i think she is pregnant?

Question
QUESTION: hi there i e-mailed you the other day explaining i think my  son's hamster is pregnant and you confirmed her signs may lead towards pregnancy, i wondered would i be able to tell if she has had them, would they squeal a lot/ or crawl about?/ i have read as she is young she may have had them and they may not have survived/be still born, obvioulsy if this is the case i ned to get them out andsort the cage out, can i look into the nest usinh a pencil or something to check? regards michelle

ANSWER: Hi Michelle

When hamsters are pregnant they do sometimes change their behavior - they often relocate the nest, drink a lot more water and close to the time they give birth, if they stand upright you can see the bulge on their hips.  As soon as they give birth their size seems to return to normal, they tend to spend longer in the nest and tuck it in if they leave it at any time.

Occasionally there are still borns, or ones who don't survive for various reasons and these do need to be removed from the nest.

Is your hamster coming out of the nest?  What type of cage is she in - can you take the top off so you can easily have a look?  If so, if she's OK I suggest you call her and get her out of the nest and pick her up and make a fuss of her.  While you/someone else is doing this, then gently open the nest.  They tend to put their babies right at the bottom on the base of the cage with all the bedding on top so you might be able to lift the whole thing off.  Be care you don't get any babies caught up in the bedding, and cover them up pretty much immediately.  New borns can die from the cold literally minutes outside the nest, so you need to be very quick and careful.  As your scent will be on the nest, put your hand over the rest of the wood chippings etc. and if you accidentally touch any baby, then gently place your hand over all of them so that you've not singled out any one.  Also let your hamster smell you so she recognizes your scent.

Regards

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hi there you are going to think i am mad!! i think it may be a boy!! i gently held her and had a vey careful look to see if her teats are promenent and couldn't see any, but while i was there, there was this littls spot like a belly button, anyway after searching the net, it looks like she could be a he and it's his scent gland!! but his behaviour is very pregnant like is this normal for a male? you can tell i'm a newcommer!!i'm more confused now!!

ANSWER: Hi

This link shows photos of different sexes http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/sexing_hamsters.htm - this might help you.  The scent glands are on their hips - there is one each side.  On some hamsters these are prominent and there is a dark brown/black dot - sometimes they are slightly bald around them.

Hope this helps.

Regards



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks have had a look, and still confused, so do dwarf campbell/winter whites not have  something that looks like a belly button on their tummy's that is a scent gland?? i suppose nature will take it's cause eventually!! but i would like to get a friend for he/she as they are meant to great socialisers and live well amongst groups.

Answer
I'd be careful before you get a friend for your hamster - it would be best to get an opinion from someone over what sex it is - you don't want to find you end up with dozens of hamsters.  They come into season every 4th day, and mate again on the day the litter is born, so it is easy to get over-run!

Good luck with this.
Regards