# breeding syrian hamsters



## Emmiiee (Jan 3, 2010)

I'm looking to breeding hamsters, I have a male and a female, that will be the right age for breeding in a month or so, anyone have any tips or advice ? x


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## EmzieAngel (Apr 22, 2009)

Can I ask why you want to breed them?
And what you plan to do with the litter?
Also have you researched in to breeding hamsters.

Welcome to the forum by the way 
x


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## Emmiiee (Jan 3, 2010)

I want to breed them, because I've bred cats and dogs, the bigger animals, and im I feel im ready to up my experience with animals and breed something smaller, I have a home for 1 of them aswell as defo keeping 1, and my local pet shop will take some if not all of them, and if worst comes to the worst we have enough spare rotostack cages to keep upto about 5 in seperate cages.

I have resarched most things like the was the cage should be once the hamster is pregnant and also the mating side of it, but there soo much info around, just wanted some advice from people who have had more experience  x


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## EmzieAngel (Apr 22, 2009)

Thank you for answering 

I have bred hamsters in the past and also bought a pregnant hamster (though I didn't know she was pregnant at the time)

However I'm not as experienced as other members on this forum, so I think they would help and advise you better than I can.


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## Emmiiee (Jan 3, 2010)

Aww okay thanks anyways  x


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

hi i currently breed syrians and dwarf hamsters, what it is that you would like to know and i shall answer as best i can


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## fluffosaur (Dec 10, 2009)

I knew somebody who tried to breed their syrian hamsters and it was the worst thing I've ever seen. It took *ages* for the male and female to actually mate because they just kept fighting (we're talking nearly 2 months of occasionally attempting an introduction, a fight and then seperation).

Eventually they managed to mate them and it was horrendous. She was pregnant but gave birth prematurely and then ate all of the babies. Well, sort of ate them. She left half babies all over the cage and my friend had to clean them away.  It was the most horrific thing I've ever seen. The mother wasn't ready & that's how she showed my friend she wasn't.

Please, consider how many hamsters there are already in the world and hold off from breeding more. Hamsters can have massive litters and if your little girl isn't ready to breed then the same could happen to her.


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## Emmiiee (Jan 3, 2010)

umm just abit about what to expect, like what are the 'normal' and 'not normal' things that the babies and mum should do, and when should the cage be cleaned out after the babies are born and the exact age u should seperate them (every site sats different) also the diet for the mum, whilst pregnant, and then what the eating plan for the babies, if tht makes sense :/ x


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

You should leave mum and babies and the cage alone till the babies are leaving the nest and have their eyes open and are fully furred, the mum should be fed a diet with increased protein before and after the pregnancy and while feeding the babies. When the babies begin to leave the nest you can leave millet seed out for them and when they are slightly bigger they should also have extra protein (chicken is good and mealworms). I would suggest getting a waiting list for your babies before even attempting to breed though, giving them to a pet shop where anyone can buy them isnt assuring them a good home and keeping them in random rotastack cages wouldnt be suitable either.


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## Emmiiee (Jan 3, 2010)

oo thanks for the info, the pet shop is a very good one and a local one, we get all our animals from there its not like the huge pets at home stores, its a small local pet shop, they are very careful who they sell there animals to, and there very well looked after, i can't breed for another month or so cos the female is no old enough, so i will be looking for homes untill then  x


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

You have broken the first rule of the rodent section by the way, we are prepared to overlook it this time.

Rule No1. Thou shall always post pictures of cute rodents

Glad to hear you can trust your pet shop, not so lucky to have such a good one near me.


