Hamster Days

The hamsters are getting so big! Well, actually, they're still tiny, but I can see them growing and developing. They are no longer totally pink and fuzzy. They have some dark fur, especially on their backs, coming in and we can see the stripe that dwarf hamsters have that runs the length of their backs.

They are 9 days old today. Last night, I cleaned their cage and got to hold each little tiny one. I put Pepper in her ball so she could run off some energy. After I cleaned the cage, I tried to put all the babies down in the bottom of the cage because they need to learn to eat regular hamster food within the next week and a half because she will stop nursing around that time. But, once I put the silly Mama back in the cage, she kept running up and down the tunnel returning the babies to their little "upper room" bed. I'm not sure how they'll learn to feed themselves, but my mom says not to worry; that I just have to trust the Mama to know what to do. Okay. So, this is me not worrying. Just trusting the Mama. Okay.

Here are some pictures to track their growth.

Day 1:


Day 2:


Day 5:


Day 7:


Day 8:


Here's Russ holding one on Day 8.


Rand holding one on Day 8, also.


Look how tiny it is in Randall's little hands.


It looks like Randall is giving it kisses, but he's actually just nuzzling it with his nose. He was being so sweet.


The hamsters can eat soft fruits or vegetables now, so I've been cutting up little pieces of apples for them. This was Day 9 and this was the only baby that actually tried to eat the apple. The others either jerked away from it (it wasn't cold or anything, it was just foreign, I guess) or just sniffed it and licked it. This one grabbed it and chewed in little tiny bites. The "crunch" sound was so sweet.


A few are starting to move around and three fell down the tunnel today due to their crawling. I figured that was how Mama decided they were ready for more freedom, but after a little while, she scurried down and carried them back up. So, it'll be interesting to see how it all works out with them weaning and eating hamster food.