Think Before You Breed!

[Emma]

Many posts on this board are from people who have had surprise litters after bringing home a pregnant hamster from the pet shop - this can't be helped (apart from campaigning for better standards in pet shops) and we're here to help and advise you all we can.



There are also many people who decide to purposely breed their hamsters. Breeding hamsters isn't necessarily a bad thing - we are not against the breeding of hamsters per se! Knowledgable and responsible planned breeding can produce wonderful animals and further the hamster fancy. However the decision to breed should not be taken lightly or for the wrong reasons - so please please please, THINK BEFORE YOU BREED!!!



1. Quality - the vast majority of hamsters shouldn't be bred from. Responsible breeders in the hamster fancy breed for qualities of body conformation, size, depth of colour, quality of markings and fur, and health AS WELL as a good temperament. Good temperament is a given, not something to breed for! Simply being a sweet-natured pet does not make for good breeding material. If you're breeding your own pet with your friend's pet because they're both sweet hamsters, it is highly unlikely they are both good quality hamsters, especially if they came from a pet shop with an unknown background.



2. Practicality - do you have the space to house perhaps 20 hamsters individually if you can't find homes for them, can you afford that many cages? Can you afford to feed them and keep them in bedding and toys, for possibly three years? Can you spend at least twenty minutes a day playing with each one? Can you afford unexpected vets bills - which may run into hundreds of pounds/dollars? Do you have a competent hamster vet nearby, that you can get to in an emergency at any time of the day or night?



3. Responsibility - are you going to let these babies go to any old home, or a pet store, where anything may happen to them? Will you check each possible home, make sure the new owners are knowledgable and able to care for your hamsters, will you make yourself available to advise the new owners for the life of that hamster, and are you willing to take the hamster back at any time, if for some reason the owners can no longer keep it? You have bought these animals into the world, you really should be willing to take responsibility for them for their entire lives.



4. Reality - can you cope with the possibility that the first-time mother may eat her own pups? That she may die during a difficult birth, whilst you watch her writhing in pain? That pups may be stillborn, or born with deformities that require them to be put down, you may have to deal with sick or dead pups?



5. Knowledge - do you actually know what you are doing? Do you understand hamster genetics - are you aware what varieties of hamster a particular mating may produce? (And no - if you mate a black hamster with a white hamster you do not get a litter of half blacks and half whites, or a litter of black & white hamsters, or a litter of grey hamsters!!!) Do you know the genetic history of the animals you are breeding from - do you know what colours their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were, do you know of any hidden recessives in the line? Are you aware of possible lethal combinations of various hamster markings? Have you read up on husbandry of pregnant and young hamsters - do you know how to care for them, how to feed them, what to expect at various stages, how to sex young pups, when you should be separating them into different sexes and at what age they should be housed singly?



6. Why? - Finally, why do you want to breed hamsters? If it's to make money, forget it! This is not a profit-making business. If it's because you want to and you think it's cute, take a while to think about the reality and practicality of it, and all the points mentioned above - does your hamster (and the possible mate) really fit the quality criteria, are you really knowledgable? If you're breeding because you want more hamsters, for yourself or for your friends - please, please contact your local animal rescue, sanctuary or shelter. There are many unwanted hamsters spending their lives in shelters due to people becoming bored of them, abandoning them, or breeding indiscriminately until they can no longer cope with them. Please give one of these unlucky hamsters a second chance rather than bringing more hamsters into the world to add to the shelter's problems.

[babyboos]

Please click here to see Hamster Central Breeding Information (http://www.hamstercentral.com/breedinghamsters.htm).

Comments welcome from prospective and current hamster breeders - all species :D

If there is anything else you would like to know or add please post.

Look forward to hearing from you soon...

[Minicooper]

I am never going to breed I would rather buy off a breeder or animal rescue centre

[crawleytown]

I have to say I was considering breeding my girl, but have decided against it after some very interesting points made in this thread. Good post!

[babyboos]

why thank you :oops: :wink:

[ellisyellis]

i agree WELL SAID!

its so easy to think how cute it would be if 'buttons' had babies. cute little bundles of joy to play with, or not! it does seem to the average hammy owner to be a cute fun thing to do but reality is it is not!!! the thought of possibly loosing your pet due to complications and the huge job of re homing all the babies should put a sensible person off. when me and my sis were kids we tried to get our hams to have babies as i had a girl and she had a boy but they just had a huge fight and we learnt the hard way not to put them together. (we were little!).