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

firstly where did you get the male and female from ?? 

secondly i would deffinately make a waiting list and expect to UPTO 20 babies (biggest i have had so far was 13) 

how old are you planning to breed the female ? 

what to expect from pregnant female : 
she will eat a lot more, will drink i lot more, will be less active nearer to labour, gestation is only 16 days with syrians 
she may get aggressive nearer to end of labour and wont like you going into the cage 

what to expect after babies are born: 
the cage should be cleaned out about 3 days before babies are due 
you then must not go into the nest until the babies are walking around and coming out by themselves (around 12 days old) you are only to go in to give food and water 
mum may KILL the babies if she feels they or her are threated, this can be due to anything from smell of a male, too much noise, predators (dogs/cats) going into the cage, something wrong with the young/or her, not enough food/water and many other reasons too 

mum may even abandon the babies, due to her not being capable to rearer them or the reason above 

at around 13 days the babies willl begin to open their eyes and be more active, they will need lots of food and water avaliable now 

at around 20 days old you can begin to handle to babies 

3 weeks after the babies are born you can clean the cage out but will need to leave some old bedding to keep the scent nd not stress mum out too much 

seperation : 

i usually seperate mine at no later than 4 weeks of age but if there are any females that seem smaller than the others then i may leave them with mum for few more days to get a little bit more extra milk, although mum wont be feeding them much at this age 

i also seperate the males and females from eachother at 4 weeks 

i then seperate the groups into indivudual cages at around 6 weeks but this can be different depending on the babies as some may get a bit bossy with others at earlier age 


diet for mum will pregnant: 

my hamsters are given a nugget food called science selective so they cant be picky with the mixed food and the get all the needed nutrients from that but i will also give her a lot of extras, this will include - 
live food (mealworms, crickets, locusts)
high protein foods (chicken, fish, egg, and small amounts of goats cheese) 
fresh foods (veg and small amounts of fruit) 

NEVER GIVE COWS MILK / CHEESE as this will give her dirrohea 

this will stay the same for mum throughout pregnance and rearing the babies and a short period after the babies have been taken away to build mum back up. 

the diet tha i give to the babies is similar to mum but when they begin to come out of the nest i place down bowls of budgie egg food (can get from pet shop) i mix it up with water and powdered lactol milk (milk for rearing puppies and kittens) 

they love this and it really builds them up nice 


i think ive explained all that you need to know about what u asked lol


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## Sarah+Hammies (Jul 20, 2009)

You need to know the history of the hamsters backgrounds before you consider breeding them. - thats as much as i know :laugh:

*PLUS* rule one is we must see piccies of your hammies


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## Emmiiee (Jan 3, 2010)

okii i will try get some now ha they dnt stay still much ha! x


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## Emmiiee (Jan 3, 2010)

yey got some pics of my girl- muesili 



















 x


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## EmzieAngel (Apr 22, 2009)

Aww she's so pretty.
Lovely looking hamster.
x


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## Emmiiee (Jan 3, 2010)

when people see her, they're like 'god shes fat', lol but shes mostly fluff ha x


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## Spaniel mad (Jul 17, 2009)

She is beautiful

Im hoping to get a syrian hammie really soon x


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## Emmiiee (Jan 3, 2010)

....zoe.... said:


> firstly where did you get the male and female from ??
> 
> how old are you planning to breed the female ?


im not gona breed till shes 4 months+ x


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

Emmiiee said:


> I want to breed them, because I've bred cats and dogs, the bigger animals, and im I feel im ready to up my experience with animals and breed something smaller, I have a home for 1 of them aswell as defo keeping 1, and my local pet shop will take some if not all of them, and if worst comes to the worst we have enough spare rotostack cages to keep upto about 5 in seperate cages.
> 
> I have resarched most things like the was the cage should be once the hamster is pregnant and also the mating side of it, but there soo much info around, just wanted some advice from people who have had more experience  x


I don't think this alone is a good enough reason to breed. And decent breeders will not breed to supply pet shops, except you Zoe 

Where did you buy your hamsters?


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

She is a beautiful hamster, her colourings are lovely.


