How do i breed hamsters ?

Question

I realy want to have tiny hamsters crawling around at christmas. I have a male and female gold hamstersthat i read on a book ready to breed. But how do i breed them......

Answer 1

The sex of adult hamsters is easy to determine. Male have very large, prominent testicles. In fact, owners unaccustomed to seeing them are often astonished at the anatomic peculiarites.

Male golden hamsters should be first bred when they are 14 weeks old. Females should be first bred when they are 10 weeks old. As the time of copulation approaches, thin, stringy, cobweb-like mucus exits the female's vulva. The female is then placed into the male's cage about one hour before dark. The pair must then be carefully observed for mating activity and/or fighting. Females can be very aggressive to males in this situation and can harm them. The male should be removed at once if there is fighting. Because fighting is so likely, aggressive males are best hand-mated. In these situations, they are better able to defend themselves and "hold their ground". The male should be removed after mating.

Pregnancy lasts only 15 1/2-16 days. Before delivery, the female becomes restless and usually discharges a small amount of blood from her vulva. Litters usually range from 5 to 10 pups. The pups are born hairless, with ears and eyes closed. They do, however, have their front teeth (the incisors) at birth.

Female hamsters with young must be provided with abundant nesting and bedding materials, and plenty of food and water. They must not be disturbed in any way. The young should not be touched or handled until they are at least 7 days old, the nest should not be disturbed, and the cage should not be cleaned during this period. Failure to heed these cautions (especially with females nursing their first litters) most often results in cannibalism of the young.

Observant owners may note an interesting maternal rearing activity, especially if the female with young is excited or disturbed. She will stuff pups into her cheek pouches and deposit them into the nest a short time later when she believes the danger has passed. Occasionally, pups suffocate as a result of this activity, especially during lengthy period of disturbance.

Young hamsters usually begin eating solid food at 10 days of age but are usually weaned at about 3 weeks of age. Solid, pelleted food must be soaked to soften it and be placed on or near floor level of the enclosure for easy access by the weanlings. As mentioned above, sipper tubes must be positioned low enough so that the smallest pups can reach them. Some pups will not be strong enough to extract water from sipper tubes, so owners must be vigilant for this potential problem and provide an alternative water source for them.

Answer 2

First, what species of hamster are you trying to breed? You will want to do research specific to the species you select (Syrian, Dwarf Campbell, Dwarf Winter White, Chinese Dwarf or Roborovski Dwarf). Then you will have to decide what you will do with the offspring you produce. Some species or certain colors are not popular in particular areas or communities. After that, you will need to secure all your equipment (water bottles, etc), feed source, cages (you will need at least 4 or more), and select the best animals you can find, which should be from unrelated family lines. Cages are important, since when hamster are not sleeping, eating or making more hamsters, they are trying to find a way out of the cage (this includes chewing and running on a wheel) If your breeding stock is not of proper age, and unless they have been given proper nutrition for the long run, you could have problems. Not all hamsters eat their young, or kill each other. Again, good research is important. Lastly, WHY do you what to breed? Don't answer me, I just want you to really think about this one for yourself. If some one is just breeding hamsters to make more hamsters, then don't. If a person just throws some hamsters together in a closet to have them make more hamsters they are not a breeder, they are simply a multiplier. True breeders have set standards and goals, and hold themselves to a very high degree of ethics. We work to maintain and improve the lines and standards we are working on. Culling and re-adjusting the bar is important, as well as hard evaluation of the results of a breeding program. Give this a true and honest consideration before breeding hamsters, or any type of animal. Please email me privately if you need more info. I never want to stop someone from working towards being a true and honest breeder, but I also feel those that just want to multiply have no room in the pet hobby. Do you know how to end up with $200 cash from raising hamsters?!?!?!? Start out with $500!~

Answer 3

well there is no way to tell when your female is in heat. So every night you need place the female in the males cgae for two hrs. If you don't remove the female than the male could end up killing her. Make sure once they are 4 weeeks old you remove the males from the females other wise you can end up with dead hamsters and or LOTS of babies! Also remember as cool as it is to have baby hamster they are very hard to get rid of you can't give them to most pets stores and mos people won't respond to adds in the paper when it has to deal with hamsters. Just letting you know good luck!

