My new Teddy Bear hamster just was lifeless for about a minute!

[jrmorris2016]

I have a brand new Teddy Bear hamster baby who's about 8 weeks old, just weened from the mother, and because she's not tamed yet I like to try and pet her to get her used to me. I just was petting her (very odd that she wasn't running away or getting skittish) so I figured she was sleeping pretty heavy or something to that nature. after a few seconds of gentle petting with no reaction, I picked her up and she was complete dead weight! I noticed she was still breathing, but I was still nervous because her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving or flinching at all to the pets and me flipping her onto her back gently in my hand to check her breathing. after a minute she perked up and acted normal but that was very odd and I was concerned!
Because I only got her a few days ago I have been giving her new food/treats and thought at very first she may have had an allergic reaction to a new treat I had put in the cage. I was very scared and didn't know what to do! I was told she is the runt of the litter (she's very small) and that they are fairly certain that its a girl, but its too early to tell. I searched around to see what I could find but all I found was hibernation, which I'm fairly confident is not what just happened as she gets plenty of light and is not kept in a cold area.

any ideas? im not sure what to do if it happens again! im worried she may not be getting enough water/food and might have just passed out!

[souffle]

This is not an uncommon reaction in baby hamsters and it is a response to feeling a little scared - maybe they see something they are not sure about or hear something then they freeze in case it is a predator that might attack them. If they keep really still it may not notice them. It can also happen in females when they come in the heat. Did she have a raised tail?This is also a protective mechanism as otherwise they would attack a male. If you rub their back when they are in heat (every 4th day) they will raise their tail, freeze and get a glazed look on their face!