[Nancy's Hamsters]

It is NOT to make more money. The store gets Hamsters in from a distributor and that distributor often mistakes genders and a male is housed with many females. They then sell a Female to the female only stores and males to the Male only stores(ALL Pet-co's in Ohio are gender labeled meaning they either have all Females or all Males) Unsure of this policy outside of Ohio. Any time you purchase a Female hamster of any Species of hamster from a Pet Store you should assume it could be pregnant. The gestation period for a Syrian hamster is usually 16 days but some can birth a day earlier or up to 4 days later. That said be sure to offer her high protein foods like Meal worms and many offer eggs though some say eggs have little protein levels in them. Nuts and kitten milk can be offered but some won't like the milk. House her in a large cage with a deep base so she can build a very closed nest which will keep her calm as well as provide much needed warmth for the completely naked pups.

If she develops the pear shaped body she will most likely be due to birth very soon, and I have had some Moms not ever show any sign of being pregnant and birth a litter 2 days after arriving here. So don't relay on outward signs as a 100% indication of not pregnant or pregnant. Use the date system and feed and care for her as if she is pregnant for 20 days from purchase date.

If she is pregnant relax Hamsters have been birthing pups for centuries on their own with little problem. If she is a really young hamster(4 weeks or less) chances are high she will instinctively know she can't handle a litter and will cull(eat) the whole litter. This is rather upsetting to some people, but is the only way for her to survive and continue her own life and growth. If she is about 8 weeks old and she enjoys motherhood you will have need to locate several more cages and start searching for nice pet homes for the pups when weaned. Each pup MUST be housed separately at or around 5 weeks (6 weeks occasionally) for Females, and at 7 weeks(occasionally 8 weeks) the males will need their own cages or you will end up finding a badly mauled pup or worse a dead one.

IF she is pregnant you must leave her alone completely for 2 weeks only going in the cage to top off food bowl and offer her high protein food, and to check and make sure her water bottle is full. At about 10 days you may be honored with a sighting of the pups as at this time they start wandering about the cage searching for food bits which Mom will offer them. Their eyes will open on or about 16 days and when eyes are open it is safe to remove Mom and do a spot clean leaving the nest alone. By 18 days you should be able to do a complete cage clean(and trust me your nose will be so happy for this LOL). Be sure to save as much of the actual nest as is possible(it will not be very dirty as it is their bedroom) and replace the nest in the clean cage right where it was before you did the clean out.

Begin short and very careful handling of the pups daily at 18 days also. I like to use two large size shoe box containers. I carefully place the shoe box on the floor of the cage and scoop up all the pups into the shoe box. I then place the shoe box in the bath tub and climb in so when I am holding the pup it has a very short distance to fall if it decides I am a scary monster and the sight take flight instinct kicks in. For the very first handling I only hold them cupped in my hand for a few seconds then I place them in the 2nd shoe box. I repeat this for each pup until all pups have been handled for a few seconds, Then I return the pups back to the nest and then I return the Mamma to her pups. You increase the time held until they are used to your hand and run to you when you open the cage door or lid, and it becomes harder to part with them. They can go off to their new homes at 6 weeks.