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Cannibalism

Cannibalism is a common and distressing problem for breeders of Syrian hamsters. Although not unique to Syrians, it seems to be more common in Syrians than in Dwarfs or other rodents. Some mothers may abandon their pups rather than kill them. Unable to maintain their body temperature or to suckle, abandoned pups can die in a matter of hours.

A quick search of the Internet was unable to provide me with an estimate of the actual frequency of cannibalism/abandonment but anecdotal evidence suggests that it is very common. I would estimate that as many as one in five females will cannibalise newborn litters at some point in their breeding months.

Several associated factors have been suggested, again, none have any firm evidence to back them up but I think most experienced breeders would agree with them:

* Primiparous (first-time) mothers
* Disturbance of the litter in the first week after delivery
* Poor food supply - the actual type of food (fat, protein, carbohydrate) is controversial
* Mothers nesting on wire bars rather than a solid floor
* Genetic factors

My apologies for the "wooliness" of the last item - I have an impression from my breeding programme that cannabilism tends to run in particular breeding lines, assuming you ever get any pups from that line!

The advice to new breeders is straightforward and follows from the list above. Give your nursing mothers plenty of food. I found that scrambled egg mixed with an infant milk formula seemed to go down well (well, better on average than the flesh of the pups!). Perhaps most important, leave the nest alone!. I've seen experienced breeders lifting pups from a nest in the first week, but only from mothers that they were very confident about.

As a warning, I relate the following true story from my distant hamster-breeding past:

A mother and her day-old litter were taken to a vet as I was concerned that there were retained pups in the uterus (womb). The vet, through no fault of his own, knew very little about hamsters and picked one of the pups up, examining it in great detail and with great curiosity, as if it were a new experience for him. By the time I reached home, the cage was littered with newborn hamster body parts. That's not to say that just the stress of having the cage put in the car and jostled around wouldn't be enough to set a cannibal mother off, but it made me very wary of disturbing new litters.

Finally, as with all such hamster problems, following the accepted wisdom may not fix your hamster cannibals. You can only hope for the best and in the end, this is nature's way. Vengeance should not be wreaked upon the mother, she is only obeying her instincts. It is one of the quirks of our lovable little furries.

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