hamster labour

Question
hello i got a hamster in a pet shop a week ago and she is now very fat she is sleeping all the time and VERY grumpy and wont let you touch her and is making nests and there are tubes in  her cage and she brings food in them and there is a a sphere for her to run about in and she finds it hard to get in and she always crutches down in it with a huge stomach thank you for listening hollie

Answer
Dear Hollie,
thank you for your question.
I think that your hamster may be pregnant. Offer her plenty of nesting material and leave her alone as much as possible, clean the cage now and then leave it until the babies come out of the nest by themselves. Animal protein is very important, give her mealworms or crickets or egg/curd cheese (I recommend insects). Syrian hamsters give birth after 19-22 days, dwarf hamsters after 17-23 days, depending on the species.
It's probably a good idea to see a vet with her to make sure that she's really pregnant and doesn't have any medical problems.

If your cages looks like this:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/images/products/large/p_19817.jpg
I really recommend getting a different one because these cages are way too small even for dwarf hamsters, badly ventilated (may cause respiratory infections) and the plastic can be deadly when chewed and swallowed. Tanks make good hamster homes and can be bought cheap at garage sales for example (a mesh wire lid is neccessary). In my opinion, the minimum for Syrian hamsters is a cage that is 40x20x20 inches long, high and wide, for dwarf hamsters it's 30x15x15 inches.

I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer