is my hamster pregnant ?

Question
Hello,  I just wanna ask if my hamster is pregnant. She lives together with the male hanster since they were 4 to 6 weeks old. I'm not sure as I brought them from the pet shop. Both of them are Pearl Winter White which I'm not really sure belong to which breed. Recently I notice my female hamster getting a little bit fat. She has been sleeping quite a lot more then usual. I always saw her using her hands to sweep all the beddings to the back of her which I'm not sure if she's trying to move the bedding away or trying to build nest. She has been eating and drinking quite a lot more then usual. As for her nipple. I'm not sure if it's the one I see. There's 1 hole where it was quite big. I remeber it wasn't this big when I brought her home. Maybe because she was still snall. And by the way. Both of them has been leaving together for more then 1 month. Please advice if she's pregnant.

Answer
Hi Olivia

Thanks for your question. It is hard to know for sure if she is pregnant. They come into season every 4 days and the usual gestation period is 18-21 days. It might be a case of waiting to see what happens.  You need to decide if you are leaving the male in with her - the only problem is that they could mate again the day she produces a litter also he will mare with any females in the litter when they are 4 weeks old - but if you remove him before. Litter appears you can't let him raise the litter when they are born .

If there is a litter you need to sex them at 4 weeks and remove the males to prevent any unexpected litters

Regards
Sheila