Is she in heat?

[Fluff N Roll]

My hamster has been acting strange! Someone told me she was in heat but i dont know? When i tuch her she stiffens her whole body. Spreads her back legs, "so she looks buff" And stays really still. what in the world is she doing. None of my hamster books say anything about hamster heat. So how do i know? Some one help Please! :o thank u
-Dakota

[Chaos]

She probably is in heat, Does her tail flip up when she does that? Anyway its not a big deal since they come into heat every 4 days usually, but can be between 3-5 days.

[SnowPrincess]

this is REALLY going to sound gross and innappropriate....but lift her up and smell her "area" and if is smells musky she probably is in heat.

and i heard if you stroke their backs and they "present" or freeze then they are. i think it was you Chaos that said this if i'm not mistaken.... :p

[lilforjc]

I know nothing about females-have only owned males, but that doesn't sound too pleasant...

[Fluff N Roll]

she does flip up her tail if i do that, but she also doesn't want me to pick her up! I know that's not healthy because i dont want to leave her alone in her cage for that long. Will she get upset if i dont mate her? Or will anything happen to her? I mean it has only happened two time that i have seen. It's like she's waiting for me to mate with her with i'm stroking her back!!
Thanks for all of the advice i'm going to try it. I dont know if i can do the sniff thing though i might get sick...LOL

[Chaos]

Nah she should be perfectly fine. Its just a natural reaction to the male, you can still pick her up. When you pick her up she should snap out of the freeze. She dosn't need to be mated, all female animals go into heat.