how can you tell when they are prgnant?

Question
my hamster feels really heavy and usually she is very light but she also usually lets people touch her and now she wont even let me touch her food bowl to feed her!!!!   HELP PLEASE!!!!  THANK YOU

Answer
Hi Amber, have you attempted to breed from her or has she been in the same cage as another hamster in the past couple of weeks?? if so she could be pregnant, they are pregnant for about twenty days and do get quite large and grumpy, if this is the case give her extra bedding and food and let her nest, if she is pregnant she may have started making a nest bigger than she would usually, if you do find that she has given birth dont attempt to touch her or the young for the first week at least (if this is the case let me know and we can go through it in more depth) if not she could be having a phantom pregnancy, this usually occurs in dwarf hamsters and the more social breeds that live in groups. or she could be poorly but without more details i really wouldnt want to say. let me know if she has been in contact with any other hamsters recently or not and i can consider it further. speak soon and try not to worry, Jen