Breeding Hamsters

Baby hamsters may be the cutest animals in the world. They grow up playing, fighting,
running on the wheel for that first time... There is no denying it, you will feel almost
as proud of your hamster's new pups as they are. You will also have almost as much work.
Before you even consider the idea of letting your hamsters breed consider the consequences.
A Syrian hamster can have up to twenty babies in one litter, a dwarf hamster will usually
have around eight, but can have even more. All the pups will need good homes, and don't
think a local pet store will be excited to take your babies. There are often more babies
out there than they need. And keep in mind that Dwarf Hamsters will frequently mate again
within a time period as short as 24 hours after giving birth, think about that!
Still reading?

Since Syrians are solitary animals, breeding is more difficult than with dwarfs, who
cohabitate. Hamsters can be sexually mature as early as 28 days old. However, the female
should not be bred until she is between three and four months of age. (Males should be the
same age before their first encounter with a female.) If she is too young the result is
generally a small litter, poor quality pups and a difficult time for the female. An older
female bred for the first time may experience extreme difficulties at birth, occasionally
resulting in death for the mother. Females can only mate during oestrus (when in heat or in
season), which occurs every four days. Putting a male and female together when the female is
not in heat could result in a fight. Females have been known to seriously injure or even
kill a male if there is no intervention. (If squabbling does begin, separate them
immediately and try again the next evening.)

Because hamsters are nocturnal animals, mating should be done in the early evening. (In the
wild, they normally mate after sundown.) Generally speaking, a female in heat will be more
active and will "freeze" (body pressed to floor and tail up) when her back is stroked. Never
put the male in the female's cage - there is likely to be a fight even if she is in heat. It
is best to place the male in a separate container with a small amount of bedding in the
bottom and then introduce the female. If she is in heat, she will freeze, he will mount,
dismount and wash himself several times. They should be allowed at least 20 minutes - unless
one of them shows signs of loosing interest. (Be aware that there are probably as many
different methods of breeding Syrian hamsters as there are hamster breeders, but this has
have been proven to be the safest and most successful method for most breeders.)

The Syrian has one of the shortest gestation periods (length of pregnancy) of all animals -
between 15 and 17 days. Normally, she will begin to show signs of "bulging" on about the
ninth or tenth day. By the time she is near delivery, she will look like she is carrying
fully packed saddlebags! Her environment should be stress-free throughout her pregnancy and
for at least the first ten days after the litter is born.

The newborn pups don't have any fur, their eyes are closed, and they're still cute.They
can't see, or hear, but they can already smell and move themselves around by theirfront feet
. If one does stray from the nest the mother will scoop him up and return him, don't worry,
hamster mom's know what they're doing. Resist the temptation to pick them up. The mom won't
like this and it could even cause her to abandon, or even worse, eat the babies. Just watch
them and wait around two weeks before handling them.
At two weeks the puppies will have a soft fur coat and will be running around raising havoc
in the cage. Around three weeks they'll begin leaving their mother for longer periods of
time to explore and look for food on their own. They'll hardly ever fight, and will begin
to burrow and hoard food. Yep they're hamsters all right!

Actually there's not that much involved in raising hamster pups. No hammie diapers to change,
No 2am feedings, no hammie burping. Just sit back and let Mama hamster do her thing! Well,
maybe not quite THAT easy there is still the matter of clean cages, food, water, etc. And,
baby hamsters eat an astonishing amount of food - it is imperative that an ample supply of
food is available at all times. Plus, pregnant and nursing mothers require a lot of water.
Perhaps the most important aspect of raising good healthy pups is prior to the conception
with the selection of a good healthy male and female, who are carrying good bloodlines.
Three or four days prior to delivery, it is important that Mom have a nice clean cage with
plenty of nesting material to make a nice soft bed for the little ones. (A big piece of
plain toilet paper makes excellent nesting material. She will tear it up and build a nest
fit for a prince. When some are done it almost appears as though the toilet tissue has been
weaved into the bedding. Commercial "Fluff" or nesting materials are not recommended. One
of the primary concerns with it is the fact that babies can easily get tangled in it,
causing the loss of limbs; or even death if it gets wrapped around their necks.)

When the new pups are born they are blind, deaf, naked and totally dependent on Mom. Litter
sizes will vary from one to 20. It's not necessary to remove any of the pups, mama knows
how many she is capable of raising and will reduce the number herself if she considers it
necessary - she will cull out the weakest first.

Pups are born singly and covered with a caul (skin-like membrane). Occasionally the pups are
scattered around the cage during delivery. Don't disturb them, after mom has had an
opportunity to rest, she will gather them up, put them in the nest and begin nursing. The
cauls, afterbirth, etc. are eaten by the mother, which replaces some of the hormones and
other nutrients that were used for the maturity of the pups prior to birth. This is an
important part of the birthing process for mom (you should not interfere druing this process
and certainly don't stop her from eating the afterbirth).

As a rule of thumb, the nest should not be disturbed for at least ten days. If a newborn
goes astray, leave it, the mother will retrieve it. Or, the pup will find its own way back
to the warmth of its bed and Mama. If the nest is disturbed, especially a first-time Mom,
she may "defend" her litter the only way she knows, by killing and eating them. (Like
everything else, the female's acceptance of initial disturbances varies with individuals.)
It is extremely important to insure that there is an abundant supply of food and fresh water
. If Mama Hamster feels threatened that there is not sufficient nourishment and water
available to sustain her new family, by instinct, she will mercifully kill the pups rather
than let them die the agonizing death of starvation or dehydration.

By the third day a dark covering of fur will appear on the darker varieties and the ears,
which have been laying flat against the head will start to become erect. Markings on the
dark varieties will start to show on the fifth day and a thin coat of light fur will be
apparent on the lighter varieties.

WET CAGES AND NEW PUPS DON'T MIX!!
Occasionally a water bottle leaks, or some other disaster occurs, which leaves a cage
unhealthy for both Mama hamster and new pups. Although the rule of thumb is not to disturb
the nest for at least the first ten days, there are exceptions to every rule. Since hamsters
, by nature, are clean animals they do appreciate a clean dry house. To read the full
article on wet cages and pups visit our Homes and Accessories page or simply CLICK HERE.
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- Puberty: Male 6-8 weeks (90 g), Female 6-8 weeks (90-100g)

- Oestrous cycle 4 days. The stage of the cycle can be determined by the tenacity and
opacity of vaginal discharge. The discharge is thick and opaque at the time of and after
ovulation.

- Oestrus 6-10 hours (night). Heat generally begins approximately 1-2 hours after dusk on
the third day of the oestrous cycle and ovulation is completed 6-10 hours after onset of
psychic oestrus. The female should be placed in the cage with the male at the beginning of
the dark cycle. If the female is receptive she will quickly assume a lordotic position with
hindlegs spread and tail erect. If copulation does not occur within 5 minutes or if the
female becomes aggressive, she is removed. If copulation occurs, the pair can be left
together until such time as the female shows no further interest in mating, or shows
aggressive behaviour toward the male. Males (Syrian) should not be left with females for
prolonged periods, as fighting and injury may occur.

- Gestation 15-18 days. A copulation plug will be visible for a few hours after copulation.

- Litter size 4-12 pups

- Birth weight 2-3 g

- Weaning 21 days (35-40g). Oestrous cycle will not resume for the mother until a few days
after her young are weaned. Young from different litters can usually be housed together
until 42 days of age.

- Optimum breeding life: Females 14 months, Males up to 18 months, but fertility and chances
of mating success decline after this.