Want to see a baby hamster grow without
actually breeding them? Click on the image above to see my flash
movie of a baby dwarf hamster's development from birth to two
weeks. |
Dwarf
breeding info:
- Once bonded, pairs can stay together for life.
- The father will help care for the offspring
- The female will raise a litter alone if the father IS NOT
present.
- Dwarf gestation from mating to birth is 18 to 20 days
- Females mate again within 24 hours of giving birth and are
usually pregnant while nursing a litter.
- The next litter is usually born 20 days after the first
- Litters can contain 1 to 8 babies. The average litter size
is 5 or 6 but I have had a few females have 10!
- baby hamsters wean between 18-21 days
- They should be removed from mama when she has another litter
or if she isn't pregnant, by 4 weeks.
- At 4 weeks all babies should be split into same sex cages
to avoid inbreeding and unintended pregnancy
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Things
to Consider
What are some
good reasons you might want to breed your hamster?
-
To have a baby from my current hamster
to cherish after he or she dies
- To show people that dwarf hamster really can be sweet and
make good pets
- Because you want a certain color that is not currently available
in your area
- Because you want to show your children the process of birth
and growing up
- Because you have friends that want them
- Because you know you already have a way to find ALL of the
babies homes before they are born
- Because you want to make money and think they will be easy
to sell
What are some reasons NOT to breed
your hamster?
- If you do not know the background of your parent dwarf hamsters,
you may get offspring that have neurological problems such as
flipping, stargazing or pacing. If at all possible buy from
a reputable breeder who knows the background of his or her hamsters
by several generations. Even in the best breeding program, these
problems can still pop up but they are less likely to if good
records are kept. Other genetic problems can include glaucolma
and diabetes.
- No matter how hard you try or how sweet your parent hamsters
are, it is very probable that at some point you will get a baby
that is born aggressive. These hamsters punch hands from the
beginning and bite hard. As adults they usually attack humans
and often other hamsters. What will you do if you get a hamster
like this? You should be responsible for such a hamster because
few people want them as pets and since temperement can be genetic,
you should not put them in a position where they might be able
to breed. This usually means housing the hamster alone.
- Breeding for specific colors is a worthy endeavor but it often
requires some inbreeding so you once again have to know the
background of the animals you are breeding to avoid problems.
It is better to use a normal hamster as one parent that carries
the genes you want as normal wild-type hamsters often produce
larger and more robust offspring.
- I am all for showing children life cycles by raising animals
but make sure your children can handle you giving away the offspring
or be willing to let them keep some. Also make sure your children
can be responsible and respectful towards the hamsters. The
adults may bite while breeding and the babies are very fragile
if a young child picks them up and accidentally drops them (not
the best way to teach about death as I have seen a few young
children toss hamsters when they were surprised by something
the hamster did).
- There are many unwanted hamsters around so do not breed your
hamsters unless you can find homes for them. Do not expect petstores
to "buy" them from you. Petstores usually have their
own commerical supplier and will not buy your hamsters even
if they are nicer than the ones they keep (I know, I have tried
this...chain petstores are not usually flexible in this regard).
Sometimes petstores will not take them for free and if you have
enough hamsters in your area, sometimes people will not take
them for free either. Free animals are also in danger of becoming
snake food. If you only want one litter, make sure you take
out the father once the female is noticably pregnant. If you
do not you will have litter after litter. In a six week period
a female could produce 10-16+ offspring. If you do not separate
the offspring, they may begin reproducing by 5 or 6 weeks. Babies
should be sexed and split into same gender cages by 4 weeks
of age.
- You want to make money. This is not feasible unless you are
willing to sacrifice the well-being of your animals with cheap
food and poor quality bedding. Aspen shavings for 50-100 hamsters
I usually keep costs $35 each week! This is why I resort to
using shredded paper (I like the fact that it is less dusty
too). Adding in food costs, water bottles, replacement cages,
replacement wheels etc...I do not make money on my hamsters,
I usually lose money because of the expenses. If you keep fewer
hamsters than I do, you might do ok selling them. However, it
is not always easy to find ways to sell hamsters and depending
on your area, you might only get a couple of dollars for them.
I spent quite a bit of money at one point putting adds in news
papers....I did not even make back the money I spent for the
ads. I breed because I love the hamsters...not for money. It
just is not practical.
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by Odds and Endlers. Any unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. |