Instructions
Week One
Place the cage in a quiet corner where it won't be disturbed. Keeping the mother calm is essential during the first two weeks.
Do not handle the babies. Not only are they are extremely fragile and could be injured, you could affect their scent. If the mother does not recognize the baby's scent, she might abandon it or eat it.
Provide the mother dwarf hamster with plenty of food and water daily. This should be the only time you disturb the cage.
If the cage is really dirty, scoop out the soiled portions and replace it with fresh. You might wish to first remove the mother temporarily (see step 6).
If a pup leaves the nest, wait for the mother to retrieve it or for it to find its own way back. Trying to put it back into the nest could cause the mother to feel threatened and defend it, which could lead to harm to the babies.
If you need to check on the babies, and you can do it without touching the nest, remove the mother from the cage first. Place a special treat in a box and allow the mother to enter the box on its own. Then remove the box and inspect the babies. Replace the mother without disturbing anything else.
Start looking for potential homes for the babies. The babies won't be ready until they are 28 days old, but it is a good idea to have homes lined up.
Week Two
Lower the water bottle or provide a water bottle that is just slightly above the bedding for the babies. Do not provide a bowl of water or the babies might drown in it or catch a chill from being wet. The babies will probably not use the water bottle until their eyes open, which occurs between days 11 and 14.
Provide solid food for the babies. "Baby" hamster food can include oats; oatmeal; wheat germ; cucumbers; hard-boiled or scrambled eggs; cooked vegetables such as broccoli, corn, asparagus, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, peas and zucchini; cottage cheese; fresh fruit including apple (no seeds), banana, blueberries, cherries, grapes, cantaloupe, kiwi, peaches and pears; and Cheerios. Avoid citrus fruits, eggplant, iceberg lettuce, onions, mushrooms, potatoes and tomatoes. Fruits and vegetables are important because they will provide fluids and prevent dehydration until the babies learn to use the water bottle.
After day 10, you can begin holding the babies for short periods. Wait until they have opened their eyes and are moving around the cage. Hold them over a towel-lined storage tub or something that will give them a soft landing should they get out of your hands.
Take your cues from the mother during this time. If she seems stressed by your actions, wait a day or two before trying again.
Toward the end of the week (day 13 or 14), clean the cage as you normally would.
Week Three
Prepare two additional cages for the babies. When the babies are about 21 days old, you will need to separate them by sex and place them into two separate cages. This will help finish the weaning process and prevent inbreeding.
Around day 21, sex the babies. Hold the baby hamster on its back in your palm and place your thumb and forefinger under its front legs or chin. Use your other hand to move any hair around the rear end of the hamster. Look for two openings on the underside of the hamster. For a female, the openings are close together. For a male, they will be far apart. Males might show signs of a scent gland, a stained yellow area where the navel would be, and have testicles.
Place the babies into sex-separated cages around day 21. You can start providing them with regular hamster food in addition to baby food.
Continue handling the babies on a regular basis to tame them. It is much easier to find homes for tame hamsters than wild ones.
Clean all of the cages at least once a week--more often if there are a number of babies in the same cage.
On day 28, provide safe homes for the babies with responsible owners, if desired.
How to Take Care of Baby Russian Dwarf Hamsters
Caring for baby dwarf hamsters requires preparation and restraint. For the first week, caring for the babies focuses on keeping the mother happy and healthy. Once the babies start toddling around, it can becomes a balancing act between keeping the cage clean and providing both mother and babies what they need.