# breeding dwarf hampsters anyone have exp?



## squinn (Aug 11, 2008)

i just purchased 6 dwarf hampsters, read the caresheets on them ect. and wanted to get some of your experiences on those that have bred them, reading is one thing, getting first hand experience from a breeder is another, so anyone that wants to share their trial and tribulations on dwarf hampster breeding please do so. One that i bought came to me quite pregnant so it looks like my project will be off to a quick start. Thanks


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## Guest (Aug 11, 2008)

We all know breeding any type of animal isn't "easy" and takes dedication and lots of research etc.

I am not a breeder of dwarf hamsters, but you can find alot of info on breeding them using Google.

Here is some info I found doing a quick search on Google:



> Breeding Dwarf Hamsters
> If you want to do this, it is best to buy a mixed sex pair of hamsters from the same litter and keep them together from day one. When you have a mixed sex pair, it is almost certain that they will breed, and you will only have to provide the right conditions for the mother (lots of quiet and plenty of food), and find good homes for the babies once they are old enough. Dwarf hamsters are pregnant for 18-20 days, Roborovskis a few days longer than this, and once they have given birth, you should not disturb the cage for 14 days - not even to clean it out, as the mother may kill or abandon her brood. The father should be left in with the mother and the litter, as it is known for him to help rear the young. The young can be separated from the mother at 21 days of age, and are old enough to re-home at 6 weeks. If you decide you no longer want to breed the hamsters, you can leave a daughter in with the mother, and move the father and a son to a new cage.


Here is another site with some useful info: Dwarf Hamster Breeding


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## StolenkissGerbils (Aug 8, 2008)

I know nothing about hamsters but I have to say that it irks me a little that the advice is to breed brother to sister :-S especially when they are so inbred in the first place!

But then what do I know, I'm a gerbil person.


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## squinn (Aug 11, 2008)

from my understanding line breeding (read as inbreeding) is fairly common in rodents and rarely has disasterous results like it does when breeding dogs and cats and unfortunately sometimes humans (at least in the part of the country i live in j/k) It is very common in the reptile hobby as well especially if one is trying to isolate a new genetic mutation (morph) I have line bred many many generation of mice, rats and african soft furs and as far as I can tell no negative effects other than i did get a rather interesting as far as I can tell spontaneous mutation and began producing a line of long haired angora mice from my lab mouse stock (perhaps a visit from the milkman?)


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## StolenkissGerbils (Aug 8, 2008)

I know inbreeding is common. Brother to sister couldn't really be called linebreeding. Linebreeding is things like cousin to cousin, aunt to nephew, or animals that share a common grandparent and so on. Some people in the rodent fancy would call parent to offspring "linebreeding" but I certainly don't.

My experience though is that intense inbreeding can result in an "inbreeding depression". I have known of a colony of gerbils which were virtually all brother-sister matings in their pedigrees for about 8 years of breeding. They were degenerate, their tails were shrivelled-looking, and their litter sizes were very small. Plus they spent their day walking around in circles and smashing their noses into the corners of their enclosures.

What irked me is that there would be advice out there to breed brother to sister, even if you aren't 100% familiar with your line. I would have been very reluctant to inbreed brother to sister at all - parent to offspring maybe. But I feel this is something that a novice shouldn't attempt without an understanding of the family line.


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## Guest (Aug 12, 2008)

Exactly, this is why we need an experienced dwarf hamster breeder to answer the OP


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## squinn (Aug 11, 2008)

my rodent colonies do tend to be a bit inbred i'm sure of course these are purpose bred animals not being released into the pet trade (read as snake food) I have noticed that production tends to go down after many generations of intense inbreeding in rats and mice so you are definately onto something there. Strangely enough I also find with my roach colonies (lizard food i raise hissers, lobsters and dubia roaches) adding a little fresh genetics in the colony once in a while definately boosts production as well.


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## jacko (Apr 16, 2008)

this one could also help: 

Dwarf Hamster Breeding


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## StolenkissGerbils (Aug 8, 2008)

> production tends to go down after many generations of intense inbreeding in rats and mice...Strangely enough I also find with my roach colonies (lizard food i raise hissers, lobsters and dubia roaches) adding a little fresh genetics in the colony once in a while definately boosts production as well


Yeah, the principle of inbreeding depression applies equally to any species. Some inbreeding would be relatively ok but I would definitely worry about people doing what that gerbil breeder did and breed inferior, intensely inbred animals to sell to unknowing pet buyers.



> these are purpose bred animals not being released into the pet trade (read as snake food)


Well at least they wouldn't live long enough to suffer the consequences of inherited disease and all that sort of thing that comes with heavy inbreeding. I know snakes have to eat too but it still makes me sad that the mice etc have to die


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## ChrisTheGerbilGuy (Aug 9, 2008)

what all of you failed to mention, do not breed hamsters that are from a pet shop or from a rescue. and inbreeding can show in as little as the 3rd generation of hamsters, please don't inbreed, it causes all sorts of problems later on.

We used to breed syrians and dwarf hamsters. Never keep male and female together, the female usually becomes territorial before the birth and will usually kill the male as he is often a threat to her young. Also, he plays no part in the rearing of the pups. And, if you keep the male in with the female, she will come into estrus as soon as she's given birth, this will result in the male breeding with her again, putting a strain on the mother, her pups and her unborn pups.


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## Guest (Aug 13, 2008)

ChrisTheGerbilGuy said:


> what all of you failed to mention, do not breed hamsters that are from a pet shop or from a rescue. and inbreeding can show in as little as the 3rd generation of hamsters, please don't inbreed, it causes all sorts of problems later on.
> 
> We used to breed syrians and dwarf hamsters. Never keep male and female together, the female usually becomes territorial before the birth and will usually kill the male as he is often a threat to her young. Also, he plays no part in the rearing of the pups. And, if you keep the male in with the female, she will come into estrus as soon as she's given birth, this will result in the male breeding with her again, putting a strain on the mother, her pups and her unborn pups.


That's why the OP needed an experienced dwarf hamster/hamster breeder to offer advice.

I haven't a clue as I have never bred hamsters, and probably would never. I just did a Google search and offered some info and a link. Not sure if there are many hamster breeders on the forum?


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## squinn (Aug 11, 2008)

Thanks Chris that is exactly the type of firsthand experience I am looking for. Strangely enough i believe i read in one of the care sheets that male and female co-habitate nicely and in at least one of the dwarf hampster sub-species the male takes an active role in raising the young. This is exactly why i made this post looking for people who had experience with breeding this species. It's amazing how much conflicting info you find just being a google junkie (which i admit to being guilty of at times) but nothing replaces talking to someone that has worked with the species you are interested in.


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## ChrisTheGerbilGuy (Aug 9, 2008)

we've also read that males do fine with the females, but finding the remains of a half eaten dwarf hamster was way too upsetting, so i thought it's best to remove the male before the female is due to give birth. Also the books i have suggest that it's a good idea


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