Dwarf hamster incest

Question
What if dwarf Hamster impregnates his Mom, and Sister? A Dwarf hamster I bought 3 months ago gave birth to 5 babies, just 3 days after i bought her. I gave away 3 of them at 5 weeks old, and kept 2 that I swore were females. 2 months later(just yesterday), I discovered that one of the siblings had given birth to 3 babies. Then the next day(today), I noticed that their Mom has given birth to 5 babies. So obviously one of the siblings is a boy! I wish it was easier to tell them apart!  I heard that they only need to be 5 weeks old to get pregnant, so after 3  months, I was sure they were both females!?!

Answer
Hi Patrick,

Although incest should be avoided, I understand that you didn't know you had a male in the cage.  So, the babies should be okay.  (When dwarves continually breed through incest, that's when you get undesirable traits.)

Obviously, you'll want to place the male in another cage to prevent any more incestual breeding.  Here's a link to a picture that will show you the difference between a male and a female dwarf:

http://www.hamsterhideout.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=10517

Have a great weekend, and good luck with your new arrivals!

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

Kelly