Q&A for How to Make Baby Hamster Food

Baby hamsters are heavily dependent on their mother. They do best when nursed on her milk. As they become old enough to eat, try sprinkling some wheatgerm near the nest. This is rich in vitamin E and can help their development. Young hamsters can also benefit from small seeds such as millet, so put a spray in the cage for them to investigate.

In the wild, hamsters graze on the fresh seeds, grasses, and grains that they find when foraging. Variety is good. Try to mimic this by feeding a good quality, balanced hamster food and supplementing this with small amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables. Keep portions of sugary foods (apples, melon, mango, carrot) very small. Try veggies such as broccoli, chicory, and cauliflower. Once a week as a treat, give some hard-boiled egg for extra protein.

Hamster babies are dependent on their mother for the first 10 days. After that, they start to explore solid food and can generally feed themselves by 3 weeks of age. Separate mum and babies when the latter are around 3 - 4 weeks old. If the litter was large, leave them with mum an extra week, to allow them to make up growth.

To successfully raise baby hamsters, the best thing is to let mum take care of them. Disturb her as little as possible, while providing all the food and bedding she needs, and she'll do a good job. It is very difficult to raise orphan hamsters from birth, and sadly rarely successful.