I think my hamster is pregnant!!

Question
Hi Karen,

I bought a female Syrian hamster and shes about 5 months old now.My younger brother bought a black bear hamster a couple of weeks ago which we thought was a female.My brother didn't realize that you can not house to Syrian hamsters together.I went upstairs to check on my hamster and i caught the to hamsters mating!!.It's been 2 weeks now and she has put on a quite a bit of weight i have a idea what I'm going to do with the baby's when they get a bit older but can you give me any advice on caring for them?
                     Jake

Answer
Hi Jake,

    Well, if indeed your hamster is pregnant, and it has been 2 weeks now, she should be giving birth within the next couple of days.
    First, the other hamster should be removed, if you haven't done that already. The cage needs to be cleaned, put in extra bedding and some cotton balls, about 10-12 of them, these will help keep the babies warm when Mom is out of the nest and the wheel removed. Start feeding her some hard boiled egg and carrots along with her regular hamster food. This will give her the extra protein she needs to help raise her babies.
    When she has the babies, the nest nor the babies should be touched because the Mom may reject them or eat them if she smells your scent on the babies.
    When the babies are 2 weeks old, they can be handled for a short period of time and the cage can be cleaned.
    At 3 weeks of age, the babies will need to be separated from their Mom and each other (boys in one cage, girls in another). At this time, you can also stop feeding the Mom the hard boiled egg.
    At 5-6 weeks of age, the babies will be ready to go to their new homes.
    If you have anymore questions, please write again.

Thank you for writing!