Number 13 is unlucky for some, but not for Sadie the hamster who gave birth to a massive brood last month in Tooting Broadway.
The proud mum now has 13 healthy babies, nearly twice the normal number for Syrian hamsters to produce in one go.
Her owner, eight-year-old Tiegan Marie-Dixon, hopes to one day become a vet, so was delighted to be taking care of so many tiny pets.
Her mum Lesley said: “Sadie’s fantastic, and she’s such a wonderful little mum. Whenever one of them goes out, she’ll pick them up and take them back.
“Tiegan is really excited.”
Young Tiegan, a pupil at Franciscan School in Tooting, has set up a business breeding hamsters and selling them to her friends for £2 each.
Together with her five-year-old brother, Aspen, she spends her free time feeding them and cleaning out their cage.
She bought Sadie, a sandy-coloured Syrian, to be a girlfriend for her beloved boy hamster, Stuart.
Love soon blossomed, and on September 10 the pair became proud parents of 13 fluffy bundles - just 3cm long each.
And according to Tiegan, family resemblances can be seen even in the hamster world - with five looking like their dad and the rest like their mum.
Owners have already been found for all the babies, who will go to their new homes next week.
Lesley said: “She wants to live on a farm when she’s older. She’s in love with animals. Muggins here has to buy the food and she’s saving all her money.
“If you start young, you’ll hopefully get them into something so they’re not on the streets when they’re older.”
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