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

Marcia said:


> I don't think this alone is a good enough reason to breed. And decent breeders will not breed to supply pet shops, except you Zoe
> 
> Where did you buy your hamsters?


personally i agree with marcia, unless you can ensure that these hamsters go to good homes when they go to the pet shop (i work in the pet shop where mine go so i never let them go to someone thats not willing to get a big enough cage and to care for the animal the way i wish)

i also dont just breed to supply a pet shop, i also breed to ensure health and temperment, and i wont breed unless i know that the hamsters have somewhere to go.

i am not trying to be nasty but only trying to point out that just because you have a male and a female and a pet shop that will take a few babies doesnt mean you should breed, with syrians its not like you can see the cute little pink babies when they are born and see them ech day like you could a puppy or kitten. its much more difucult.

you will also need the money to supply all the needed requirements for mum and babies and also for any vet care that may be needed as things can go very wrong.

where did you get your hamsters from ??? 
btw she is a little stunner


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## Emmiiee (Jan 3, 2010)

I got her from the pet shop tht we've got all our animals from for the last 15+years, and I know tht the shop tht takes them makes sure they go to a good home, they quiz anyone wanting to buy an animal with the type of living conditions and diet etc, and I have enough equipment, just bought another cage, so have loads now  Just not 100% sure of the age to breed her some say after 13 weeks some say after 4 months etc, oo i'll try get some pics of the male, he is equally as fluffy and cute  x


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

Emmiiee said:


> I got her from the pet shop tht we've got all our animals from for the last 15+years, and I know tht the shop tht takes them makes sure they go to a good home, they quiz anyone wanting to buy an animal with the type of living conditions and diet etc, and I have enough equipment, just bought another cage, so have loads now  Just not 100% sure of the age to breed her some say after 13 weeks some say after 4 months etc, oo i'll try get some pics of the male, he is equally as fluffy and cute  x


You should never breed from pet shop hamsters. All sorts of problems could show up when you don't know the genetic background of whatever it is you're breeding.

If you really want to breed from hamsters, i suggest you get a pair of hamsters from a breeder


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## Emmiiee (Jan 3, 2010)

all the animals the pet shop get in are from a local breeder, i no this cos when I asked about taking mine they said yes, but the local breeder gets priority etc x


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

I still wouldn't risk it. If i was wanting a hamster, i would want to see it's parents etc.


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## Emmiiee (Jan 3, 2010)

I don't no anyone tht buys hamsters from breeders, mostly get them from friends or pet shops :/ cos most breeders sell to pet shops or local pet places, well u learn sumet new everyday lol will have pic of the male up in a mine took about 100 and only afew were not blurred lol x


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## Emmiiee (Jan 3, 2010)

oo have some pics of hershy i'll put them up when facebook stops being a pain in the bum!


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

Emmiiee said:


> I don't no anyone tht buys hamsters from breeders, mostly get them from friends or pet shops :/ cos most breeders sell to pet shops or local pet places, well u learn sumet new everyday lol will have pic of the male up in a mine took about 100 and only afew were not blurred lol x


This site has a list of hamster breeders  Most breeders won't supply to pet shops, i know i certainly wouldn't supply any of my gerbils to pet shops.


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## Emmiiee (Jan 3, 2010)

oo i got all my gerbils from pet shops x


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

why dont you go into the pet shop and ask them if they can give you the contact details of their local breeder so you can contact him/her and get some backround info on your hammies ??

for all you know your two hamsters may be related if they have come from the same breeder. 

im sure that you would like to ensure the best possible health of any babies you breed and therefore you are best to find out the backround of the parents first


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## fluffosaur (Dec 10, 2009)

I wouldn't breed from pet shop hamsters, even if they have come from a breeder. Like somebody else said, you could end up breeding a brother and sister. :S The point of breeding is to expand the gene pool...


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

I love my hamsters and really enjoyed watching the dwarf babies growing when I had a surprise pregnancy in a rescued hamster but I would never breed pet shop hamsters, there are so many unwanted hamsters out there.


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## CarolineH (Aug 4, 2009)

A friend of mine occasionally breeds hamsters. She has quite a few and they are show type syrians as she shows occasionally too, very big, chunky and good natured. Even so, she found it difficult to find homes for the last lot of babies. She gave me one last year and he is the cuddliest, calmest hammy I have ever had! :001_tt1:


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