After mating, expect your pregnant hamster to begin putting on weight, particularly between 10 and 18 days after conception. As mentioned above, she’s spending far more time ‘nesting’ – bringing more and more bedding material into her nest, and storing more food. For Syrian hamsters you can expect birth to occur anytime after day 16, while dwarf hamsters gestate over a period of 18-30 days, with birth usually occurring around day 21 for the Winter Whites and the Campbell’s, and anywhere from day 23-30 for the Roborovskis. The gestation period for the Chinese hamster is also 21 days.
In the hours leading up to birth, the pregnant hamster’s rate of breathing will increase by 50% and she will grow increasingly restless. As each pup is born the mother severs the umbilical cord and, depending on the species, can either eat the placenta or store it for a later meal.
One pup is born every 10 to 30 minutes, with a total litter size varying between species. For Syrians, the average litter size is 8, but up to 26 pups can be born. For dwarfs, the average is 6, but up to 14 is not uncommon. The entire birthing process can take up to two hours, during which time the mother will clean each pup and tidy the nest. Once all the pups are born she gathers all her newborns around her and begins to nurse them.
If the mother is housed with the father and no more pups are desired, remove the father NOW! The female hamster is capable of getting pregnant immediately after giving birth! If you don’t want any more pups within the next month then you must separate the parents.
After giving birth the mother is quite exhausted and will be looking for some extra protein. During pregnancy and after birth you should provide the mother with some high-protein foods such as nuts, hard boiled eggs, sunflower seeds, milk, and wheat germ. Also make sure that the water bottle can be easily reached by the new pups. You want this process to be as stress-free as possible on the mother, as the consequences of a jittery mother can be very unpleasant, as it is not uncommon for a nervous mother to eat her pups!.
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By: Dan on 01-08-2008 18:17
Ever since i brought its been eating alot and hoarding lots of its food into the corner. Now its created burrow nest like thing and it hasnt come out for a day now.
It was housed at petco with another female hamster but they said it just came in the other day, so im thinking maybe it got pregnant from where they got it.
Is this normal behavior for a new hamster or is this maybe a sign of pregnancy?
Send me what you think cus ive never owned a hamster before.
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