Breeding
| Before you breed hamsters, make sure that you know what you are going to do with the babies, so that they have a home to go to!
Introducing The Male & The Female Make sure that the female is in season before you put them together, the female comes into season every 4 days but less often in the winter. You can do a 'test' by running your hand along the females back down to the tail, if the hamster freezes and presses her body against the floor with her tail up then she is in season. Then you introduce the female to the males cage and not the other way round, this is because the female is very territorial even when she is in season. You should leave the hamsters to mate for 15mins-1hour then seperate them, if they have finished before this time then seperate them anyway.
SYRIANS Being solitary creatures, syrians must be carefully introduced to male when trying to breed. Females come into heat every four days. A "love nest" or "honeymoon suite" must be prepared for them. Well, this is just a separate cage that has been lined with nice cozy bedding. First, place the male inside and let him roam around for a minute or two and then you can introduce the female. If the female resists, it is best to separate them before any serious injuries occur. Try again the following day. But when the female freezes, meaning she stays dead still not moving, with her legs spread and tail pointing upward, then she is ready to accept her mate for copulation. The male will then mount her and the rest is nature's way of reproducing. Leave them together for the next 20 or so minutes. Separate them once again and wait after 16-18 days, if their mating is successful you should have a litter of pink babies. Female syrian's average litter size is between 7-12 babies. The number of offspring can go up to 20 in just one litter. The eyes would start to open at 15 days. Baby hamsters begin eating even before their eyes are open. Young ones may be weaned between 3 - 3 1/2 weeks old.
CAMPBELL Breeding campbell hamsters is alot easier than breeding syrians. All you need to do is introduced the male and female carefully. It is best that the male is older than the female otherwise, there are tendencies she would bully her mate. When introducing, put the female in the male's cage. Naturally there would be a few squeeks since they are still getting to know each other and getting used to each other's smell. When the female is in heat, you would notice the male chasing her and trying to mate with her. If she is cooperative, it would only take a few seconds. The campbell's gestation period is between 16-21 days. Always keep in mind that these kind of hamsters may be able to get prenant within 24 hours of giving birth. So, if you are not interested in furthering the increase of hammie population in your home it is best to separate the male before or after the female has given birth. Being sociable animals, the male can be left inside the cage with the female and babies. Males make wonderful parents and help the female raise their pups. They are often the one busy preparing the nest for the females. The average litter size of campbell's is between 4-6 pups. Of course the number of babies is reflected in the type of diet they are given. The most number of pups we had in our hamstery is 10, all of whom survived and are very healthy. The eyes start to open at 15 days and may be weaned at 3-4 weeks. WINTER WHITES The winter white hamster breeding pattern is very similar to that of the campbells. Since they change their coat, those in captivity that has changed into their winter coats do no breed. But once winter has passed and they are back to their old coats, then they are ready to breed. Similar steps in regards to breeding winter whites may be read from the previous discussion. The average litter size is 4-6 babies although there are breeders who can produce more in one litter. ROBOROVSKI Trying to breed roborovskis is a more difficult task compared to syrians, campbells and WW. In the wild they breed from April through September, but in captivity they can breed anytime. It is best to leave a male and female together and take it from there. The gestation period of a roborovski hamster is between 23-30 days and litter size may vary from 1-9. These hamsters are known to breed betwen four months old to 1 1/2 years. The males, like that of the campbell helps the females raise their young. Roborovski babies may be weaned at four weeks old. CHINESE The chinese hamsters are sociable creatures and a pair can easily be housed together provided that they have been introduced at a young age. Their gestation period is 21 days and males may be left with the female to help raise the babies. Their eyes will begin to open at 16 days and they may be weaned at 3 weeks old.
Female Breeding Facts Females can breed at 6 weeks old but should really be at least 12 weeks old before you try to breed them. Females also will not be able to breed over the age of 14 months as they become sterile The female is only pregnant for 16 days which makes them the fastest mammal to reproduce. Their average litter size is 6, but of course this can vary and they may have up to 10 or even 20 babies! You can tell if your hamster is pregnant after 10 days because her belly and nipples will be swollen. When you notice this, clean out the cage ready for the newborns. You cannot clean out the cage once they are born because you MUST NOT disturb the babies or the mother and you can't touch either of them at all, this is until you seperate the babies from the mother. Male Breeding Facts There isn't much to say about the male hamster when it comes to breeding apart from, they can breed from the age of 2 months and will remain fertile all of their lives and once the male and female have mated, take the male away from the female and keep him away from the babies as well. This is because after mating the male and female may fight and with the male around the babies as well, it doubles the chance of them being eaten. The Babies The babies eyes open around 10-15 days and they can be taken from their mother at about 3 weeks of age and not before, 4 weeks is probably ideal. DO NOT TOUCH the babies or the mother while they are being weaned as the mother will feel threatened and will eat the babies, just look and make sure there is enough food and water. If there isn't, change the food and water without disturbing them. The babies will be fully grown at about 3 months of age, when they are born, they are naked, blind and deaf but they have teeth to suckle. Once you seperate the babies from the mother, keep the brothers and sisters together in a cage for a further 3 weeks before you seperate them as well.
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| Copyright � 2001 by Amanda |