# breeding winter whites ??



## ....zoe.... (Jul 8, 2009)

hi people, 

i was woundering if someone could give me some advice on breeding my winter whites, 

i have two males and 3 females 
i wanted to know if it would be safe enough to place one female in with BOTH the two males as i didnt want to end up with one of the males being on its own. 
so would this be safe or is it likely that one of the males will fight with the other or even kill the young ??? 

please help 
thakns x


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

In short, no it's not safe. Males can and will fight over a female in heat. And they will possibly kill eachother.
Do you have a genetic history for these hamsters? Otherwise, you might end up having hamster pups with health problems or worse.


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## ....zoe.... (Jul 8, 2009)

yeh i know that their not related as im breeding them for the pet shop i work in so we specificly made sure they werent going to be related 

do you think its best i get another male to stay with the remaining male to keep him company or should he be ok ??


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## cherrie_b (Dec 14, 2008)

I have learned from experience that dwarfs shouldn't really be kept together. Perhaps they live together in the wild etc but having had 4 sets of dwarfs, and them all fighting, I wouldn't bother trying again. I have 6 Russians who live on their own...yours will be fine.


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## ....zoe.... (Jul 8, 2009)

thanks im glad to know that, 

ive nonw moved them all around and so got my breeding pair together, my two other females together, and the little boy on his own but ive given him lots of things to keep him busy in his cage 

thanks for all the advice :smilewinkgrin:


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

Make sure you remove the male before the female has her litter 
Otherwise that could be very problematic...


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## ....zoe.... (Jul 8, 2009)

why do u say it would be problematic ? i read that the male helps out with the rearing of the young ????/


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## alyssa_liss (May 4, 2009)

because she would most likely become pregnat straigt away , this wouldnt be good for her health

also you run the risk of dad not liking the babys


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

In the hamster world. The female will chase the male out of the nest. And because he can't escape a cage, the female may turn agressive and kill the male.
As far as i'm aware, only rats, mice and gerbil males will help rear the pups. I fell for that trap when i used to breed from hamsters and i lost a good quality male that way


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## ....zoe.... (Jul 8, 2009)

thanks for the advice, im really glad ive found that out before it was too late, ive decided to take him out a week before the female is due so she isnt on her own for too long. iam also going to keep a very close eye on them. 

at the moment they are sleeping in the nest box together all thee time sooo it seems good for now.


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