Dwarf Hamster Breeding Question?

Question

When you breed dwarf hamsters and the female becomes fat of pregnancy, do you remove the male? If so, for how long?

Answer 1

The natural breeding season of the Dwarf Hamster in the wild is
from February through November, but in captivity they can and do breed
throughout the year. Breeding age is 50 days. Gestation is 18 days.
The average litter size is 3.2, with one report in the literature of a
litter of 9. The largest I have ever had was a litter of 8, all of
which survived. [Some of them are running in their little wheel as I
write this, soon to be sold] I have noticed a very skewed male-female
sex ratio, of about 3:1, in many but not all cases.

The young hamsters are born with teeth. They quickly grow dark
pigment, then fur, then eyes. By the time the fur comes in, they will
gnaw at any solid food they can find. One or two days before their
eyes open, they will seek it out by smell. As soon as they have
functional eyes, they will leave the nest in search of food. If you
are using a lab-type cage as I do, at this time some food should be
placed in the cage, near the nest, for the babies.

Like mice and many other rodents, female hamsters go into estrous
within 24 hours of giving birth, so they are often pregnant with one
litter while nursing another. This is one of the reasons why rodents
can survive the heavy predation they are subject to. The breeder,
however, should closely monitor the health of the female, to ensure
that she is not losing weight or showing other signs of debilitation
due to this. Generally, I give my breeders a one-cycle "vacation"
every three litters.

The expectant mother hamster should be provided with a clean cage, a
supply of tissue for nest-building, and peace and quiet. Do not
disturb her until the babies' eyes are open. If it is absolutely
necessary to change the cage bedding before that time, do it as
follows:

Remove the parents from the cage first and wash your hands thoroughly,
making sure to rinse well to remove any trace of soap scent. Next, rub
the soiled cage bedding all over your hands, to get the hamsters' scent
on them. Then, scoop up the entire nest, including the surrounding
pine shavings, and put it in a container separate from the parents -- a
small box or a soup bowl work well. Clean the cage as usual. Return
the nest to its original position. Put in the adults, and IMMEDIATELY
sprinkle seeds and hamster treats into the cage. The hamsters will
probably pick up the babies, especially if they're still pinkies, and
carry them around the cage for a while. This is normal, and within an
hour they should have all settled down again.

A lot of this depends on the personality of the individual hamster. I
have had some where I could lift up one edge of a nursing mother and
count day-old babies, and others who stressed out at any disturbance. A
severely stressed hamster will abandon or kill her babies, especially
if it is her first litter.

Unlike the situation with Syrian Hamsters, the male Dwarf
Hamster should not be removed from the cage before the babies are born.
Not only does this make it difficult to re-introduce him, but he will
usually take an active part in rearing the litter! Most males [again,
this varies among individuals] keep the babies warm while the female is
out of the nest, assist in nest building and maintenance, and many will
also retrieve young who have crawled from the nest or been dragged out
when the female leaves while they are nursing.

Hope this helps and good luck with the breeding

Answer 2

Janet S said it real well, but I'd like also to add, as a former Russian dwarf breeder, the Campbell's Russian dwarfs are the only breed you can leave with the female where they help raise the babies from birth. They will even help the females with the birthing by auctually helping pull the babies out if needed, eating the sacs and washing the newborns. All the other dwarf breeds (Siberian, Chinese, and Roborovski) will chase the male away from the the nest for a few days of bachelorhood, after which they too then become an active parent like the Campbell's Russian dads. Be sure and separate out the male and female babies around 4-6 weeks, mating of siblings is not breed healthy.

We today just got a partly blind white red eye Siberian that the pet store couldn't sell. They even gave me a discount just to take her. She's wonderful. That now makes 10 dwarfs for us. Last night we rescued from a private "breeder" 2 male Syrians, one passed in my hand while on the phone with my vet, from wet tail, an eye infection, and seizures. The other is doing well today. Also we took a female breeder gerbil and only daughter from them and both are doing well too. The Syrians were crammed into a Critter Trail one cage with about 5-6 others, one of which gave birth that morning, but they refused to allow me to take her and the babies. The gerbils, about 10, were crammed into the same type cage as well. We're going to drop by in a week to see how many more hamsters and gerbils they have managed to find homes for. My son is considering talking them into at least half of what they have left. We have 15 cages set up in his room with 10 Syrians and only 1 to a cage, the dwarfs are housed with the Syrians with no problems. We put the partly blind Siberian and the surviving Syrian together and they're sleeping with each other now. We still have more empty cages and we have the number for a rescue league if we can't handle them all. The people have been told by us, local vets, and pet store to stop all the breeding. The first ones we took in 1 1/2 years ago died from cancer this year, they were Campbell's Russians.

Good luck with your brood.

Answer 3

Male + Male = Fight Female + Female = Fight Or Friends Male + Female = Babies If Your Gonna Get A Dwarf Hamster It Will Be Hard To Tame Them Because They Are So Hard To Catch Because There Quick. I Think The Bigger Hamsters Are Better. Males Tend To Be Dozy Or Lazy. Females Are More Active. Good Luck

Answer 4

If you don't want anymore litters, then you need to separate them before she gives birth. A female will be ready to breed again very soon after giving birth. While Campbells Russian Dwarves can live in pairs and trios, they can also live alone. If you leave the male in with the female, he will help care for the young. If you're concerned about separating them, here's what I would suggest:

Leave the male in with the female and expect a second litter. When the first litter is old enough to be weaned (hopefully before the second is due), take the father out into his own cage. At the same time, decide on one male son to keep and put him in with his father. Decide on one female pup to keep and leave her in with her mother. She will help raise the next litter. The remaining pups should go into two new cages, one for males, one for females, until they go to the pet store or friends and family that are taking pups. When the second litter is ready to be weaned, you can keep another female or two, but remove all the males and any females that you aren't keeping. You'll also want to separate these into two tanks again of males and female. Then take them to the pet store or to the homes you've found for them. You'll be left with two cages, a father and son in one cage and a mother and daughter(s) in another. Splitting them up in this manner ensures that you don't have to re-introduce father to son or mother to daughter as they'll have never been separated so there won't be any acceptance problems.

-Janice
http://www.holmdenhillhaven.com