I am DESPERATE to breed Dexter and Eve together.
I cant wait to get little baby hamsters!
So why haven’t I done it already?
There’s a surprising amount of organising to do before you even let two hamsters in together.
Do you have buyers for the offspring?
Big pet shops (Petco, Pets at Home, PetSmart.. etc) rarely take in baby hamsters – even if you bourght the hamster already pregnant from them! They don’t need to take in hamsters because they have certified suppliers and wouldnt have the space or control to take in every person off of the streets baby hamsters!
So you need to organise buyers for your babies.
Hamster give birth to BIG litters with up to 20 little babies but the average being around 8. You need to at least organise 6-8 buyers prior to breeding this way you wont be stuck with potentionally 20 baby hamsters!
(If your hamster has less, then you’ll still be fine and if you have buyers left over without hamsters then you are capable of breeding them again.)
Syrian hamsters are pregnant for around 16 days and start to show after the first week or so. After the 16 day pregnancy, they have to remain with the mother for between 3-4 weeks before being able to separate. So make sure you consider these time restrains when arranging buyers too!
The best way to sell hamsters is to advertise (I will be doing an entire post about this aspect of breeding in the next week or so)!
Ask friends, ask family, ask friends of friends – you get the idea! Post on Facebook or Twitter advertising your litter! If all else fails some privately owned pet shops may consider taking a hamster or two off of your hands but do not rely on them. However if you find yourself with a hamster going spare its worth ringing around the local ones in your area to see if they are willing to help out.
There are online forums which allow local pet sales which are always worth trying. Although I read a tip on one site saying that you should always check the price of “snake live feed” before pricing your hamsters because some people will buy baby rodents to feed to their snakes! Kind of cruel I know – so just be aware that this happens!
Pet shelters are another option however are usually up to their eyeballs in rodents so you cant guarantee that they’ll all be re-homed very quickly at all.
Basically sort a handful of buyers out BEFORE you breed so you dont have to worry about it later on!
Do you have a neutral territory for the hamsters to breed in?
I read on some online forums that putting the female in the males cage was an option for breeding however I disagree. Males are territorial and if the female is not in the mood or the male is having a bad day then there could be a fight and inside a cage isnt the most accessible place to seperate fighting hamsters.
I suggest a neutral territory to let the hamsters mingle in. This was there is no territorial defending and is much less stressful for both hamsters involved.
I know I have slated the “Indoor/Outdoor Playpen” before for being useless at containing hamsters, but for this situation it is perfect. It has an open top so easy access if things don’t go to plan and theres plenty of space for two hamsters.
Do you have supplies for when babies are born? Do you know what care they need?
Having extra food and bedding and even extra cages must be prepared before the birth of any babies!
Extra bedding should take priority because mummy hamsters love to build nests when pregnant. [Placing strips of toilet roll into the females cage means that they can create a soft cosy place to give birth to her babies!]
I will do a further post in the future about the kind of care that baby hamsters need but all you need to know BEFORE you even consider breeding is that extra things will be needed and LOTS of research into the topic (make sure you follow the blog if this is something you are considering!)
And my tip top piece of advice before considering breeding your hamsters: Research!
It is key to breeding hamsters because stressed out mummy hamsters eat and cull their babies when things aren’t perfect!
So make sure you follow the blog for further posts and to keep track of my own journey toward breeding my hamsters! There is a little box on the left hand side of this page near the top. Look for it and you shall see 😛
To my fellow bloggers, hope you’re as excited as me to the prospect of breeding Dexter and Eve!
😀
And if any UK residents would be interested in having a baby hamster off of me (once ive bred Dexter and Eve) then let me know via email or just comment below and I’ll get back to you 😛
xx
HamsterDiaries 