Hamsters are moving and curious pets. Many believe that these little animals are ideal for children, but this fact is misleading.
When you buy a hamster at a pet store, you can get a pregnant female. What if this happened? And also if the female gave birth to a hamster, how to care for the "heirs"? We will tell in the article.
How to determine pregnancy?
Hamsters, especially Syrian ones, are quite dense creatures. And to determine the pregnancy in a female is possible only when she is nearing completion. If the pet stands on its hind legs, then you can see its resemblance to a pear: the stomach is disproportionately large in comparison with the rest of the body.
How long does a pregnancy last?
About how hamsters give birth, a little later. It is necessary for the owner to be prepared for such a turn of events and to know what is happening with his pet. Now we will talk about the timing of gestation in hamsters.
Pregnancy lasts from 16 to 21 days. There are 6-8 babies in a litter. But hamsters are distinguished by their fertility, and the mother can give birth to 16-18 cubs.
Preparing the cell for childbirth
If the owner is sure that his pet is waiting for the addition, you must first take care of where and how the female will give birth. Maternity hospitals for hamsters have not yet been invented, and the owner will have to organize it on their own.
There is nothing complicated about it. Just need:
One-story cage with a retractable bottom.
Soft sawdust, which will fill the bottom.
Clean rags - they will go as a nest for the future mother.
Feeding trough and drinking bowl. They can be picked up from the old cage, after having been thoroughly washed.
The cell must be cleaned. First you need to process laundry soap not only the bottom, but also the top. Then wash the soap thoroughly, and boil the cage with boiling water. After which it is placed on a towel and allowed to drain water. Residual moisture is removed with paper towels. Wait for the cells to dry completely.
Now it can be installed in a warm place, where there are no drafts and no one can disturb the female mother. A thick layer of sawdust is poured onto the bottom of the cells. Rags for the nest are also placed here. You can put a wooden house in which the mother will take refuge from prying eyes.
They put a feeder, suspend a drinking bowl. Pre-wash them in the same way as the cell.
Time to give birth?
How to understand that a hamster gives birth? Experienced breeders say there are three signs of an approaching birth:
The pet refuses food.
The female is sluggish, her activity decreases.
The genitals are enlarged - this is noticeably with the naked eye.
Process has begun
It’s almost impossible to see how hamsters give birth. Females prefer to produce offspring late at night. But the owners are interested in how this happens, and they go to rather ingenious tricks. For example, they put surveillance cameras in a cage.
Spying on the giving birth to a female is, of course, an interesting question, but not related to the topic. Therefore, what is this process.
Firstly, the birth of the hamster is very fast. In two or three hours a whole brood of cubs is born. The second point is the very process of having babies. The female is squatting, twists and helps herself with her teeth during contractions. The intervals between the appearance of the babies are small: from 4 to 6 minutes. If there are many newborns, then they can be reduced to 2-3 minutes.
The mother releases the calves from the amniotic membrane, gnaws the umbilical cord and licks, pushing to the nipples. When there are too many descendants, the female simply does not have time to deal with everyone. Some of the babies die due to the fact that they did not free themselves from the amniotic membrane in time.
Number of cubs
How many hamsters gives birth to a hamster at a time? We have already said that we can talk about 18 cubs. There was a case when a female gave the owners 27 babies. And oddly enough, they all survived.
Is it worth it to intervene in the process?
So, the hamster gives birth. And what should the owner do?
If you manage to catch the process, just watch. The female copes on her own: successfully cuts the umbilical cord and frees the children from the amniotic membrane? Then the intervention of the owner is not required. If the owner sees that the babies are born very quickly, and their mother does not have time to help everyone, you will have to intervene.
Put on gloves, pick up a paper towel, wrap it around the baby. Gently tear the shell, and cut off the umbilical cord with nail scissors. Only you need to act very carefully. The female will protect the offspring, and it is possible that she will rush to the owner’s hand.
Kids born, what's next?
