Pregnant Syrian Hamster?

Question
Yesterday my male hamster and my female hamster mated.(im assuming successfully) When should I begin to feed my female lots of protien foods like milk ect? Should I start straight away or should I wait a few days? I've also heard she'll start showing 10 days later, is this true? Thanks :)

Answer
Hi Katie

The key thing is not to over-feed during pregnancy.  Only give her the usual amount of dry mix and fresh vegetables.  As soon as the litter is born then you should increase her food intake with baby food or other similar foods.  This is because you don't want the unborn litter getting too big as this can cause problems during labor.  The babies can also eat baby food (I usually buy packets of the powder variety - creamy porridge oats - and mix a little with water) when they are around 2 weeks old and leaving the nest (in addition to the usual hamster dry mix).

Often you don't really see any change in the female until she is very close to producing the litter.  The gestation period is 16-18 days and around day 14 sometimes you notice a slight bulge on her hips, especially if she stretches up the bars.  They also tend to relocate their nest at this time and you may notice an increase in her water consumption.  Remove any plastic tubes or houses from the cage, and if she has a wheel that has slits or a drainage slits remove this - it is much less stressful all round if the babies are either born in the open or under a platform rather than in a confined area - especially if the litter is large.  If she is in a tubular cage it is vital that you block of any tubes etc. and keep her on one level and also make sure food and drink is closeby.  The last thing you want is her having babies in tubes or on different levels or becoming separated from the food supply.  Ideally you need to fit in as many solid wheels as possible when the litter is about 3 weeks old as they will all want a run at the same time.  Don't put in wheels with bars or drainage slits as babies can get hurt in these.  Also, don't use the fluffy bedding - use the shredded paper type instead.  Babies can get caught up in the fluffy bedding and I have seen loads who ended up losing limbs because they couldn't get free.

I hope this helps you - let me know when the litter is born and I can talk you through what to do if you want me to.  Good luck with this.

Regards