Answer 4

Trust me on this answer, they know what to do and need no help from you.
Make sure to separate the pregnant females from the males though. Once the babies are born the males will kill them. So start getting a few extra cages and all the furnishings for each cage.
Hamsters have the cutest little babies. When then are born they are not much bigger than a pea.

Answer 5

Keep them in seperate cages. Females come 'on heat' every four days, put the female into the males cage each evening, but stand by with gloves on, cos if she's not in the mood, they will fight and will need to be seperated quickly. If she is in the mood, she will take up a rigid stance and it will all be over pretty quickly! Still keep guard, cos they will fight when they've finished. Put the Female back in her own cage and do not disturb the nest under any circumstances, until the babies are old enough to get out themselves. If you mess with the nest when the babies are tiny, she will kill them.

Answer 6

Set the mood lighting, drop some Barry White on the Stereo, then watch the little blighters go!!

Hamsters are like rabbits & bash away at it all the time, are you sure you don't have two of the same sex.

Or maybe they just don't fancy each other!

Answer 7

I saw your question and just had to respond, bred these critters for a good 10 (20?) years (well into my 30's on and off) and can see no one so far are experienced at this! These are standard hamsters correct? These are very different then your mini, small hamsters.
DO NOT JUST PUT THEM IN THE SAME CAGE! The female can and in many instances will KILL THE MALE! I would like you to remember this, or your male will be slaughtered.
The female is BOSS. It is only when the female is in heat she will only consider having the male around.
You have to be watching at all times....for the protection of your male. Unless you do not care about him. Putting her in his cage might be best! Then you watch, if you hear a very loud clicking noise separate them immediately! Do not get bit by doing this! I have a very nice scar from when I was gosh 7 or so from a bite.
She will do a funny stance if she is in heat. She will arch her back up for him to do his duty. She is only in heat for 4 days or something so you need to keep putting her in there until you see her do this stance, otherwise dead male, or injured male.
This does not mean your female is going to be a good mother, mothers have a tendency to eat there babies. Specially if they are stressed out. If you touch the babies of a new mother, or ANY stress she will kill the babies. If she doesn't call yourself lucky!
Have you thought what you will do with these babies? Have a cage for the baby males and baby females ready (if someone wants two of the males or two of the females from the same cage these may be able to live there lives together in same cage, maybe.... I would put food coloring on the bottom of the babies so I could separate them easy when it was time. Blue for the males...
If you are going to go big with these, I had hundreds of these at one time! The pet shops may buy them for at that time a buck a piece. Mostly they would trade for food. Snakes eat these as well.
Ever go to a pet shop where they have ten or more hamsters in one cage? Notice all the bite marks? If there are none with bite marks any smart pet shop will take these out and feed them to the snakes.
These are pocket pets, a pet to buy that is cheap therefor they are treated as this in pet shops. They are bought for a cheap snake food for they are high in fat content. So when selling or giving your pet hamsters, or babies in your case, check the people out if you do not want them going for snake food. I have been lied to many times by people coming for my babies! Remember two little kids picking two out and talking with the parents about the separate cages etc. I was there at there home and asked about there hamsters, the father fed them to the snakes (which means he had to kill them to feed them to his snakes). Ticked me off for I took time taming my hamsters down for the pet stores, and for kids to have has pets, not snake food!

Anyhoo good luck it is addictive when you get it down on how to breed them!! Never will you have just one hamster again lol!

Remember to that the mini or dwarf hamsters are very different to breed...

BTW- There is a way to tell if your female is in heat if she is experienced mother. Pet her by her tail, end of back with just a little pressure and she will go into her breeding position.....dosnt work to well for the newbie females...

Answer 8

Ahwell knows exactly what to do.
Because they are solitary animals things can get agressive even resulting in death of a mate or babies eaten.
Be careful - if only it was as simple as humans. At least it's much quicker!
Good luck for successful mating.

Answer 9

I think you just... put them in the same cage... I mean, I am kind of assuming that just like rabbits, hamsters are rather randy little fellows. Although, how long is the gestation for hamsters?

Answer 10

How don't you breed them is a more important question!

Put them in the same cage.

Wait.