12 replies to this topic

[Birdy]

TLDR: hamster gave birth, cage is probably dangerous and the conditions are gross, how do I help?

I adopted a nameless hamster from someone who was looking for an “easy pet” for their kid and realized hamsters didn’t fit the bill; no pet does but that’s a really long digression and I need help. Her cage is the Midwest Critterville Arcade cage and before I could move her to a better habitat she gave birth to a litter. I can’t upload pictures for some reason but if you just Google or put the name of the cage into Amazon, it’ll come right up. I got rid of the all the levels and walkways except for the one under the wheel and the wheel itself as a pregnancy precaution. The nest is immediately below the level under the wheel. The way this cage opens, the entire plastic front comes down so if I even try to spot clean, the nest is going to fall apart. The bedding the nest is made of appears to be torn up paper towels and napkins, there are fruit flies in there. It’s a mess.

Mom is awesome, she still wants pets and my attention when she comes down to the wired part of the cage for food and water, she’s taking care of her babies, changed her food storage area to be nearby which unfortunately also appears to be where she’s been peeing and why there are fruit flies. Everything I’ve read says do not touch anything and let mom take care of her pups. Messy is better than dead. Then there’s the escape stories and my concerns with how dirty this all is, what if there’s mold, so on and so forth. So far I’ve done what I’ve read, touched nothing (except mom, I definitely pet her when she asks) and wait until the babes are three weeks old.

Do I really just wait and let them live in filth for three weeks? Can I safely scoop the litter out and transfer them and mom into something that’s actually set up for a litter? They are about 5d old, have closed eyes and are as of today loud enough to interest my birds when they get rowdy (seems to come in waves). Any help at all would be appreciated and thank you so very much.

[Kikya]

TLDR: hamster gave birth, cage is probably dangerous and the conditions are gross, how do I help?

I adopted a nameless hamster from someone who was looking for an “easy pet” for their kid and realized hamsters didn’t fit the bill; no pet does but that’s a really long digression and I need help. Her cage is the Midwest Critterville Arcade cage and before I could move her to a better habitat she gave birth to a litter. I can’t upload pictures for some reason but if you just Google or put the name of the cage into Amazon, it’ll come right up. I got rid of the all the levels and walkways except for the one under the wheel and the wheel itself as a pregnancy precaution. The nest is immediately below the level under the wheel. The way this cage opens, the entire plastic front comes down so if I even try to spot clean, the nest is going to fall apart. The bedding the nest is made of appears to be torn up paper towels and napkins, there are fruit flies in there. It’s a mess.

Mom is awesome, she still wants pets and my attention when she comes down to the wired part of the cage for food and water, she’s taking care of her babies, changed her food storage area to be nearby which unfortunately also appears to be where she’s been peeing and why there are fruit flies. Everything I’ve read says do not touch anything and let mom take care of her pups. Messy is better than dead. Then there’s the escape stories and my concerns with how dirty this all is, what if there’s mold, so on and so forth. So far I’ve done what I’ve read, touched nothing (except mom, I definitely pet her when she asks) and wait until the babes are three weeks old.

Do I really just wait and let them live in filth for three weeks? Can I safely scoop the litter out and transfer them and mom into something that’s actually set up for a litter? They are about 5d old, have closed eyes and are as of today loud enough to interest my birds when they get rowdy (seems to come in waves). Any help at all would be appreciated and thank you so very much.

I wouldn't attempt to move them until at least 2 weeks, I know it's terrible but unless there is immediate danger, it's best they stay put.

 

Although, maybe one thing you could try is putting the old cage inside the new one (if it fits) and let the mom move the babies out. She might if it's easy for her to get in and out.

Edited by Kikya, 04 February 2022 - 01:07 AM.

[Birdy]

Hi Kikya! Thank you so much for your reply! I have a 20g tank I wanted to put them in for now and I was thinking about using tubes to go from the base of the current cage up and into the tank, but it’d be quite a long treck for her to make carrying what appears to be at least nine pups. Yes, I did the gawky flashlight counting thing before I found this forum makes sense that would be considered disturbing the nest…whoops.

[Kikya]

Hi Kikya! Thank you so much for your reply! I have a 20g tank I wanted to put them in for now and I was thinking about using tubes to go from the base of the current cage up and into the tank, but it’d be quite a long treck for her to make carrying what appears to be at least nine pups. Yes, I did the gawky flashlight counting thing before I found this forum makes sense that would be considered disturbing the nest…whoops.

I agree I think the tubes would be too long of walk for momma.

[Lillias]

I'm worried that the pups might squeeze through the bars when they are old enough to start wandering. As a precaution, I would stick the whole cage in a 200qt bin (I don't think the cage will fit in the 20 gal).

 

If it were a normal wired cage, you could mesh the lid of the bin and then leave the cage door open, so that mum can make the choice to move into the bin. However, with the height of the Arcade cage, I'm not sure how you could secure the bin and keep mum from escaping the bin.

[Birdy]

This is going to take some engineering haha oh boy how long do I have until they’re up and walking? I can see their peach fuzz coming in, but their eyes and ears are still sealed shut.

If I put a finch nest box full of nesting material at the bottom of her cage is there a chance mom brings the babies into the nest box? And if so can I then just pick up the box full of the litter and transfer them and mom into the tank?

