Orna's babies are proper tiny hamsters now, rather than the pink blobs in the original photograph.

We had to be very careful taking the early photos. You shouldn't disturb the nest or touch the babies because if the mother detects a 'foreign' scent, she might believe the babies are under threat from a predator, and she's likely to eat them. We have heard stories of this happening to other hamsters, and we didn't want it to happen to ours.

At about day 11, their eyes started to open and they became more active - although some had escaped from the nest and been exploring before then. Now (day 13), they are very active and leave the nest quite often.

The final photo also has a picture of one of the 3 quail chicks which have hatched so far this weekend.

Click on the thumbnail to view the image