[VictoriaB]

We recently got two baby hamsters as i missed having them since my other two passed away and someone was selling babies for 5 dollars each. She said they were 3 weeks old and they are super tiny. Is it normal for someone to let the babies go at 3 weeks old.

 

[Sasami]

Are these Syrian hamsters?

3-4 weeks is normal for weaning but I've always felt 4 weeks is better than 3. I feel like they benefit getting some extra time with mom and you can then be sure they're totally weaned.

 

[VictoriaB]

I don't believe so but i can take pictures of them.

 

[VictoriaB]

Here are a couple pictures of them. They were born June 6th.

Here is another one of their siblings from their litter.

 

[Elliriyanna]

they wean at 3-4 weeks they should NOT be seperated from each other. They should be sexed and seperated at 5 weeks and adopted out at 6 weeks. 3 weeks they should not be going to new homes.

 

[VictoriaB]

Is there anything we can do or is there a likely hood that they could die?

 

[Elliriyanna]

for now keep them all together that species will each need a 20 long cage when they are about 5 weeks. They can not lie together when they are older they will each need their own cage. They should make it but may suffer developmentally. give them fresh food twice weekly and boiled egg white every week to two weeks. also make sure they are on a good diet. I would start giving them a little hay and feed them a primary diet of Hazel Hamster and Mazuri pellets. This is what my Kodi gets ( sadi is a picky eater) and he is fine both are highly recommended food.


They are gorgeous. I will help you sex them. i raised a litter of 15 lol

 

[Sasami]

To be honest, I haven't seen any scientific evidence that suggests they won't develop correctly if separated at 4 weeks. I think it's great when breeders can keep them with mom for 4-5 weeks, though.

6 weeks is really pushing it IMO, the males can sometimes mature early and get mom pregnant at that age. So any males should at least be separated by 6 weeks.

 

[Elliriyanna]

I said they should be sexed and separated at 5 weeks. There is some evidence I found a while back. and separated at 3 weeks is different from 4 at 4 they are mostly weaned

 

[Sasami]

I said they should be sexed and separated at 5 weeks. There is some evidence I found a while back. and separated at 3 weeks is different from 4 at 4 they are mostly weaned

Then why adopt them out at 6 weeks instead of 5? I think I misunderstood your post, sorry.

 

[VictoriaB]

Sorry i didn't breed them incase anyone was wondering. We got them today from someone who apparently didn't know any better and neither did we as we have only had hamsters from the petstore and they are like atleast a couple months. From what i know they are both female but i will take pictures once they are a bit older as i am not really sure if you can fully tell at this age. If they start fighting at any time we have another cage as right now they are in a 30 gallon tank since i wasn't sure if they could break their little legs through the spaces.

 

[Elliriyanna]

I sexed mine at a week at this age its easy to people with a decent amount of small rodent experience. they should always have a solid floor and wheel. I highly recommend the Wodent wheel. Also cage size should be at least 360 sq inches floor space multiply length times width height needs to be high enough for the wheel.


Also rehome a week later so they have time with each other. and it gives you time to set up homes for the ones that dont have them. This isnt a neccessary step but they cant be with their mom safely past 5 weeks so why not same sex groups ? i'd imagine its hard losing their mom and siblings at the same time. There is no evidence to suggest this is helpful honestly but it cant hurt. ( though they should be caged seperately at the first sign of real fighting or when they reach 8 weeks)

 

[VictoriaB]

They both will have different cages as soon as fighting starts and they will both have big sized hamster cages. This isn't the first time i have had hamsters. I had many as did my siblings when we were younger but i have never had one's this young.

I have no plan's to rehome either of these two. The third picture of the hamster is another one of the hamster's from the same litter that the lady has who we got panda and Almond from.

 

[Elliriyanna]

Many think a small cage is fine so I always feel the need to warn about the cage size. and I was stating what the person who had the litter should have done

 

[VictoriaB]

oh ok. It would have been a bit easier if you said them and not made it sound like i was the breeder(my bad)

 

[Elliriyanna]

Oh I'm so sorry. No I dont think you are a breeder at all. I'm glad you took them in

 

[VictoriaB]

It's okay just a mis-understanding. No way i would never breed an animal in my life. I'm not a fan of people who do that. Sorry i may sound snippy but i am just really annoyed that she would let them go so young and that we actually took them in when they should still be with their mother. We are going to try everything we can to help them grow to be big healthy females. They are both female thankfully. Will they drink out of a water bottle at this age?

 

[Elliriyanna]

its not your fault. As for a water bottle they learn from their mom ... I would try it. But a shallow water dish is also a good idea

 

[VictoriaB]

We will try the water bottle and put it in with them plus a shallow water dish to make it easier for them. Im just glad we gave them a bit of lettuce and they finally ate something.

 

[Elliriyanna]

lettuce has almost no nutritional value. try spinach and broccoli ... pretty much anything dark green is good for them. I would also recommend ordering some mazuri pellets and hazel hamster. petsmart also carries them