whats wrong with my dwarf?

Question
hello Sheila ,

I've bought a couple of dwarf hamster 5 months ago , they are a male and a female . From the 1st time when i brought them home the male kept bitting me everytime i tried to touched him but the female never did , i tried to tamed the male but couldnt so i just left him be like that and only handling the female but 2 days ago , my female hamster started to bite me when i tried to touched her , so i left her alone for an hour then tried to touched her again and she kept bite me one more time , she never be like that before , what's wrong with her ? she seems to be more quiet and she sleeps alot , is she pregnant or is she getting sick ? she still eats normally and looks healthy . I've read about pregnant hamster and they said that the female will gain weight at her belly but both of my hamster are very fat so i cant tell that is she pregnant or not , can u help me ? i need to know so i can prepare for the baby hamster

Thank you .

P.S : i never saw they mate , they usually sleep together and like each other but i never saw they mate , is that normal ? i had them for almost 6 months , lots of my friend's hamster get pregnant after only 1 or 2 months after they bought them home .

Answer
Hi Tina

hamsters come into season every 4 days - so there is a pretty good chance she will get pregnant at some stage.  If she is pregnant, the gestation period for a dwarf is 18-21 days.

Dwarf hamsters can bite a bit - especially Campbells who are known for this.  Once they reach adulthood their personalities can change and some people feel that they have got new hamsters as they no longer get on with them.  If this is the case, you need to start all over with trying to tame them and getting them used to you.  Always talk to them so they recognise your voice, never grab them - only scoop them up and rub some of their bedding onto your hands before handling them so they recognise their scent on you.

Had you planned on having loads of hamsters?  Be careful - if a litter is born they will mate again the day she gives birth as she's her most fertile then so you could end up with a second litter a few weeks later.  Also, at 4 weeks the babies can become sexually active.

Regards