, so it is best to make sure mom and babies have an entire cage to themselves. If mom isn't caring for the babies even after a reduction in stress and removal of cagemates, there could be something wrong with her or the babies, and a vet visit may help check for illness. You may also need to begin to supplement feed the babies with a KMR formula if they aren't getting enough from mom. Hamster babies mature very quickly, so lots of care is needed to help them pull through. Looking up "hand rearing hamsters" may point you to some useful links about how much to feed, how often, and the right environment for care.

Thanks for reaching out about your hamsters and including photos. First, continue to look for the mother. Kitten or cow's milk is not the same as hamster milk and quite possibly will lead to diarrhea in the babies. Hamster milk is typically very concentrated so using a mixture of goat's milk and condensed milk might work. Try offering finely chopped vegetables, placing them in the mouth and monitor for ability to chew. This will be difficult. Good luck.

Thank you for using Boop by Petco! It is important that you do not disturb Snow, as even a small amount of stress can cause her to neglect or even canibalize her pups. If this is her first litter, she may be a little confused and not necessarily know what to do. I recommend moistening her food a little bit with water and placing it closer to the nest, without disturbing it. This will provide her with some extra hydration. This moist food should be changed daily to avoid mold from growing in the cage. The pups should start eating food on their own by the time they are about 3 weeks old, and can be removed from the cage at this time. I hope this helps!

Typically no, the mama hamster will not harm her babies. To be sure, keep a close eye on her in the first few days after giving birth. Make sure she is nursing her babies and that she has plenty of food and water to drink. If you become concerned that she will hurt the babies or if she is not feeding them, then you will need to separate them from her to keep her safe. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Boop by Petco. Best of luck.

There is very little you can do. This is the reason hamsters have so many babies. There will always be a few runts and it is quite possible that they will either not be healthy (with congenital deficiencies) or not strong enough to fight their way to the nipples. Mama will take care of them as she sees fit, and if they are not ok she will either eat them or abandon them to ensure that the other strong ones have a good chance of survival. So while it is sad if some die due to being weak or very small, it ensures that the others will have a better chance to live. Do not disturb the nest much, as stress can also cause the mother to kill babies. If the house with the nest has a lid you can gently lift the lid once a day to visually check the little ones and remove a dead one, if it occurs. Otherwise leave them be as much as possible in order not to cause stress.

Hello. Thank you for using Pet Coach. 1. Make sure she has a high quality diet. You can also add in some other good foods to increase her energy like spinach, boiled egg white, nuts and grains like quinoa. The mother may not want to get up and move around so put food and water close to her so she doesn't have to get up. 2. Don't touch the babies. Wait until they have plenty of fur, their eyes are open, they’re eating solid food and they getting around well on their own. 3. If there is a male hamster in the enclosure with them move him IMMEDIATELY or she will get pregnant again right away. They can make a new litter every 3 weeks!! 4. Keep the area around them calm and quiet. 5. At 5 weeks of age you will need to separate the babies into males and females and house them separately or you will end up with more babies. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Thanks for reaching out about your mice. This is probably not the best idea. First there is no commercially available milk replacer for mice. Mice are not cats or dogs, and therefore those milk replacers are not applicable to mice and will likely lead to abnormal intestinal bacterial proliferation and questionable digestions, and death. Secondly, the mother could reject the remainder of the mice. Recommendations would include allowing mother to raise the babies, but once the babies' eyes are open and eating some solids, the start handling them to acclimate them to your touch, smell, etc. Good luck.

If you choose to care for them, your primary goal will be to keep them warm, stimulate their bowels / urinary tract, and feed them up to every 2-3 hours at first. The use of a blanket and heating pads may be required for warmth. If you do not have a heating pad, I would recommend going out to obtain one in the morning. As for stimulation, you need to rub their bellies and behinds to get them to go to the bathroom after each time they eat. As for feedings, you will need to obtain kitten milk replacer and a bottle. The kittens should be fed in an upright position as to avoid aspiration of the liquid. It is a tiring job and they still may not make it, so do not take it personally if things do not work out. You can certainly try to keep the kitten with mom if you think she isn't going to hurt them, but I would monitor them extremely carefully. If there is any indication of aggression remove them entirely. Hope this helps.

Keep him warm and supplement him with a 50/50 solution owater and evaporated milk. You can use an eye dropper to offer milk every 2 hours around the clock for the first 5-7 days after which you can feed every 4 hours. Guinea pig pups should nurse from the mother for the first few days of life. Unfortunately, many pups who do not get mom's milk in the first 3 to 4 days of life do not survive. You can also soak guinea pig pellets in water and offer those to eat. Normally, pups will begin to nibble solid foods at day 2 but should get milk until weaned at 21 days of age.