my dwarf hamster may be pregnant

Question
my dwarf hamster smokey might be pregnant. she is showing almost all of the signs of being pregnant:gathering food, getting bedding materials and making a nest except i looked up what a pregnant dwarf hamster looks like and she looks nothing like it. and also if she does have babies how many will she have and when i give the babies away will they be okay by themselves or should i place them in pairs of two?

Answer
Hi Alexis,

Dwarf hamsters are pregnant for 18-21 days.  The picture you saw most likely showed a hamster who is due any day.  The hamster's belly doesn't become that large until she is almost due (which is why it's always a little hard to tell if a hamster is pregnant).

If you have the male hamster in the same cage, you'll need to move him to another cage before the babies are due if you don't want any more breeding to take place.  (If you are planning on more breeding, you can leave him in the cage; he'll help take care of the babies.)

Dwarf hamsters typically have anywhere from 2-12 babies.  When you give them away, at the age of 6 weeks, you should definitely give them away in same-sex pairs, since Dwarves are very social.

Here's some more information about your hamster's pregnancy:

The most important thing is that you *do not touch* the babies at all until they are 2 weeks old (14 days old).  If you touch the babies, the mother will stop feeding them.  Also, don't disturb the mother, either, since she'll need to take care of her babies.

Since the wheel can be dangerous for the babies, take it out of the cage.  And, lower the water bottle so the babies will be able to reach it.  When the babies are about 1 week old, scatter some dry hamster food around the cage, in case they want to experiment with it.

When the babies are 2 weeks old, then you can begin handling them for short periods of time.  You can also clean the cage when the babies are 2 weeks old.

When the babies are 3 weeks old, they are fully weaned from their mother.  They should be placed in a different cage, away from their mother, when they are 3 weeks old.  Let them stay in this cage for another 3 weeks.  

Then, when the babies are 6 weeks old, you can give them away.  Here's a website which will further help you:

http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/breeding_russian_hamsters.htm

Have a great weekend!

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask :)

Kelly