The female hamster gave birth. How to care for newborns? No way! They should not be touched. At least the next 10 days. That is why they clean the cage on the eve of childbirth - after them there will be no opportunity to clean the house.
How to care for a female?
It’s clear how hamsters give birth. Baby hamsters should not be touched. What to do with a young mommy? How to care for her?
First of all, the female needs peace and comfort. Do not disturb her. It is advisable to put the cage so that once again not to disturb the pet with its presence.
The only way the owner of his ward can help is the right diet. The nursing female completely changes the menu. More precisely, expand. Its basis is food for hamsters, but there are many supplements.
Young mother needs vitamins. She gets them from fruits and berries. Apples, pears, apricots, peaches, strawberries, raspberries and other goodies should be present in her diet according to the season.
You can’t forget about vegetables. Zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage, pumpkin will be an excellent addition to the diet of the female.
The young mother will not refuse greenery. Dill, parsley, lettuce - in the cold season. When warm, dandelion and nettle leaves will do.
Three times a week give boiled chicken breast without salt and spices. Be sure to have a hard boiled chicken on the menu. Low-fat cottage cheese and kefir will greatly benefit the pet.
And most importantly - the usual portion of dry food should be doubled. The process of lactation and the birth itself wear out the body of the pet. She loses much weight, and if poor nutrition, she is able to eat her own cubs.
Male sharing
How many times do hamsters give birth per year? Now it will be the most interesting: females are able to reproduce offspring on a monthly basis. That is 12 times a year.
Based on this, the answer to the question of whether to keep it with the male is negative. The female is ready for fertilization 24 hours after giving birth. And if it happens, nothing good will come of it. The fact is that she will have to not only bear new offspring, but also feed the previous one. This will weaken the body of the female, and she, being exhausted, is able to bite with today's babies. Yes, and dad does not disdain to eat cubs - cases of hamster cannibalism are widely known among breeders and lovers of these animals.
Birth complications
Through how many hamsters give birth, it is clear: they are able to do this every month. But you should not experiment. The female is a living creature, not a birth machine.
Speaking of the latter. During the process, complications may arise that the host should be aware of. He is not always able to help: there are difficulties that cannot be helped.
For example, toxicosis. If it began before childbirth, everything will end with the death of the babies and the mother herself. Offspring run the risk of dying before they are born. If the babies die inside the womb, the female will not be able to give birth. Have to do emergency cesarean.
As well as with prolonged labor. When the female is over a year old, do not knit her. The pelvic bones are no longer as elastic as before. And the animal is not able to give birth on its own.
Mastitis occurs in nursing individuals. The temperature rises, and the mammary glands become inflamed. A female cannot feed babies because of pain.
Endometritis is a very dangerous thing. This is an inflammation of the uterus, accompanied by bloody discharge. Normally, blood can "leak" for three days. But if the process is delayed, and the discharge becomes unpleasant, this indicates endometritis. Veterinary assistance needed.
Finding offspring with mother
How hamsters give birth, now readers know. And when should the baby be dragged from her mother?
In the first 14 days, small hamsters will not survive without a parent. You can’t touch them during this period. By the age of three weeks, babies switch to adult nutrition. But they stay with their mother for up to a month. Then they are jailed: brothers and sisters separately. At five weeks old, hamsters can become parents, and closely related inbreeding, coupled with an early age, works wonders, in the figurative sense of the word, of course.
First knit
Another main question: when is the first mating of hamsters carried out?
The female should be between 4 months and a year old. The male can be untied at the age of three months. Representatives of the male hamster are able to fertilize the female to old age.
Conclusion
How hamsters give birth is an essential question for those wishing to engage in the breeding of these animals. But before you realize your plan, you need to weigh everything. And the first thing that should bother a person is where he will put the litter. Distributing to friends is not always possible. And in the pet store, babies can be sold to reptiles for food. If you do not want such a fate for your pets and there are no wishing pens on them, it is better to refrain from breeding hamsters.