What are the symptoms to hamster pregnancy?

Question

I bought a female dwarf hamster a couple days ago. The people said she is chubby and she is quite chubby. I'm not sure if she's pregnant or if she's just fat. She lives in the small traveling cage, because I have another hamster and I'm afraid the other one will harm the maybe pregnant mother. She is chubby and she looks like a pear. Her butt is a little big and she makes a lot of nests, but always goes back to one in the corner. Today she actually nibbled on my finger. I can't really see her nipples. She is storing a lot of food. Are these the symtoms to hamster pregnancy or is she just fat? Also yesterday I felt her tummy and felt a little bump.

Answer 1

Your 2 female hamster are going to fight so use a method like keeping your pregnant hamster in the small cage.  After 24 hours, switch the 2 hamsters.  Do this for about 3 days and let them out.  If they fight do this method.  And your female hamster is pregnant.  Until she has her babies, put her in the big cage and the other hamster in the small cage.  You might want to sell some of the babies away unless you also want to be a mother.

Answer 2

Swollen nipples, fattness and a lot of eating and drinking.

Answer 3

There have been many cases of people buying pregnant female hamsters from pet shops since pet shops wrongly s*x the hamsters and put males and females in the same cage.

There might be a possibility that your hamster is pregnant but it is very difficult to differentiate a pregnant hamster from a non pregnant one.

Your hamster is currently living in a travel cage which is not the right cage for her, and she could be getting fat due to lack of exercise. I would advise you as first step to get her a proper cage since hamsters are known to develop a condition called cage paralysis if left in a small cage for a long time.

The gestation period for dwarf hamsters is 18-21 days from the mating day.

It is very difficult to tell if a hamster is pregnant.The reason being her size won't increase until the last 3 days before delivery.

Some clues include when she may be building a bigger nest, hoarding a lot of food in the nest, will eat and drink water more than usual and sleep a lot more if she is pregnant. In the last 4 days before delivery, she will look big in the belly and teats would be prominent.

Whether she is pregnant or not, treat her as though she is pregnant for the next 25 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.

Read up on the internet on how to handle pregnant hamsters and hamster babies so that if she delivers a litter, you would be confident about how to handle the situation.

Answer 4

It can be hard to tell in dwarf hamsters. They are only pregnant for 2 weeks though, so you won't have to wait long to find out.

The female will usually build a nest and become territorial. Her teats may become bald and she might start eating more.

If she does give birth, don't fiddle around the nest; she may eat the babies if she feels threatened. Also, do not put a male with her if you don't want alot more babies: female hammies go on heat straight after giving birth, and you may end up with another litter in another 2 weeks.

That said, dwarf hamsters are prone to obesity and with yours living in a small cage, she may be lacking excercise.

Answer 5

First of all, why on earth have you bought another Hamster if you don't have the appropriate necessities? She needs more than a travel cage.

Anyway back to the question, Hamsters naturally store food so that wouldn't be a symptom of pregnancy. Have you tried going back to the Pet store and asking they shop assistants for a bit of history about you new Hammy?

Was she in a cage with a load of other Hamsters or was she on her own?

It sounds to me that she may be just a little chubby. Probably best to take her to a vet who can have a proper look at her.

Anyway good luck!