DONT DO IT UNLESS YOU WANT TROUBLE!!!!!!

[Rudy]

I think this is a fantastic topic. its nice to see people who are not afraid to be honest and allow people to think before they bred. there are so many animals in need of good homes in rescue centres. breeding from lines you do not know can lead to genetic flaws,illnesses etc in the animals and this causes many problems. i am not a breeder and have never bred hamsters knowingly (bought a pet shop hammie pregnant) but am aware of general genetics in animals and know that breeding any animal takes a lot. there are so many factors to consider and you covered them so well in this post. thank you for putting here for all to read.

[roxie+oscar]

this topic really made me think as a few weeks ago i was thinking of gettin another hamster but once i started looking up about breeding it really put me of i dont think i can afford it and exspecially if i could not rehome them .so thanks for this i used to breed gerbil we just had people interested before we bred them which was a good thing as they brought two ata time and the litters are much smaller
thanks
roxie

[loyal_tree]

When I got the hamster that started my 'hamster fancy', I thought she had 'unique' markings and wanted to breed her. How little I knew at that time! She is a was a hybrid from a pet shop, and a ruby eyed mottled. I soon after found hamster forums and was led in the right direction.

Since then, I have acquired 11 more hamsters, and have 4 more coming in the next couple of weeks. I have however decided that I would like to breed, but now I know what to expect, why I want to do it, how much it costs, and what hamsters to breed. :)

There are so many people that should read this thread. I read a lot of posts from inexperienced breeders asking questions about things they should already know, and the responses they get aren't always what they want. If they would read this thread, they might understand why people are questioning them.

[vonjee1963]

i bred my hamsters for the second time the first time was a very few years ago, my hamster had 11 babies, all the family love hamsters even my husband but my female minstrel was massive it really scared me, luckily i had a safe delivery with all babies living and i had homes for all of them. I have them back when my friends go on holiday so i get to keep an eye on them. I also told people that i would have them back should they not want them. I wouldnt breed again as i hated leaving minstrel when i went to work

[Tijulliala Sunsoul]

It would be my First time breeding, but after due consideration I have decided that I would like to breed my Robovski. Does anyone have any advice? I have the time space and money, I also know of loving homes for the Resulting litters.

[souffle]

TS if you look on moderator Tammy's webside it provides a comprehensive guide to all aspects of robo keeping.
Oak Farm Rabbits and Rodents (http://www.oakfarmrabbitsandrodents.co.uk/robo/main.html)

[Tijulliala Sunsoul]

Thank you for that! :) al I need now is to find a suitable Male and obtain a few more cages. :)

[fluffymunchkins]

i wish you luck :) Tammy is definitley the person to ask for advice, i'm sure she'll be happy to help!

[29jonesem]

good post :) nice to see that you genuinely care about lil hammies!

[Ham Ham Hamstery]

I have to agree with this before I started breeding I had 12 years and looked informations about gestation, mating birth and everything else

[Teddybearhamster420]

Well said :mad:

[Christmas_hamster]

An excellent thread indeed, it needed to be out there for all to see.

[Tinkahams]

I have Bought these points up with a many of young girls on a different forum, some of which are completely blind to many of these points which you have raised.

I'm hoping to breed one of my newer girls soon which I gained from my first litter. - Sadly the mother of that litter did die and it was the worse point of my life and I spent the next 2/3 weeks being mother to the litter of 6. Sadly not all made it and the three that survived remained with me a I could not bare to part with them.

[Edgar_Furrybutt]

What websites do you recommend for syrian hamster breeding? And where can I find hamster breeders with good stock?

[Mona's Humans]

I think this is a fabulous thread :) and one everybody considering breeding should read :D

[edwin fuzwin]

I was thinking breeding my two hamsters but after reading this page I am not going to now. Good advise thank you :)

[Arraminta]

Brilliantly said!
Minty x

[CakesAndCoffee]

This is a brilliant thread. I am sure it has and will save many hamsters lives.

[Noseandwhiskers]

Excellent thread, babyboos! I'm still seething about a well-known UK pet store; I haven't finished with them yet!

