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RenK777 · 10-13-2019, 12:21 PM

I'm decidedly against breeding for a number of reasons...first, there are already so many animals in need of homes out there and second, there are already experts in the area breeding that have learned trough years of dedication and experience what's necessary to do so correctly and limit the potential for eyeless hamsters and other conditions that could possibly rise up. However, I have a suspicion that hamsters' lifespan is greatly connected to quality of environment, feed, water, etc. We adopted our girl from a woman that clearly loved her animals based on the cleanliness of her cages but they were small and she was feeding the cheapest boxed Walmart food available Perhaps the cages were the result of her scrambling to find individual housing for hamsters she wasn't expecting when she adopted a female. But the food....and the tap water in her area is renowned for being an issue. THat said, our girl was only 8 weeks so I figured that on our GMO free/organic diet with filtered water, she'd do okay. So I'm not really interested in adopting an older hamster because I fear heartbreak could result so much sooner if it's sick from decisions I had no part of. I prefer younger animals. And I don't know of any breeders in my immediate area. We no longer want to support buying from Petstores since we learned of the breeder utilized by Petsmart and Petco and others and the horrendous conditons they are raised in. (Though I talked to my local Petco and they are aware of the conditions in that facility and say they are now receiving pets to sell from a facility in CT? called Fishnet? I have to look it up to confirm. It's why they no longer offer live rats). Anyway, my kids are rather upset at the expected life spand of hamsters and want to breed our girl/boy so that when they pass one day, we have children from then. Can't say I dont't share the sentiment. But even if we had room for another, I'm digging my heels in and saying no. Mainly because private breeders have invested in breeding and have a following...they most-likely have homes reserved before hamsters are ever born. And those that take the time to locate a quality breeder typically make better homes. Not always...but they're not the people buying an animal on a whim. They're the people spending a lot of time and energy to prepare a space and then pay money to reserve a pet before it's even born. If I were to breed my 2...tempting as it is...I could end up with 20 hamsters that I would need to find separate housing for and place. And what are the odds that each person interested would truly provide not just an acceptable home...but one where the pet would thrive? I would encourage anyone reading this to really consider why they want to breed and outside of the cute/fun factor and experience, how the lives of the hamsters they created would be? There is a lot of misinformation out there and it's not the 'breeders' that suffer. It's the pets. I'm currently stalking sites for larger aquariums and measuring furniture to see if we can somehow fit 2 detolfs in our home. We can't yet...but I'm working to that goal now that I better understand what hamsters require. I also read up on genetics and if my boy (black eyed) is an ivory, then he is not a match for our white belly gened banded cinnamon. If he is a cream, then I believe he could be. THat's interesting to know. But I still don't want to breed. Because I can't know the number of offspring nor guarantee the offspring would have good lives once they leave my care. I just don't see a reason to breed unless you're able to sort of learn under an expert that can teach and guide you through the process and determing genetics and locating quality homes...

10-13-2019, 12:21 PM
RenK777 Hamster Pup Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: East Coast, NJ Posts: 51	Re: Cohabiting Syrians I'm decidedly against breeding for a number of reasons...first, there are already so many animals in need of homes out there and second, there are already experts in the area breeding that have learned trough years of dedication and experience what's necessary to do so correctly and limit the potential for eyeless hamsters and other conditions that could possibly rise up. However, I have a suspicion that hamsters' lifespan is greatly connected to quality of environment, feed, water, etc. We adopted our girl from a woman that clearly loved her animals based on the cleanliness of her cages but they were small and she was feeding the cheapest boxed Walmart food available Perhaps the cages were the result of her scrambling to find individual housing for hamsters she wasn't expecting when she adopted a female. But the food....and the tap water in her area is renowned for being an issue. THat said, our girl was only 8 weeks so I figured that on our GMO free/organic diet with filtered water, she'd do okay. So I'm not really interested in adopting an older hamster because I fear heartbreak could result so much sooner if it's sick from decisions I had no part of. I prefer younger animals. And I don't know of any breeders in my immediate area. We no longer want to support buying from Petstores since we learned of the breeder utilized by Petsmart and Petco and others and the horrendous conditons they are raised in. (Though I talked to my local Petco and they are aware of the conditions in that facility and say they are now receiving pets to sell from a facility in CT? called Fishnet? I have to look it up to confirm. It's why they no longer offer live rats). Anyway, my kids are rather upset at the expected life spand of hamsters and want to breed our girl/boy so that when they pass one day, we have children from then. Can't say I dont't share the sentiment. But even if we had room for another, I'm digging my heels in and saying no. Mainly because private breeders have invested in breeding and have a following...they most-likely have homes reserved before hamsters are ever born. And those that take the time to locate a quality breeder typically make better homes. Not always...but they're not the people buying an animal on a whim. They're the people spending a lot of time and energy to prepare a space and then pay money to reserve a pet before it's even born. If I were to breed my 2...tempting as it is...I could end up with 20 hamsters that I would need to find separate housing for and place. And what are the odds that each person interested would truly provide not just an acceptable home...but one where the pet would thrive? I would encourage anyone reading this to really consider why they want to breed and outside of the cute/fun factor and experience, how the lives of the hamsters they created would be? There is a lot of misinformation out there and it's not the 'breeders' that suffer. It's the pets. I'm currently stalking sites for larger aquariums and measuring furniture to see if we can somehow fit 2 detolfs in our home. We can't yet...but I'm working to that goal now that I better understand what hamsters require. I also read up on genetics and if my boy (black eyed) is an ivory, then he is not a match for our white belly gened banded cinnamon. If he is a cream, then I believe he could be. THat's interesting to know. But I still don't want to breed. Because I can't know the number of offspring nor guarantee the offspring would have good lives once they leave my care. I just don't see a reason to breed unless you're able to sort of learn under an expert that can teach and guide you through the process and determing genetics and locating quality homes...