Whats going on with my Hamster?

Question
Hello, my name is Sarah and I bought my hamster about a week ago. She was in a cage with mixed hamsters so there is a possibility that she is pregnant. She hasnt moved for 2 days and when i picked her up today all the fir is gone on her stomach. She is showing signs on pregnancy such as building 2 nests, and sleeping commonly but she isnt getting any bigger. Can you tell me whats going on?

Answer
Hi Sarah

What type of hamster is she?  If she is Syrian, the usual gestation period is 16-18 days, if she is a dwarf, the gestation period is 18-21 days.

Often they don't really show that they are pregnant until a day or two before they give birth.  At that point some seem to bulge, but others only show if they are standing upright stretching up the bars - then you see the bulge on their hips.

In case she is pregnant, the main thing is to take out any plastic houses or toys that she might have the litter in.  Once the litter is born you don't want to have to worry about the mum and babies being in a small space - it is much easier if they are out in the open or under a platform where there is plenty of room.  

Don't over feed her right now - just the usual amount of dry hamster food and fresh vegetables.  If a litter is produced, that is the time to give her more food - such as human baby food (powdered variety - creamy porridge oats or similar) which is mixed with water (not milk as this can cause diarrhea).  If you over feed her now, the litter might grow too big and cause her complications during labor.

I foster a number of possibly pregnant hamsters and often it isn't until the day or two before a litter is produced that I know for sure that they are pregnant, but the others signs are that they drink more water than usual, and as you have noticed, they are busy building nests.  Some females do pull out their stomach fur to make the nest soft.  I would suggest you work out roughly the day the litter could be born - then a few days before clean out the cage (any soiled areas) but make sure you give her back her nest.  Once the litter is born you wont be able to clean them out for at least 2 weeks so the cage can sometimes get a bit smelly.

If you've got some kitchen scales you could try weighing her every day.  If she is pregnant, her weight will go up quite dramatically over the course of a few days.

If there is no litter after the possible gestation period, then it could be that she is experiencing some sort of phantom pregnancy.  She should get back to normal.  If she doesn't and you are worried about her, please get back in touch.

Please let me know if she produces a litter and I can offer some advice if you want it.

Regards