Joan - Pet Tails Magazine

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Page 10 February March 2012 ~Spay & Neuter Your Pets ~ Pet Tails Life is a cycle–a process of getting from one point to another. If the process becomes broken, there are consequences. When I brought home nine hamsters from animal control, it was more out of a sense of urgency than fascination. The whole bunch had been at animal control for a long time with no hope of adoption. I didn’t know that the hamsters had been inadvertently mixed up and not separated by sexes; the result was many baby hamsters. Although my rodent rescue is tiny, I had two empty aquariums to house the boys and girls. Lucky for me, I was able to adopt all of the boys out during a fantastic pet adoptathon at the Holy Family Catholic Church. I passed along care sheets with the hamsters, and worried for days about their wellbeing. My husband, Jim, calls me a mother bear when it comes to the care of my rodent charges. Among the remaining hamsters was a new mother and her eight babies, or pups as they are called. I looked at this helpless mother nesting on the hard pellets of corn cob bedding in her cage and my heart melted. Her plaintive eyes looked up at me and begged for my help. After shredding toilet tissue for her to build a nest, I moved the other hamsters out of the aquarium so she was alone and undisturbed. I began to research what I should do to help her raise her pups. She received a ration of cream, mineral blocks, and added food to help her generate more mother’s milk. Beyond that, I could only watch and wait. As time went along, eight hamsters became six. When mother hamster moved away from her nest, I observed the health of her brood and counted noses. Five hamsters were strong and squeaked the loudest for milk. Their eyes were open, their brown fur was fuzzy, and the characteristic dark stripe down the back of a Campbells dwarf Russian had formed. However, one pup was small, the runt of the litter. Pinky was still hairless and his eyes were not open. He wobbled and seemed to be pushed aside by the other pups. Whenever I checked on the babies, I always expected that Pinky would not be there, but he hung in and seemed to get what nourishment he could from his mother. After two weeks, the healthy pups began to leave the nest and wander around on bowlegs, searching for adventure--Pinky stayed behind. He was still sparsely furred. As I observed closer, I wondered if Pinky was an albino, his fur lighter than the others. As the healthy pups became independent, the mother hamster began to feed Pinky more. With the added attention, maybe Pinky would grow brown fur and catch up to his siblings. Hamsters are ready to leave the nest after four weeks. It would be a tense two weeks with Pinky. Would he live and catch up with the others? Pinky opened his ruby red eyes and his fur began to thicken. He still stood out among his siblings. He was a blue Argente characterized by sandy cinnamon fur and red eyes. The others were platinum colored with dark eyes. I learned a great deal about these dwarf hamsters. The most popular pet store hamster is the Campbells dwarf. They are easier to handle, originate from the steppes of China, and mature in two months. Dwarf hamsters have a lifespan of 1.5 to 3 years depending upon which species of hamster you have. Two weeks after the adoptathon, one more litter of hamsters appeared, sired prior to the event. A few days later, there was another litter of three. Ironically the last litter appeared on the same day that our little Minnie Mouse died. Our rodent rescue was beginning to resemble the cycle of life. Now there were eleven babies and five lady hamsters looking for a home. No matter what the future of these little hamsters, each litter was seen by a veterinarian, the sexes separated, and a quality of life restored to these innocent small rodents who rely upon human
Pet Tails intervention to make things right. I have marveled at the miracle of birth and the quick process of maturation among these unexpected youngsters born from circumstances beyond their control. To hold a baby hamster that is 21 days old in the palm of your hand, and realize that at 28 days that baby can reproduce, is a revelation more pet owners should think about. It is easy to dump unwanted hamsters (or any animal) into the lap of someone else, but it would be easier for all if the process of pregnancy ends before it gets started by using a little common sense. Often hamsters from a pet store give birth unexpectedly once they come home. It is the owner’s responsibility to research and know what to do to stop the cycle of reckless reproduction. Most pet stores will not take baby hamsters from non-breeders; therefore, one must separate the sexes at 21 days and buy an extra cage to separate the sexes. Bonus hamsters can be a blessing and add more excitement and educational value for everyone or they can end up tragically unwanted. ~Spay & Neuter Your Pets ~ Pinky and his brothers were very lucky. A home was found for them right away. Pinky became known as Cyn (Cinnamon) and his brothers were named Force and PJ. Of the nine hamsters rescued from animal control, four were adopted and five gave birth to a total number of 11 babies. Five babies and all five mothers remain in our rescue. Lucinda Rideout is a member of the East Coast Mouse Association, the South East Fancy Mouse Association, and volunteers at Virginia Beach Adoption and Care Center. Solution on page 30 February March 2012 Page 11
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Joan - Pet Tails Magazine

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