...almost definitely pregnant.

[corrieberry]

I do not know when this could have happened and will be talking to my flatmates tonight, but I am 95% sure Molly is pregnant. She has got the 'ping pong balls' that everyone talks about and her nipples are very prominent. She's nesting a lot more and her smell has changed drastically - it now smells almost like she is on heat 100% of the time.

I'm gutted, terrified, upset - I never intended to breed, and especially not with Pippin who is your average run of the mill skinny little pet shop hamster. I wanted a girl hamster because I'd never had one, and I'm now questioning all that I know about myself and whether I'm a suitable owner if this can happen.

I don't know when the babies are due, nor what I will do with them, or even if they will survive. From what I've heard, hamster husbandry is a terrifying, high-mortality experience. I'm pretty certain that we will have hamster babies in much less than sixteen days.

So...what actions should I take? Given that I don't know when they are due, when should I remove the wheel and toys and things? I'm thinking of putting her in my Ferplast Duna Large - it's much more portable than her big cage and will allow me to put her in a quiet place where she will get far fewer disturbances. I'll probably make the switch tonight or tomorrow evening after work if I don't get a chance (we are once again entertaining).

I'll start giving her extra proteins and stock up on stuff I will need for babies.

I'm going to keep taking her out when she asks unless anything drastic changes...and keep an eye out for anything.

Now that Pippin has been to the vet we are familiar, so I'll call them and let them know in case we need to do an emergency run.

This is a disaster. John and I are meant to be moving out in September, but I've told him I want out now and we have put an ad out and started looking at flats in the area we want to go to. The likelihood of getting a place before the babies arrive is slim, there is about a two week lead-time on admin for us leaving this flat, so it's going to be at least a month anyway as I won't want to move her.

I don't know whether to scream at them or just breakdown and let them know how deeply this hurts. The friendship is over anyway - it's now just a matter of actually having a last few days where I can function without everything else going to pieces, as I have high anxiety and have been struggling with my mental health in the last few weeks - need to avoid a breakdown as much as I possibly can, and any big confrontation will not help that.

Although having to look after hamster babies won't either.

[AmyHague]

Oh no!

This is absolutely awful! As if your flatmates would do that!! So bad!

If she has the Ping-Pong ball tummy and exposed nipples she would probably be nearer the end of her pregnancy, 10days+.

I would move her into the cage she is going to be in asap, so she feels comfortable in it, normally you would just take the wheel out a couple of days before she was due, but this may be difficult for you to judge in these circumstances!

I really do hope Molly we be ok, you have to remember that is the main thing.

You have my number, and you are more than welcome to text me, or even PM me on here and I am more than happy to help you in anyway I can.

If she is pregnant, there is nothing you can do about it now, except help molly as much as possible in preparing for her pups.

I really do hope everything goes well! x

[humfry]

Corrie - that is just awful for you! But nothing can be done now except concentrate on helping Molly. If such a thing happened to me I would feel at least I had loads of people here to turn to for help, so you are not alone & must not get yourself into a state. No point having a confrontation that will only make the situation more stressful.

Hugs from me & humfry.

[Colby and the Dwarfs]

I'm in a similar situation. It's awful, isn't it? Exciting, but bad.

I can't really add much, just that I'm sending positive thoughts your way. xxx

[Gazmo]

Im so sorry, im sure the extra stress isnt helpful at all :/

Good luck, everyone here is here for you x

[BrainGirl]

Oh dear Corrieberry, I'm so sorry you're going through this! Is it possible that she got pregnant when your flatmate put them together in the playpen? I just looked back and found the thread. That was posted on the 6th and it's been just 16 days since. I've not been through a hamster pregnancy though I have had one or two on pregnancy watch and been told the signs to watch for. By the sounds of it she could give birth within 24 hours!

I have anxiety too, especially where pregnancy is concerned. Think of me as virtually holding your hand through this stressful situation! As Gazmo said, we're all here for you x

[Char]

Your flatmates, are so horrible, its basically bulling what they done. Some people are so horrible. I will never know why people have to be horrible, it makes me sad and angry.
I will keep everything crossed for you. I hope you can move soon.

[kyrilliondaemon]

I'm sorry to hear you suspect she's pregnant

For what its worth, we raised a litter (fostered the ham, she was pregnant when we got her) and yes it was terrifying... But it was also amazing and seeing the pups grow up was fantastic. Far more litters seem to make it than not, its just that there are the risks and its best to be aware of them.

Good luck

[Esmy]

I'm sorry. That's awful! When it's not done intentionally and there was never any intention of breeding, I can see how awful it would be! I would be upset if that happened to my Penny! I suddenly has that worry with the pet sitter doing it my mistake. He can't remember which Is which so I need temp labels I guess. According to his notes, he knew which was Penny though. I wish you and your girl the best! Hopefully some breeders can give tips to try and reduce stress, like keeping enough food, type of foods, lots of bedding, etc.

[DrKMcK]

Hi Corrieberrie. Please don't panic. Although it is true that pregnancy has it's issues, many, many hammies do just fine. Your girl is in good health and should do well. It's done, so start from there. Don't worry about the wheel. You can remove it after birth too. I have done this myself. Your girl is nice and tame and shouldn't stress much if you take the wheel out when you change her water and feed her. This is not the same as so many hammy litters we've read about where the hammy wasn't tame yet. She will do all the work for the first two weeks and you won't have to do anything other than feeding and watering. Definitely start a pregnancy diet; better late than never. As for what to do with them after they are weaned, we'll worry about that once they are born. I know loads of HC folks will have ideas. What your flatmates did was rotten, but that won't help now. You have more than enough stress with the idea of moving. Go one day at a time, let Molly do her thing and we will all be here for you as best we can. {hugs}