Willa's A Good Mom!

We're heading into Day Three of HamWatch 2010, where Willa has had her babies (official count: 12) and is performing her motherly duties with absolute perfection. So far, it appears that all twelve babies are still alive and kicking and growing exactly as they're supposed to.

Willa is turning out to be a really great mom, which isn't always the case in the animal kingdom. When I was a teenager, we had a Yorkshire Terrier who had no idea how to give birth, much less take care of her babies once she had them. We had to help her a lot, and it was like she had no maternal instincts whatsoever.

As a result of that experience, I was worried that Willa, being a first-time mom, wouldn't know exactly what to do. But my fears were completely unwarranted, as Willa's instincts have really kicked in. She's maintaining her nest and continues hoarding food, but more importantly, she doesn't leave those babies alone for more than a few seconds. She will move about to stretch a little a couple of times a day, but for the most part, she's covering those babies, keeping them close and warm and letting them nurse, and doing everything she's supposed to do. And as far as I can tell, every single one of the twelve babies survived and is still thriving.

I don't think I'll feel totally safe until we've past the 10-day mark, but at this point, I'm cautiously optimistic that all of the babies are totally healthy and strong.

Baby hamsters; credit: ighor.info

Quite a few of my friends have e-mailed me to say that the hamster babies are really creepy looking. Indeed, they can seem a little odd, if you haven't seen them before. When I look at them, I see what they're about to become - tiny, sweet, irresistible little fuzzy hamsters. And even if they look a little...naked...when they first arrive, there's no doubt that they're absolutely adorable in just a couple of weeks.