Why is my hamster not pregnant?

[brittanyh]

I have had both my hamsters for almost a full year. They are the cheap mixed hamsters due to the fact that I have children. You can clearly see that there is one male and one female. VERY CLEARLY!!! They get along fine. Is there any way that they are just eating the babies before I see them? She doesn't get really fat and then all of a sudden get thin. What could be the problem? Please help me. And also are the males supposed to be like twice the size of the female?

[cyberfraggle]

I've had quite a bit of experience with small animals as I used to work with them. Hamsters usually don't live together well (unless they are a dwarf variety and even then I've known them not to geth along) Syrians are your most common hamster. Hamsters are solitary animals for you to have 2 that are getting along is very lucky - even male and female. The female will only mate when she's ready, I think you would have noticed a size difference as they usually have from 4 up to 17/18 babies, also if you handle them the female would be quite nasty if she's pregnant. As for the size, most I've owned the male has been bigger than females but It's not always the case. I hope this has been some help but I've no idea why they wouldn't have mated after a year of living together.

[saxy_jag]

It could be she's just barren.

Count yourself lucky. Most people who buy two 'cheap' hamsters end up with a dozen or so more within a few weeks.

[brittanyh]

Thank both of you for your quick replies!!! Is it possible that they will start having babies, or do you think that she is unable or either they just don't want to. At first, every time he would get around her, she would throw him-literally- across the cage. He is twice her size, but she is very tough. They sleep on top of each other and always eat together. Could it be the cage or diet? Thank you again for the two responses!

[orange-gnome]

If the hammies are in a normal hamster cage and are eating a hamster diet then I doubt it would be that... they usually breed prolifically no matter what!!
Are you sure that they are the same type of hamster? I.e both syrian or both russian dwarf hamsters? If he really is twice the size it could be possible that you have two different breeds there. The males are usually (but not always) bigger but its not common for them to be that much bigger.
It is possible that she or he could be eating any babies and it is quite common not to notice a size difference unless you are really looking for it of course. Although hammies can have litters in the teens, I have seen plenty that only ever have between 2-4 in which case the size difference isnt much.