Is my hamster pregnant???

[1brightstar]

Hi, Im new to this so please be kind. I bought two hamsters two weeks ago, one a male and one a female. The female (Kairi) is really tame. She feels confident enough to take food from my fingers and she even lets me pet her once in awhile. The thing that got me to wondering is one day I fed them both some fresh blueberries, giving one to the male (Sora) and one to Kairi. Kairi kept taking the food from Sora and it was then that I realized that she was bigger than he was particularly in the middle. I have kept an eye on her since and it was just recently that I noticed the male was chewing and licking at Kairis' butt. I was confused but didn't not take action, thinking that it was just a act of nature. Kairi is very active and seems to be interested in digging in the corners and what not. Could you tell me if she is pregnant or if she is just fat??

[bensmum]

Hello 1brightstar and welcome! I must admit that I know very little about hamsters - I have guinea pigs - but they are generally quite prolific breeders if kept together so I would strongly suspect that your girl is indeed pregnant. I would suggest logging in to something like www.allaboutpets.org.uk to see what they say. I am also sure that someone on AB will have the answer - good luck

[k8bailey]

hi, female hamsters are larger than males anyway but if you're keeping the two together then she will be pregnant they come into heat every 4 days.

You didn't say whether they were syrian hamsters or dwarfs, syrians can't be kept together after about 8 weeks of age and shouldn't even be allowed to play together because they can and will fight to the death but dwarf hmsters can be kept in pairs but its recomended that they're same sex pairs pref 2 males (females are more territiorial)

hamsters can also get pregnant less than 24hours after they give birth, so you really ought to separate them

I bought a pregnant hamster 9 weeks ago and we are having trouble rehoming the babies as all the pet shops in the area are too full to take them off us, and they've cost us a small fortune so far in extra cages, bedding sawdust, food etc.

If you need any more info let me know - Good luck!
k8bailey

[Fatmanfirst]

If they are Syrian hamsters, this breed are not social animals and should be separated, really. They do live quite happily on their own. Breeding normally happens when the two are put in a neutral environment for a few minutes, after mating a fight can develop, so its on with the gloves and part them!

[HamsterLover]

yes...I would say your hamster is pregnant...

And other ways to tell that your hamster is pregnant:

She will be losing patches of fur on her stomach

she will start to hoard bedding material and food

[HamsterLover]

Other ways to tel (continued)
she may become more nervous or jumpy

She may build a second nest

And here are some things to do:

Try to handle her less often

You should change her wood shavings before she gives birth

give her some table scraps in the form of cooked chicken, fish or other sources of protein (not fried) or a piece of dried dog food

[HamsterLover]

And Here is some additional info

Syrian hamsters may have between six and ten babies; dwarf hamsters may have five or six babies in a litter

Sometimes, a female hamster may show signs of being pregnant but never give birth. This may happen for one of two reasons: it may be a phantom pregnancy (not an actual pregnancy) or she may be unable to give birth.


It is rare for a hamster to give birth to dead babies, but it can sometimes happen. Try to remove any dead babies without touching the mother or any living children -- a long spoon may be useful. However, the mother may eat the dead bodies herself; the protein can help strengthen her after giving birth. A female hamster may also eat her own babies if she is too young to be bred and is too immature to cope with raising her litter.

If you have Syrian hamsters I would separate them....but if you have dwarfs I heard you can put them together but I dont do that with mine because they fight.

[HamsterLover]

More Info (continued):

If your mother hamster is ignoring her babies, you don�t have to worry right away. She will leave the nest for periods of time but should return to nurse the babies. If a female totally abandons her litter, you may need to try fostering them with another female hamster or hand rearing them. It may be next to impossible to hand-rear a baby hamster that is less than ten days old, and fostering can be difficult before fourteen days of age.

Syrian hamsters have a gestation period of approximately sixteen days. Dwarf hamsters have a slightly longer gestation period -- approximately twenty days.

You can remove the babies from Mom when they are about a month old. Yes, hamsters grow fast! If you possibly can, try to separate the boys from the girls. Hamsters are a very precocious species. This is, of course, easier said than done. If a pet shop or someone will take the whole litter, you won't need to bother sexing them. Just take the whole lot to the shop. Being sad at this time is normal. But reassure yourself that you are doing what's best for them, for you and for Mommy Hamster.

Source(s):

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20 070523154602AA0JdlM

http://hubpages.com/hub/Help__My_Hamster_Is_Pr egnant