I have two hamsters, I believe they came from the same litter. They had two sets of litters of their own, and well the female killed both sets. COuld it be because of incest?
We now have the male with another female and vice versa.
2007-10-16 14:13:14 · 7 answers · asked by tk 1 in Pets ➔ Rodents
I don't think Dwarf hamsters care if the babies are a product of incest. There might be something genetically wrong with the babies that we can't see but she can. Or some hamsters don't settle into parenthood the first time. Or she was too young, or stressed. I believe experienced breeders don't breed a female a third time that has destroyed two litters
2007-10-16 14:47:13 · answer #1 · answered by nanaofsugar 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not generally speaking. If it is the first time their line has interbred there should be nothing wrong with the hamsters. If that litter breeds, however, they will have compounded recessive genetics and they may die.
No, the reason your hamster ate her young was because they were disturbed OR they were threatened. That is usually the only other time a hamster will eat its young.
OH, and a male hamster in the cage is viewed as a threat especially when she is having her young. They will eat them for sure.
2007-10-16 22:01:52 · answer #2 · answered by The Y!ABut 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dont in breed hamsters (hamster from same litter producing offspring)!!!
A lesson will learnt by me. Babies that are in breed won't be kill by the mothers in gerenal but they are weaker babies to begin with. Some female hamsters will kill babies that are weak to give herself or other pups stronger chances of survival.
Their immune system are much weaker than normal babies and they might need special care and attention more than usual.
One of my in breed litter produce deformed litters of pups which mostly didn't make it through their 3rd weeks. The strongest pup among the in breed pups is a crippled and walks with a limp.
Another litter had a hamster that live for 1 year plus but it's always very sick with pus and walking very slowly.
What you did is a correct thing by separating them with different hamsters to ensure that the hamster breeding would be a healtier one.
2007-10-17 04:36:41 · answer #3 · answered by ジャンリン 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no, my hamsters have had more than one nest of incested babies. unfortunately i had to give them away. when she had babies, did anyone touch them? did anything scared the mother? and did you remove the father? if any of these happened, these could be the reasons that the baby hamsters died. some other reasons that they could've died is that the mother just didnt want to take care of them, so she abandoned them. that happened once to a different litter of my hamsters once.
2007-10-16 22:24:31 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is there enough room, and food?
At that time was the male hamster
with them in the same cage?
Make sure the male hamster isn't
near the babies at all.
She may have been afraid for them
if he was sharing the cage.
2007-10-16 21:50:40 · answer #5 · answered by elliebear 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
YES they will the mother will kill any of there babies in one bit becaus eafter birth she is hungry so she eats her babies its groos to se it in reall life!
2007-10-18 23:54:57 · answer #6 · answered by madchap 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes this kind of rodent will kill its young or cagemate if needed if hunry or in a fight. even if it isnt starving needed or in a fight it is common for mice gerbils and hamsters to eat their young. but it is odd becuase even when guinea pigs are starving they wount eat eachother or their young.
2007-10-16 21:45:56 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