Possible Syrian pregnancy.

[Birds_Will_Fly]

I brought my new hamster “Remy” on Monday. She was cooped up in a little wooden cage with a litter half her size. The shop owner told me they where all one litter of females and all 10 weeks.

I couldn’t help myself. I had to buy her. It wasn’t fair to leave a hamster that big in a cage that small. She is bigger than any fully grown Syrian I’ve ever had! I was suspicious that she might be pregnant. I weighed her on Tuesday and she was about 157g. I weighed her again today and it was around 162g. It’s not exact as she’s constantly moving.

Her nipples seemed to look a bit pink yesterday and she had a sticky wet patch on her side. She packed her imac loft full of bedding. I didn’t want to peek in case there where babies in there.

I’ve given her some cooked chicken, baby food and cat biscuits just in case she is/ going to be a mummy ham. I’ve had accident dwarf litters before but never Syrian. Anyone think this sounds like a pregnancy or am I being silly?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Sorry for the essay!

[haziebabie]

Oooh, I hope she isn't for your sake. I guess she might be especially if you can see her nipples have enlarged... Can you speak to the pet shop again? Maybe ask them about the litter? What age do they sex and split them? Whether there is a possibilty Remy was from a different litter or the mother?

Do you have any other sort of cage available if she is pregnant? A Fantasy with pups doesn't sound good. If you really think there is a strong possibility of pregnancy I would try and get her on one level cause once she has the pups its going to cause problems with the levels, what with a hole to fall down and lack of water supply. When Mavis had her surprise pups she was in a Rotastak set-up, fortunately she made her nest in the larger dining room and not in an attic and I could move the whole unit down so they were on one level. Maybe you could remove the tube leading to the attic and lift her nest down, assuming there are no pups already. Also you will need to find a way to block off the lower bars at least to prevent escapees but they won't need that for the first few days. Its good that she is getting all the extra foods to give any babies the best chance.

How is she behaving, that should give you a clue as to whether there are pups already, is she always dating back to the nest? Sometimes you can hear little noises from them. Or see a little movement. I would do some nest watching and see if you can spot any pink.

Only time will tell I guess whether she is/has been or not!! But you will definitely know for sure in the next 12 days. At least you are prepared and know what is best to do if it should happen. When we had Mavis she was still a small girl, I suppose she was podgier. In fact she is a lot bigger now than when she was pregnant as she wasn't fully grown when she was brought home at 10 weeks, so also consider they may just have the age wrong.

[souffle]

I would block the route up to the imac loft for now just in case. Can you get a biggish cardboard box and cut one end off then move the nesting material in there. Hopefully she will deliver in that if she is pregant and that will be best for the pups as you do not want them up in the attic in case they fall. It will also be hard to feed them up there. If she is not constantly up there in the nest then she is unlikely to have had them. You also see a large drop in weight at delivery. She may just be plumping up with all the good food. Our Allianna whi is expecting on Monday has gained 35g since mating, most in the last few days and she looks pear shaped and bulgy across the hips. If you feel the tummy it is firm and taught.
The wet spots on her hips are likely her scent glands especially if she is a bit warm in the attic or smells another hammy.
Try and get her moved on to one level. the weight you describe is not unduly large for a breeder ham (its middling I'd say) and we have had many this size and larger even from pet shops.