More Hamster talk

So far so good! Babies are six days old now and none of them have been eaten... by their mother anyway :sidestep:
I took a little risk and handled Sandy for about 2 minutes after I found her taking a break from the babies, going for a jog on the wheel. She seems very comfortable with us taking peeks, she just kind of sits up on her back legs and looks back at you. She doesn't run and cover them or make aggressive gestures. All the way around she has yet to exhibit any normal nasty hamster behavior, I think we found a winner. Squidward on the other hand, will stomp and box at you just for breathing on him. It's kind of funny, since the babies were born, Sandy has banned him from the hamster hut and he has to sleep under the wheel. He seems to make a comfortable little spot for himself, and covers himself with aspen, and when Sandy runs on the wheel, all the aspen gets blown off. Thanks to a pretty good zoom I got some pics of the babies, I can't wait to be able to handle them. I also can't wait to try hamster pinks on this years non feeders. I think a majority of this litter will be kept and set up as breeders. Hopefully mom will pass on her good qualities, and hand raising will help them be acclimated to humans.
Here are pics of the babies... it's so cute how they already have dorsal stripes, a pic of Sandy being her usual charming self (a little ungroomed, but hey she's got 7 kids to care for!), Sandy back in with her babies, the cage set up with Squidward assuming his position under the wheel, and then last but not least, Squidward being his usual charming self.

OH MY that last pic is hysterical!!! I mentioned in another post that I myself have not yet experienced the nasty hamster behavior many here have referred to. Mine are very sweet.

that picture is so funny!!

Traci1 said:

OH MY that last pic is hysterical!!! I mentioned in another post that I myself have not yet experienced the nasty hamster behavior many here have referred to. Mine are very sweet.

that picture is so funny!!

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I thought so too! Gotta love Squidward. Once in hand, er glove, he's not that bad, it's getting him out of the cage that's the nightmare. And frankly, we don't even bother handling him anymore now that we have Sandy. :grin01:

Sandy is quite adorable in that picture, reminds me of the gopher in Caddyshack when he sits up in the hole. Does she do that little twist dance? haha

Aww carol is it just me or in that last pic does it look like Squidward there look like he's giving us till the count of 4??? lol

Baba-Lou said:

Aww carol is it just me or in that last pic does it look like Squidward there look like he's giving us till the count of 4??? lol

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LOL. "Step away from the Hamster."

Since you have dwarf hamsters, you will have less problems with them eating their young. My teddy bear hamsters are HORRIBLE when it comes to being disturbed. I need to switch over to dwarfs!

So Traci, I know I asked the other night when you started to handle your dwarf babies. However, now I'm curious how long you waited before you cleaned the cage. These two are starting to smell, although no where near as bad as the mice. I want to clean them but I don't want to mess things up!

Super cute!

Hi Carol! Thanks for sharing the pics, I am glad it has worked out for you. Those pictures are super cute. That last one cracks me up...talk to you soon!

Lara

carol said:

So Traci, I know I asked the other night when you started to handle your dwarf babies. However, now I'm curious how long you waited before you cleaned the cage. These two are starting to smell, although no where near as bad as the mice. I want to clean them but I don't want to mess things up!

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I actually didn't clean the cage till after I handled the babies and saw that all was well. So about 3 weeks. I just now separated the babies from the mom and dad. They are such busy little babies, I gave them a toilet tissue roll w/ a little paper still attached and they went to town. They are precious!

Carol does Squidward make any noise when he does that evil hamster act? In the picture it looks like a little miniature growl would be emitting from that tiny monster!

Carol, they are so darling. Makes me wish I had a pair. Just one little old male here. Maybe in the future we'll get a younger pair. Congrats, they are so cute and I love that picture of Squidward telling everyone to leave him.

Traci1 said:

Carol does Squidward make any noise when he does that evil hamster act? In the picture it looks like a little miniature growl would be emitting from that tiny monster!

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Nope, the only noise he makes is when he stomps his feet or when he hits the bars of the cage while he boxes at you. The mouth open thing is much more a threat to bite than an attempt to make noise. :eatsmiley

Joni, hopefully I'm successful at this and you can pick up a pair when you are ready. I don't know if you saw the thread, but the Black and Tan female is pregnant!