Hamster Pregnancy complications!!!!?

Question

I have a female hamster and i think she is about 7-8 months old...not really sure how old she is i have had her since she was about 3 weeks old...um she was breed with are male hamster(sponge Bob) and they had a litter of 4 which two of them ended up dieing...dont know why..um but the other two girls we have had ever since and they are big and healthy... but anyways i breed her again with sponge bob on the 6 or 7th of this month and she has gotten really big and looks like she is pregnate...she has all the common signs of being prego...but it has been alot longer thenn the usal pregnacy and i was wondring if this was normal for older hamsters or if she might be having promblems....someone plez help!!

Answer 1

I believe she just might need longer this time, she could be having a bigger litter, Sometimes first litters don't all make it so that might be why 2 in the other litter died! I would'nt worry yet! Give her some time!

Answer 2

The normal gestation time for hamsters is 18-21 days but some hamsters take even upto 25 days, so relax, She would most probably have her litter in a few more days.

Make sure you give her lots of clean food and water and supplement her protein intake by giving her hard boiled egg whites and little quantities of skimmed milk. Also supplement her regular food with pieces of fresh vegetables like carrots. Throw away any stale food after a day. Try to put the cage in an area where she has the least disturbance from noises and activities.

Clean out her nest and put in lots of fresh bedding (only aspen shavings, no pine or cedar and no scented shavings please) and also lots of unbleached / untreated toilet paper for her to make her nest. Put lots of food in the cage. After that leave the cage undisturbed for 2 weeks (except to change the food and water) after the babies are born since any disturbance can irritate the mother and cause her to hurt her babies. Remember never to touch the babies for two weeks from the day they are born.

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. A hamster who is unable to give birth will normally reabsorb the babies back into her system with no ill effects. A female hamster who has either a phantom pregnancy or reabsorbs a litter may go on to successfully bear a litter in the future.

Answer 3

Many different types of animals have some of the babies die, escpecially in their first litter. Most hamsters have a gestation period of 16-21 days, so she's still OK.