Poppy Bee Hamstery

Poppy Bee Hamstery We are Syrian hamster breeders in Clifton, Virginia. Our goal is to promote interest in Syrian hams

04/28/2025

Awww! What atrocity has your hamster committed? Wheel peeing and felonies BOTH count.

We weaned Evergreen’s beautiful litter on Friday. Sadly we lost two pups from the original seven. Evergreen was a good m...
04/27/2025

We weaned Evergreen’s beautiful litter on Friday. Sadly we lost two pups from the original seven. Evergreen was a good mama, but sometimes this happens and I often don’t know why. The remaining 5 are huge and healthy, except for little Dig who is a bit small for his age. He will stay with us indefinitely.

04/21/2025

Welcome to Seal and Duncan’s cinnamon based litter! They are two weeks and a few days. All looking healthy and active. A special thanks to Duncan’s owner for loaning him back to us for breeding. He’s a stellar little guy!

04/20/2025

I’ve had a few people ask me what Rex fur is! Rex is a recessive coat gene that creates a curly fur pattern and whiskers. Rex fur can be combined with short or long hair, and other coat genes like satin.

While I haven’t specifically bred for rex fur, many of the folks in my breeding network do! So it’s a gene that inevitably pops up from time to time in my litters.

I especially love Rex fur on hammies at 2-3 weeks of age- it always looks particularly dense and curly at this stage! Check out baby Whimsy!

There are some wonderful hamster breeders who showcase amazing Rex coats on older hamsters, and that is due to careful and selective breeding for good fur density and curl pattern.

Since we have had Rex pop up in Evergreen’s litter, that means that 50% of her pups have a chance of carrying the gene as well. I hope this gene continues to show up at least once in a while as I do enjoy it despite not focusing on it in our breeding program!

This photo shoot was mysterious and important.
04/19/2025

This photo shoot was mysterious and important.

04/15/2025

Sir Charms has taken up “gardening”. He’s an excellent pruner for my little Napa cabbage project. I think we are likely going to move Charms to the hamstery soon so I can reclaim his bin. We are going to need most of our bins for an upcoming surprise. I can’t wait to tell you all about it in the coming weeks!

04/10/2025

Sir Charms is growing well! We are keeping him for breeding as his temperament is perfect (seriously). He’s cage content and quite social and friendly. I think it’s likely he will remain on the smaller side, which is completely fine! We can correct that in future generations.

Sir Charms is a foodie!! He loves coming out for snack time and is currently enjoying lots of Spring harvesting. I’m actually about to go out and harvest more before the rain comes back.

Evergreen and Violet are still looking for their retirement homes! Violet has a litter of two week olds and will be avai...
04/06/2025

Evergreen and Violet are still looking for their retirement homes! Violet has a litter of two week olds and will be available in about 3 weeks. Evergreen has a litter of one week olds and will be available in about 4 weeks.

Please message us if you are interested!

04/04/2025

Clean out your fridge and feed your pets! I do separate out certain ingredients depending on the hammies. Mamas and young pups need more protein. I find that my elderly hamsters do better on less protein.

03/31/2025

It’s free hamster food season, AKA dandelion, violet, and other edible plants and herbs. Make sure to forage in known pesticide free areas and wash anything you harvest well!

03/28/2025

Senior hamsters may sleep more, eat less, appear more disheveled, have “eye crusties” more often upon waking, or have difficulties with mobility and balance.

You can make their enclosure less cumbersome by removing climbing obstacles and keeping water and food near their nest. Providing extra substrate like ripped tissue or paper towel, or a cooling tile (during warmer months) can help with temperature regulation.

Deciding to help your senior hamster cross the rainbow bridge is deeply personal, but it can be a gift to your hamster if they are suffering. Your exotic vet can help you determine when it’s time. I watch for these signs- difficulty toileting/grooming, significant mobility issues, refusal to eat or drink, and prolonged respiratory distress.

My senior hamster Whimsy is starting to show subtle signs of decline. I believe we have some good months left of living well, but I am keeping a watchful eye. She is less active and has lost a bit of weight. This is a normal progression for hamsters as they approach old age.

I will miss my Whimsy dearly when she passes, but I’m happy knowing she will have lived a full life and loved immensely.

03/27/2025

Baby hamsters are born naked, blind, and completely reliant on mama’s milk for nourishment. Around the 9th to 10th day, baby hamsters will begin to try eating solids available in the nest- including mama’s p**p (sorry, not sorry).

At 14 days (if not sooner) pups will begin exploring outside of the nest, and this is around the time I will offer mush and extra fresh veggies. I make mush from ground lab blocks (I use Mazuri rat and mouse brand), puppy milk formula (I use Esbilac), and puréed veggies and sometimes puréed poultry). Pups continue to mostly be dependent on mom for nourishment at this stage, but they are voraciously interested in solids and eat with gusto.

In fact, pups are growing exponentially at this stage, and between the 2 to 4 week mark they will double in size! It’s quite remarkable how quickly they develop!

At four weeks, pups are weaned from mom. Sometimes mom has stopped nursing at this stage, but many of my mama hamsters will allow their pups to nurse up through weaning day. At this point, I begin offering pups a more adult diet, which means less or no mush, more lab blocks, some seed mix, and fresh veggies!

I have not experienced any of my pups “over-eating” at 4 weeks. They are very much babies that need a lot of calories to account for the growing period they are in!

That being said, I have had hamsters, like “Yeep” for example who put on too many grams around 6 weeks of age and DID need some diet management! I brought Yeep to our exotic vet when I was concerned about his weight gain, and we worked out a plan. Ultimately, Yeep lost the weight through increased activity, and only required minimal adaptation to his diet.

Hamsters will continue to grow up through 4-6 months of age. Once they reach a base weight, they can gain or lose 10% of their total weight without concern (small weight fluctuations ARE normal to an extent). If your hamster suddenly loses or gains, this is a good indicator that they may need to see a vet!

We are looking for two breeder contract families for Merrygold and Gill! Merrygold would come back to the hamstery betwe...
03/26/2025

We are looking for two breeder contract families for Merrygold and Gill!

Merrygold would come back to the hamstery between 4-6 months to hopefully have a litter! I am not sure if or when we would breed Gill, but would like to keep the option open!

Please message me if you are interested in either hammy!

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Clifton, VA

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