Occasional Odor - Female Black Bear Hamster

Question
Hello,

I have a Black Bear Hamster, who's about 16 weeks old now (we've had her for almost 2 months).  On two seperate occasions (once last month, once today)
I've picked her up and she had a strong, foul odor to her (seemed to be coming from between her legs).  I don't think it's Wet Tail because her bottom is clean and there's no diarrhea; she's also very active and eating/drinking.  The rest of my hamsters are male dwarfs and I haven't noticed this in any of them.  I just got another female (dwarf) but I haven't had her long enough to notice this.  The Black Bear is the only Syrian I have.

I'm beginning to wonder, since she's not spayed, if it's ovulation or some kind of female hormonal cycle.  I'm NOT interested in breeding but would like to know if this is normal.  Have you ever noticed this occasional odor in any of your female hamsters?

Thanks so much for your time.

Answer
Hi Maya,

     Yes, I have noticed this in my female hamsters. This is very normal in female Syrian (Black Bear) hamsters. This means that she is coming into season (heat) and generally happens every 4 days (this may very from 3-5 days) and lasts about 12 hours or so.
    If you have anymore questions, please write again.

Thank you for writing!