They've Been Found

After laying the children down for naps yesterday, I plopped my bum down in my recliner, cracked my nuckles, and started to work on some very important stuff (you know--Ebay, blog, etc.). Suddenly, I heard Christian holler from upstairs for me to come quickly. Thinking that he probably needed to potty, I went up there to check out the situation. Not so lucky. I walked into his room and saw him hovering over the hamster cage.
"Momma, Momma! My hamsters had babies!" he hollered. Oh great. I knew he'd discover them sooner or later, but I was really hoping to just surprise him with it in MY timing. They are so very cute and fun to watch though.
I had to explain and make it very clear that we are not allowed to touch them right now. In fact, we have about 4 more weeks to wait. By 6 weeks old, they will be mature and able to survive on their own. That's also about the time we need to find new homes for them. So far it's been a total guess as to how many she actually had. There have been 1 or 2 that are brave enough to wander around the cage, but the majority of the time they are all in the nest and wadded together.
Since Caitlin overheard the comotion, she wanted to see them too. I made the executive decision to clean out the cage and put them and the momma in the roll-around ball so they could see them without touching them. The cage hasn't been cleaned out for 2 weeks now--but that's just because everything we read said not to disturb the nest for at LEAST the 1st 2 weeks. Ok, done. Now on to the cleaning! So I had to use a spoon to scoop the babies out one at a time. Momma hamster was none too pleased with the ordeal. She kinda freaked out on me and took a bite of my finger. Uggggg.
I got all 7 babies---that's right, 7--out and put in the ball, quickly changed out the bedding, got fresh water and food, and then put them all back. The momma hamster acted upset for at least 2 hours afterward. The cool thing was that the kids got to see them up close and personal. Like I said, they are very cute----however, I don't want them all living here for good. One hamster per child is way more than plenty! I'm gonna wait another week or so before I attempt to take a picture of the babies. See there....now you all have something to look forward to! :)