Is there a way to tell if a girl is in heat?

[Esmy]

I have one female and two new male Syrians. They do not have any physical contact but are in the same room. But I'm wondering if there is a way to know if the female is in heat? Perhaps I could be a little more aware of behavioral changes in them if I could tell. Tonight I brought home the second male and ironically, this is the first night my girl crawled up my arm to get out of her bin. She's never wanted crawl on me before. Thanks!

[lmh]

My girls go into heat every 4 days. There is a very musky odor that they omit...you cant miss it. It will get onto your clothing/skin and it must be 'washed' to get the odor out. I have a bib-like cloth that I use to drape over the front of my shirts so I can still cuddle with them. They dont know they stink so I dont find it fair to pass up the girls for some snuggles when all the boys are getting some!! Its habit now to do the sniff test before I hold them close - sounds nasty but when you are dressed and ready to leave the house - the smell of my hamster is not my choice of perfume!! <GRIN>
My cinnamon girl smells alittle stronger then my others - always has. My BEC 'chirps' when she is in heat. lol She calls to the boys, flirts, and does her best to get out of the cage. She is my escape artist. She is so silly!!
Lora

[Esmy]

Is that the same smell that I think smells like pee? lol I held her tonight and she smelled like pee but doesn't always. She does run on her saucer that she also pees on. Tonight she was so antsy to get out of the cage! If I read this correctly, they look like they are frozen with tail up when wanting to mate? I had her in a playpen next to the male (no contact possible) and she froze for a long time. I picked her up and put her back in her bin.

[kyrilliondaemon]

Some females will stand when they're on heat, if you stroke her back and she stops and lifts her tail up then she's probably on heat (and yes wants to mate)
Smell is whats always told us, I always find it noticably different to when a ham has just been sitting in their urine or something.

[Nerys]

My little female, Molly, doesn't really smell at all when she on heat (thankfully! hehe) but she does erm...'present' if you go anywhere near her back!

[Esmy]

Penny does stiffen up when I stroke her back but I thought that was every day. I need to keep track and see if she has a pattern to it. lol She did that last night and she smelled.

[Esmy]

Ok so based on the tips I got, I can definitely tell when she's in heat, by smell alone! Uggh it is so pungent. :/ But I play with her anyway. I'm not sure she's consistent with every 4 days though.

[Amphitrite]

Ways to tell if your female is in heat are easy. Yes, she may smell more and produce a pungent odor but it is mostly when she becomes frozen. She will stop moving and put her tail up in the air. This means that she wants or is ready to mate with a male Syrian and this usually continues for up to 20 minutes. If you are going to mate them, this may sound perverted, but you should keep and eye on them. Since Syrians are prone to fighting this could be dangerous.

[Esmy]

I have no intention of mating them. Thanks though, it's still good to know for behavior change purposes.