Baby hamsters
about 10 days ago my hamster had her babies she has previously had 3 other litters, and the male has always been taken away but when i do this she tends to eat the babies around 3 days old. This time i decided to see wot would happen if i left dad in the cage with them and he has been really good when i go into the room he tends to be siting with them and doing everything apart from the feeding obviously is this normal for the father to take this role as iv heard that the dad can be nasty to the babies and kill them. Also when can we start to pick the babies up
Answers:Regarding picking the babies up, depends really on the mum and how she is with them when you are around, if she is nervous and runs around alot i would leave it as long as possible before handling the babies. Once the babies have their eyes open and are covered in fur it should be OK to handle them this is usually 12-15 days old. The male hamster does take care of the babies especially dwarf hamsters, he will even assist on the actual birth of the babies and clean them up and keep them warm until mum is ready to feed them. the only problem being that the mum can get pregnant again 24 hours after giving birth, so make sure she has plenty of fruit chopped up cucumber and apple and some boiled egg the babies will also eat these and this will help wean them.
Once the babies are born it is best not to leave them with their parents because neither of them can be trusted and kill thei rbabies.
it normal it just that your male hamster isnt nasty