This arcade cage is like the equivalent of the plant vase beta fish tank…looks without logic.

[Kikya]

This is going to take some engineering haha oh boy how long do I have until they’re up and walking? I can see their peach fuzz coming in, but their eyes and ears are still sealed shut.

If I put a finch nest box full of nesting material at the bottom of her cage is there a chance mom brings the babies into the nest box? And if so can I then just pick up the box full of the litter and transfer them and mom into the tank?

This arcade cage is like the equivalent of the plant vase beta fish tank…looks without logic.

She might and that would be good. They start opening their eyes around 2 weeks. I would put some cardboard trim around any bars they might be able to climb out of.

[nebit]

I agree with Lillias and that would be my advice as well- buy a large bin, and place the entire cage inside of it. The babies will be able to escape out this current cage through the bars when they start creeping, which is generally well before the eyes open. Then just leave the door open and plenty of clean, new nesting material outside for Mom to choose. She probably won't use a finch box, but is likely to make a new nest and move the babies there. Once they are moved, you can take the old cage out.

[Kikya]

I agree with Lillias and that would be my advice as well- buy a large bin, and place the entire cage inside of it. The babies will be able to escape out this current cage through the bars when they start creeping, which is generally well before the eyes open. Then just leave the door open and plenty of clean, new nesting material outside for Mom to choose. She probably won't use a finch box, but is likely to make a new nest and move the babies there. Once they are moved, you can take the old cage out.

I think you missed the part about it being too tall for the bin to be secured but I am glad you agree with my idea of putting the old cage inside the new one.

 

I think the finch box is better to keep both mom and babies safe, if she will move into it.

Edited by Kikya, 05 February 2022 - 04:46 AM.

[Birdy]

I’ve sured up the cage in stages, first the top where they might squeeze out, then the base of the cage. I waited a day in between each disturbance to make sure my girl wasn’t upset with the changes. I just put the finch box in. So far she’s moving all the nesting material into the soggy old nest.

Two of her little ones got stuck in the tube yesterday, she grabbed one and stuffed him back in the nest, I had to pester her/lure with treats to the bottom into going back for the other one. She seems to like the finch box but consider it more of a back up storage unit for bedding. I was really hoping that she would use that box since I am now worried she’ll leave her babies in that darn tube.

[Kikya]

I’ve sured up the cage in stages, first the top where they might squeeze out, then the base of the cage. I waited a day in between each disturbance to make sure my girl wasn’t upset with the changes. I just put the finch box in. So far she’s moving all the nesting material into the soggy old nest.

Two of her little ones got stuck in the tube yesterday, she grabbed one and stuffed him back in the nest, I had to pester her/lure with treats to the bottom into going back for the other one. She seems to like the finch box but consider it more of a back up storage unit for bedding. I was really hoping that she would use that box since I am now worried she’ll leave her babies in that darn tube.

Unfortunately, we can't make momma move, she's going to stay wherever she feels most secure. Maybe give the it a few days and the box will start smelling more familiar to her.

 

But it's good you blocked the spaces they could get out!

[nebit]

I think you missed the part about it being too tall for the bin to be secured but I am glad you agree with my idea of putting the old cage inside the new one.

 

I think the finch box is better to keep both mom and babies safe, if she will move into it.

at 21" the cage is a bit tall, but there are certainly bins that are tall enough and could do the trick in this specific situation as temporary safer quarters. I think it's a much better solution than using the 20G tank as you suggested, which is less able to be secured, and not much room for Mom to actually move out into once the whole cage is inside of it, which is the goal here. Thus I agreed with Lillias, that a 20 G is too small, and placing inside a large bin is better.

If she moves into the finch box, that's great, I just think she's unlikely to in my experience with hamster mothers. They tend to prefer open-bottomed nests, and often nests that they build themselves over any offered container. A finch box is also going to be harder for the OP to see into to catch glimpses of the young, or do any kind of cleaning adjustments to until the pups are much, much older, whereas open nests allow some visualizations of the pups if you're lucky, and worrisome debris (like a lingering dead pup, or rotting food) can sometimes be safely gently spooned out when Mom is out feeding.

[Kikya]

at 21" the cage is a bit tall, but there are certainly bins that are tall enough and could do the trick in this specific situation as temporary safer quarters. I think it's a much better solution than using the 20G tank as you suggested, which is less able to be secured, and not much room for Mom to actually move out into once the whole cage is inside of it, which is the goal here. Thus I agreed with Lillias, that a 20 G is too small, and placing inside a large bin is better.

If she moves into the finch box, that's great, I just think she's unlikely to in my experience with hamster mothers. They tend to prefer open-bottomed nests, and often nests that they build themselves over any offered container. A finch box is also going to be harder for the OP to see into to catch glimpses of the young, or do any kind of cleaning adjustments to until the pups are much, much older, whereas open nests allow some visualizations of the pups if you're lucky, and worrisome debris (like a lingering dead pup, or rotting food) can sometimes be safely gently spooned out when Mom is out feeding.

I don't recall saying to use a 20g tank. Again, if you had read OP's first post he didn't say was size cage he had.

My suggestion was to put the smaller cage inside a larger, which both you and Lillias obviously agreed with.

Edited by Kikya, 08 February 2022 - 08:53 AM.