Is it true that hamsters eat their babies? It's common knowledge that hamsters are adorable, small animals who like to run around on wheels and clumsily put pellets into their faces. Although these qualities make these cuddly friends quite appealing to keep, they can also experience more primal times that are not as cozy and warm as they seem. Eating their young is sometimes one of those moments. It is an upsetting and perplexing experience, whether you have witnessed it directly or have spotted newborn hamsters missing for no apparent reason. This startling behavior may happen for a few reasons, and there are also some ways you may be able to stop it before it starts.
Typical Behaviour of Hamsters Nestling
A nest will be started by female hamsters in preparation for the arrival of their young. If you didn't realize your hamster was pregnant, up to 20 kids could appear overnight in its nest. Hamsters are pregnant for around three weeks. To create a cozy nest for their young, hamsters will typically use a soft substance such as tissues, towels, shredded paper, or the substrate of their cage. Food is occasionally even stored within or near the nest.
Typical Hamster Nutrition
Other than that, hamsters' diets are the same as though they weren't pregnant or nursing. However, they will consume extra food during these times. During pregnancy, the basics of a hamster's diet continue to be seeds, fruit, veggies, and pellets. While occasional snacks are acceptable, there should always be access to fresh water.
For What Reason Do Hamsters Sometimes Eat Their Young?
It can be extremely shocking to witness a hamster kill and consume its own young if it has made preparations for a typical birth, such as building a nest and consuming a bit more food than usual. However, there are a few more reasons that a hamster could consume its young, in addition to a possible food shortage.
1: Emphasize
Anxious mother hamster can be related to by any individual who has experienced a child. Everybody, including hamsters, finds being pregnant, giving birth, breastfeeding, and taking care of numerous babies to be extremely stressful. A hamster may devour its young if it is experiencing extreme stress. It might think that raising its young is a task that it can manage, and sadly, it will kill and consume its young. If you are upsetting the mother excessively during the day, or if the mother is a young hamster, this may happen more frequently.
2: Anxiety
Mother hamsters are no different from the mothers of many other animals in that they naturally want to shield their offspring. However, hamsters have been known to kill and consume their own young when they experience fear or anxiety. A small hamster may consume its babies in response to threats such as additional pets, loud noises, people it fears, or other frightening situations.
3: The smell
A mother hamster devotes a great deal of time to tending to her offspring and cleaning. Each infant leaves a fragrance that aids the mother in identifying the young. The mother may get confused and fail to recognise her own infants if a different scent, like that of a person, is detected on them. The baby's scent changed, so it might then kill and eat the alleged impostor.
4: Absence of food
The shortage of food is probably the most obvious explanation why a hamster might devour its own young. Any animal undergoing pregnancy or lactation is putting more energy into its body than it would normally use to support its offspring. More food is therefore absolutely required. The hamster can only experience hunger, or its scarcity of food could make it fearful of not being able to support its young.
5: Unable to take care of every baby.
A mother may decide she cannot care for all of her most recent litter of puppies and choose to eat them if she feels overwhelmed by them, especially if there is a larger litter. While it doesn't appear to be a kind thing to do, the mother is doing this for the benefit of the other babies in order to help them survive.
How to Prevent a Hamster from Eating its Offspring
There are actually a few simple steps you can take to stop a hamster from consuming its young.
1: Remain composed and silent.
Make sure your hamster has a peaceful, quiet space to raise its babies and build a nest. This could entail keeping kids and other pets away from the room where the hamster lives, turning down the music in your house so it doesn't become upset, and maybe completely covering the cage to keep it from seeing any stressors or potential threats.
2: Don't touch the newborns; instead, check on them.
It's acceptable to peep at newborns, but during the first week or so of their lives, you should try to keep them all to yourself. If at all possible, keep your hands off the newborns and try not to move them at all.
3: Give a lot of food.
While it may seem apparent, make sure that the hamster has an ample supply of nourishment while it is tending to its young.
Related Post: