# How easy is it to breed hamsters?



## Natonstan (Aug 9, 2008)

Can anybody give me some information on breeding hamsters, is it easy or is it just like mice where they breed non stop??


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## Gecko_Sean (Aug 15, 2007)

With the dwarfs it is just like mice. Do you want to breed normal sized ones or dwarfs


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## LyddicleaveBurrow (Aug 11, 2008)

Hi,

It depends what type of hamster you are wanting to breed.

Syrian hamsters live solitary lives and are paired (very briefly) for mating when the female is in season. You can tell when a Syrian female is in season because they will "stand" when their back is touched - that is that they will stand rigid with their backsides raised. Syrian hamster females carry the babies for just 16 days. Don't disturb the mum when she has had her litter or for the first two weeks as she is likely to eat her litter if she feels threatened. Syrian babies must be seperated into male and female groups at 4 weeks old, any later and there is a chance of them breeding themselves at an early age.

Chinese hamsters also need to lead solitary lives as mature hamsters, due to their aggression to other Chinese hams, although some can live together until they are about 6 months old and some can live together all of their lives. They are very aggressive to each other and can inflict nasty wounds so they need to be introduced carefully. They make fantastic mothers, and some of mine have also fostered litters from other females and raised them brilliantly.

Campbell's and Winter White Dwarf hamsters can live as pairs and can breed freely. Winter White males are very attentive fathers.

Roborovski hamsters also live in pairs and make good parents.

I hope that this helps a little.

All the best.:2thumb:

Heather.


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## Natonstan (Aug 9, 2008)

I think Dwarfs sound like the best option in that case, Ive only kept Syrians but I have had a look at dwarfs before , think I mite get a pair sometime next year and i'll let you know how it goes, thanks for all the help:2thumb:


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## saxon (Feb 26, 2007)

I've found, with the dwarf species, that they will not breed until the spring after their birth. If the babies are born early in the year this can mean they are nearly a year themselves before breeding if they breed at all.

I wouldn't advise anyone without experiance to breed campbells as they bite like tigers. I have never had a friendly campbells.
Robo's are beggers to get started with breeding although the winter whites are a tad easier.
Mine are in pairs, I did try colonies with robos' but it failed miserably, most of mine will breed a couple of litters but then stop for a while.

Chinese Ive never tried to breed but was told they are the most difficult. In saying that my friend has about 8 litters at the moment.

All I can say is syrians are far the easier to breed, with caution at mating, than any other hasmters I've come across.
I've found not all does will 'stand' for a human touching their backs, I know mine rarely do.
They come into season every 4 days and will be in season for as short a time as only 20 minutes or for as long as all night.
I, personally, put my does in with a buck for aobut 5 montues if she doesnt' stand for him in this time I try again for the next 4 nights.
I have a doe here who although has been mated many times has not become pregnant. She will only mate after 11pm and then as I say she has failed to get pregnant.
Most syrian does are happy to mate after 9pm when they are in season. Any time before this and you are wasting your time.

Personnally I would opt for syrians as they are more handleable and the young easier to find new homes. You don't want to be overrun with baby hamsters!!!!!!!!

At the minute, in fact most of this year, no-one has wanted the dwarf species.

If you are intersted in the dwarf species I have some of my friends here.
I have winter whites, robo's and campbells. He has the chinese at his house as they are still in the nest.
I know I'm a way away but I travel down your way regularly.

I still wouldnt' advise campbells though!!!!


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## Natonstan (Aug 9, 2008)

My mum actually got bit by my Syrian, it bit through a nerve in the end of her finger and the blood was pouring everywhere, was a real mess but luckilly I never got bit, I got nipped by it once when holding it but nothing serious.


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## Titch1980 (Mar 6, 2006)

Natonstan said:


> My mum actually got bit by my Syrian, it bit through a nerve in the end of her finger and the blood was pouring everywhere, was a real mess but luckilly I never got bit, I got nipped by it once when holding it but nothing serious.


but was it a pet shop bought one? cos they usually arent handled even half as much as the ones you get from breeders


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## ami_j (Jan 6, 2007)

i recommend syrians too ....i had young pet shop dwarves that were missexed and gave me a litter a month and a half later ...plus getting pure ww or campbells opposed to a mix is a pain and getting harder...

drop me a pm if you want any help ive got a file somewhere i did explaining the genetics..though typical rule of thumb is dont breed patterned animals together...i also know of a syrian breeder in sheff too


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## LEOPARD GECKO CRAZY (Aug 7, 2008)

*hi*

i brought 2 hamsters from 2 pet shops thinking they were 2 females 


I WAS VERY WRONG

soon later lots of babies !

kept the babies together for a while 

not thinking they would mate 



more babies 


lol crazy

these were dwarf


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## saxon (Feb 26, 2007)

Syrains brd by a 'breeder' as opposed to someone breeding for petshops rarley bite.

I had two 4 yr old twins and their brother here today picing a hamster. They were playing with them and letting them run through their hands. Not a nip or a nibble to be had. Mind you my syrians are handled from 4 weeks by my Grandbrats, as well as myself, who are from 6 yrs old. With mine you would really have to hurt one to make it bite you.

ami_j,

If there is a breeder, that you can recommend, in Sheffield the OP can't go worng can he??
I always try ot get people in touch with breeders in their area if I can.
Is it a show breeder as I'm interested in some more 'show' syrians???

I'm down that way on Tuesday if they might have some nice babies available.


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## ami_j (Jan 6, 2007)

ive not spoken to her in ages her names anne dray shes contanctable on the hamster sites i believe
i used to breed but havent in a while , not sure if i will be again


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## saxon (Feb 26, 2007)

ami_j said:


> ive not spoken to her in ages her names anne dray shes contanctable on the hamster sites i believe
> i used to breed but havent in a while , not sure if i will be again


 
Do you know her username??
If you do could you PmM me it please???


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## ami_j (Jan 6, 2007)

saxon said:


> Do you know her username??
> If you do could you PmM me it please???


got an email address for her guessing she will still use it will pm it you when i can find it


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## nuttybabez (Jul 21, 2007)

When I used to breed syrians, I would put the male and the female together for a week and keep my eye on them as the male would sometimes get a bit battered then take the male out after a week (or sooner if he was being bitten). 

My syrians always got pregnant this way. I lost a couple of litters due to the female eating them but generally they did well and I sold the babies to the public or to a local pet shop who loved my babies cos they were so well handled. 

I have bred solid to patterned and patterned to patterned aswell and never had any problems so I guess I was just lucky, I had a lot of litters.


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## ami_j (Jan 6, 2007)

you were very lucky to say most patterned hamsters carry to white bellied gene and you could of ended up with eyeless whites...also im suprised the female didnt gut your male they are very antisocial and will fight to the death


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## nuttybabez (Jul 21, 2007)

No I never got any eyeless whites. And my females never did anything more than squabble with my males - there was the odd bite but nothing serious.

I bred from about 8 females and 2 males over the space of a couple of years so quite a few litters!

It was about 11 years ago though...


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## Natonstan (Aug 9, 2008)

The Syrian was from a pet shop so that's probobly why it bit then, but yeah so Id be better going with Syrians??


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## saxon (Feb 26, 2007)

Seriously if you want to breed syrains do 'NOT' leave them together unsupervised.

I'm not disputing any claims that syrains have been left for as long as a week without serious injury. All I can say is the 'luck of the gods was with you' during the time you bred them.
I can leave my 'growing on' babies together for a lot longer than people advise but they are supervised 24/7 as my OH is almost housebound. I can 'safely' leave them until they are about 10 weeks, in single sex groups, not mixed.
I do have a pair of sable roan satin girls still living together at over 4 months old. This is not the norm though and I m very careful to make sure they are not fighting.

I put my females in with the male, as I said, for no longer than it takes for her let me know if she is in season or not. If in season I suervise until a decent mating has taken place. I allow the pair to mate until the doe decideds she's had enough then I take out the male and then the female.

I've been breeding hamsters for a very long time on and off. Almost 20yrs now. Not including the 'accidental' litters with my pets as a kid that is or it would be nearer 40 yrs!!!!!!!!!!


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## bosshogg (Nov 19, 2006)

I've bred hamsters for about oh 15 years now, from small scale as a child to breeding 100's at a animal breeding unit for cancer research where all hamsters where kept in 1:3 groups! I now only have a few hamsters two pairs are kept in 1:1 what were bred here by me, the others have to be kept singular and are ones I bought in from over breeders, I would never recommend keeping hamsters together unless you have had them for a long time and can see the signs of aggression.

I have just got a lovely black eyed cream doe from a local lady who shows the mother to my girl is a top show hamster absolute gorgeous hammie but show her a male hamster and she turns into a killer.
Clare


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## saxon (Feb 26, 2007)

bosshogg said:


> I've bred hamsters for about oh 15 years now, from small scale as a child to breeding 100's at a animal breeding unit for cancer research where all hamsters where kept in 1:3 groups! I now only have a few hamsters two pairs are kept in 1:1 what were bred here by me, the others have to be kept singular and are ones I bought in from over breeders, I would never recommend keeping hamsters together unless you have had them for a long time and can see the signs of aggression.
> 
> I have just got a lovely black eyed cream doe from a local lady who shows the mother to my girl is a top show hamster absolute gorgeous hammie but show her a male hamster and she turns into a killer.
> Clare


I know you have yours together and they seem great. As you say though it's not the norm is it??
You have to be very experienced in breeding rodents and be able to 'know' whats going on.
I must say mmy own hamsters are very tolerant of others it's the ones I've bought elsewhere, not Jayne she's great with other hamsters, they can be pure evil where others are concenred.

I really don't think it's a good idea for a new breeder to try keepiing them in pairs or groups though.
Also the big breeding places don't really mind if they lose a few do they????

I'm looking for some bigger show types for my breeding projects at the minute. Who is it you have yours from??? What lines is she breeding from.
I'm down Brid tomorrow picking up cats from Rachels.


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## bosshogg (Nov 19, 2006)

aww shame I'm out at my friends tomorrow! will find the details of the lady I don't know where i put it :bash: she's a huge hammie and gorgeous really need to get some nice photos, she's from a total black eyed cream x black eyed cream line! this is the only pics I have


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## saxon (Feb 26, 2007)

I do have BEC but they are not upto show size as yet.


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## bosshogg (Nov 19, 2006)

this girl is huge much bigger than my other hammies


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

nuttybabez said:


> When I used to breed syrians, I would put the male and the female together for a week and keep my eye on them as the male would sometimes get a bit battered then take the male out after a week (or sooner if he was being bitten).
> 
> My syrians always got pregnant this way. I lost a couple of litters due to the female eating them but generally they did well and I sold the babies to the public or to a local pet shop who loved my babies cos they were so well handled.
> 
> I have bred solid to patterned and patterned to patterned aswell and never had any problems so I guess I was just lucky, I had a lot of litters.


 I hope nobody takes this 'advice' as it can cause terrible cruelty as the female attacks, disembowels or castrates the male. Males should not be put with the female until she is in season and receptive. If you cannot tell when your female is in season, frankly, you should not be bredding hamsters. I bred hamsters about 30 years ago and never had a litter eaten. Probably because I nkew what I was doing.
Syrian hamsters should not be put together for any amount of time. When the female is in season, she should be put into a large cage and the male introduced to her. The large cage allows the male to run away and gives you space to reach in and get him out immediately if she shows any signs of aggression. You never simply shove the male in and leave them together unattended.:bash:


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## nuttybabez (Jul 21, 2007)

Please do not imply that I don't know what I am doing. I was not advising people to do what I did but it worked for me ok? And if it was so dangerous what I was doing, how come my males never got disemboweled or castrated?? As I said, I had quite a few litters. And I kept a careful eye on them so nobody got hurt, I didn't shove the male in and leave them unattended at all so please don't make out that I am irresponsible thank you. Its not the way you would have done it fine and I am not advising others, no need to slate me.


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

nuttybabez said:


> Please do not imply that I don't know what I am doing. I was not advising people to do what I did but it worked for me ok? And if it was so dangerous what I was doing, how come my males never got disemboweled or castrated?? As I said, I had quite a few litters. And I kept a careful eye on them so nobody got hurt, I didn't shove the male in and leave them unattended at all so please don't make out that I am irresponsible thank you. Its not the way you would have done it fine and I am not advising others, no need to slate me.


Unless you slept with them in your bed or you stayed awake for up to a week you must have left them unattended at some point. And since you were unable to tell when the females were in season, I won't imply that you didn't know what you were doing. I'll say it outright. You didn't know what you were doing otherwise you'd never have risked your male in this way. By your own admission


> the male would sometimes get a bit battered


 and remove him sooner if you noticed


> he was being bitten


. But given that you couldn't watch them 24/7 one assumes that he may have been bitten a lot of times when you weren't about to see it.
As to not advising others, by the mere fact that you posted in response to someone asking how to breed hamsters, you were offering advice.
I say again. That advice was wrong, can cause terrible injuries and suffering and should not be taken.
Don't take it personally. I simply disagreed with you and gave the reasons for doing so. I notice you haven't taken offence at anyone else who said that this wasn't the way to breed hamsters.


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## saxon (Feb 26, 2007)

fenwoman said:


> I hope nobody takes this 'advice' as it can cause terrible cruelty as the female attacks, disembowels or castrates the male.
> 
> " I agree fully with hthis comment"
> 
> ...


" I think you would find that most breeders will put the male in the breeding box first and then add the female. Offering her rear to the buck to see if she is in season and receptive."

Sorry for the way I've replied I dont' know how to reply to seperate bits of a post.


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## ami_j (Jan 6, 2007)

saxon said:


> " I think you would find that most breeders will put the male in the breeding box first and then add the female. Offering her rear to the buck to see if she is in season and receptive."
> 
> Sorry for the way I've replied I dont' know how to reply to seperate bits of a post.


aye thats what i do or put the female in with the male, thats what ive always been told to do and to never put the male in with the female..but if it works with no injuries or distress fair does


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## saxon (Feb 26, 2007)

ami_j said:


> aye thats what i do or put the female in with the male, thats what ive always been told to do and to never put the male in with the female..but if it works with no injuries or distress fair does


Reasoning is that the does are far more territorial than the buck in the first place.

You do the same with rabbits and other rodents if they arent' housed together.

Same with dogs when I bred. I wouldn't expect someoen to bring the dog to my bitch I was always taught totake the bitch to the dog.
He would be far happier, as would the bitch, meeting either on nuetral ground or on the dogs territory. Obviously you can't mate two huge dogs in the park so it's off to the dogs home you go!!!


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## ami_j (Jan 6, 2007)

saxon said:


> Reasoning is that the does are far more territorial than the buck in the first place.
> 
> You do the same with rabbits and other rodents if they arent' housed together.
> 
> ...


aye females are way worse at territorial...ive had four week old females just away from mum that wont live together nicely where the males get on that bit better til they are a bit older
plus a male forgets territory when hes got the promise of a lady lol hes normally too distracted to care


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## saxon (Feb 26, 2007)

ami_j said:


> a male forgets territory when hes got the promise of a lady lol hes normally too distracted to care


Bit like most males don't you think....:whistling2:


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## ami_j (Jan 6, 2007)

saxon said:


> Bit like most males don't you think....:whistling2:


 :lol2: i didnt like to say :whistling2:


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

saxon said:


> " I think you would find that most breeders will put the male in the breeding box first and then add the female. Offering her rear to the buck to see if she is in season and receptive."
> 
> Sorry for the way I've replied I dont' know how to reply to seperate bits of a post.


 I never placed the male in the female's cage nor the female in the male's cage. I used to put them both in the bath actually. It was big, they couldn't escape but gave the male a fighting chance of running for his life and enable me to scoop him up immediately.
I used to tell when my girls were in season by the fact that they would concave their back and shove their bum in the air and stand perfectly still if you stroked their back. Definately no mistaking that. However it does mean daily hands on with them to be able to do this and if you had hundreds I can see that this might'nt be feasible.
It is however what I shall do with my girls when I decide to breed them. I have no bath now though, only a massive wet room so will probably utilise one of the large indoor rabbit cage bases.


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## nuttybabez (Jul 21, 2007)

Fenwoman, I haven't taken offense at anyone else cos no one else has directly quoted my post and taken it apart, I haven't singled you out.

Thanks saxon I agree with you. 

I had a couple of litters eaten EVER, this was not a regular occurrance, some hamsters make better mothers that others, that doesn't mean I did anything wrong.

And where did I say that I couldn't tell tell when my hamster was in season?? You have assumed that.

I would always introduce female into males cage or even better, use an empty cage that was nobodys territory.

I am not going to carry on posting in here - I haven't bred hamsters for years and I have better things to do with my time than keep defending myself in here over something so trivial.

ok so I was lucky with the pattern thingy and also with leaving the hamsters together, can we leave it there?


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## saxon (Feb 26, 2007)

fenwoman said:


> I never placed the male in the female's cage nor the female in the male's cage. I used to put them both in the bath actually. It was big, they couldn't escape but gave the male a fighting chance of running for his life and enable me to scoop him up immediately.
> I used to tell when my girls were in season by the fact that they would concave their back and shove their bum in the air and stand perfectly still if you stroked their back. Definately no mistaking that. However it does mean daily hands on with them to be able to do this and if you had hundreds I can see that this might'nt be feasible.
> It is however what I shall do with my girls when I decide to breed them. I have no bath now though, only a massive wet room so will probably utilise one of the large indoor rabbit cage bases.


 
I have never had hundreds of hamsters!!!!!!

I have 19 at the moment, which is the most I've ever owned at one time, of whom about 9 does and 3 bucks might be used ocassionally.
My hamsters are handled every day as are all my rats.
I must admit that not every singles mouseis handled every single day but at least 4-5 times a wekk.

I use a specific 'breeding box'. It is just a very large RUB, the 120ltr ones, I place the buck in there and then I place the doe in there offering her rear to the buck first. If she is in season, hamsters are very good at hiding this fact, she will react in the way you discribe if not she will refuse the bucks advances. Only a few of my does will show they are in season before they are in the 'breeding box'.

I tried mating 4 of my does last night and only two were receptive. Neither of the other two attacked my bucks though as they know that they will be reomved if they don't want to be in the 'breeding box'. They just walk away from him and wait to be picked up.
Now that I have two prospective pregnancies I will not try to mate my does for another two weeks so I don't have too many litters at one time.


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## ami_j (Jan 6, 2007)

saxon said:


> I have never had hundreds of hamsters!!!!!!
> 
> I have 19 at the moment, which is the most I've ever owned at one time, of whom about 9 does and 3 bucks might be used ocassionally.
> My hamsters are handled every day as are all my rats.
> ...


yeah with some its dead apparent (had one that used to sit in her cage in the pose when in season to tease the male opposite her and some that have shown no signs whatsoever until placed with a male


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