[Happy_Hammiez]

I breed hamsters, i take a lot of time to configure genetics, and plan on how much money to save for food, bedding and time for the litter. My last litter was 4 months ago, and it was 17 pinkies, 2 past away by the mothers choice, and the others survived, i hope to never have that many again, but there's no telling, that's another thing you need to know. Please also check your area for breeders before you start. Also check the average rate of litters by
non-breeders. Please know that you wont get as much business as you think!
Thanks for reading! :)
Happy_Hammiez

[BlackHeartsBleedRed]

I think this is a well proven point! I read this through, and I have decided on breeding my Yang. I mean, some people may just do it because they'll all be ADORABLE!!! :3 But they are a huge responsibility, as you have just proved.

With the point you gave about shelters, it may help if some people think before they give away their hamsters. I think, depending on the size of the litter, that you should keep the litter. And if you do find yourself having to sell them for personal reasons, take care with that. What type of person are you selling these little bundles of joy to? Do they seem to be the type of person to just heartlessly toss it into a shelter within a week? If they do seem like that, DONT SELL IT TO THEM! Simple as that.

This article has really helped me. I am going to breed mine, but take great care with what I am doing. Well done!!!

*BROFIST*

[Thrifty Hamster]

One of these days I would like to breed hamsters and produce quality pups and possibly find a way to improve the hamster genetics. Though I dont think that's possible, I do know there aren't many hamster breeders in Florida. Though, I'm not ready yet and I would never breed from a pet store-bought hamster.

Its probably when I'm older and have the time and money to support myself. *_*" Who knows when that'll be, but I hope it's going to be someday, and I hope to research a lot more on genetics and breeding. I just want to be a pet owner for right now :3

[pixiehollow]

This is very helpful and alot of brilliant information. I didn't want to breed but have been considering breeding my male hamster Kovu with a female I am planning but won't be for a while. We have a private store on the island in which the owner goes across and gets the hamsters from reputable breeders, she won't go near rodent farms. For this reason I will only go to her!

Both hamsters I have had from her have such amazing personalities and have never bitten! If I do decide to get a female I will be straight to her. I do have space now and I definately have the funds :)

Alot more research is needed however x

[Anna Louise]

I totally agree with this advice. When I was ten my mum got me my first hamster, Pixie. She was a petshop girl and hadn't been separated from the male hamsters in time. Shortly after we got her she gave birth to two pups. Luckily, Pixie had no complications and the pups grew up to be healthy. For me as a 10 year old it was a wonderful experience. I will never forget the day when Pixie brought her two babies 'downstairs' and I spent that day watching their eyes open.

However as an adult I now realise how stressful it was for my mum. First she had to find new homes for the pups: she found one home and we ended up keeping the other pup whom we called Tiny. This then meant that my mum had to buy another cage and since she didn't have much money at the time it was an expense she could have done without. I also suspect that Pixie had a litter when she was far to young. A friend of mines sister had a similar experience: her hamster gave birth to nine pups.

Breeding any animal whether it is large or small is a big decision. It should be properly planned and throughout and it should be done for the right reasons.
Unfortunately so many animals including hamsters are bred for the wrong reasons and then end up in animal shelters.

[CattysHammys]

Very well written. But one thing, there aren't always tons of hamsters in shelters or rescues. Idk about the states, but in Canada, where I live, it's like finding a needle in a haystack for me. Is that just where I live? Are there more hamsters in other countries? I have decided that I want to adopt my next hamster, but the shelters I've been to only get hamsters like once or twice a year. They just go by so fast. But is that just my area though? Is it different in other countries?

[BCjetta]

If you search petfinder there are tons in the US but yeah, not much in Canada. I'm in BC and I think there's 4 right now in BC. Where in Canada are you?

[WinnieTheHam]

There's a couple breeders in Canada if that's an option for you? I only know one of them but she knows the other so it may be best to speak to her. She hasn't been on this forum in a while but she's still an active breeder and has a litter at the moment. Her hamstery is strong brew hamstery :)

[Vipin]

Oh I panic now reading this! Please , I need some advice on what to do if I am to expect a litter. Please, believe me! It was an accident and I never intended to breed them. He was in his ball, he managed to open the ball, escape, go through the space between cage and wheel from the female hamster's cage and he got in. I don't want my adopted female to die because of birth. I don't want to give the little ones away to any person. Is there a thread were I can read what to do next? help, please!

[souffle]

Vipin don't panic - accidents happen. We can guide you through this and the babies will be fine if any arrive and we can help you with homing processes.

[Vipin]

Oh Thanks so much!! According to info from other members and on the internet. The little escape accident happened on boxing day 26.12. If I count the gestation period, I believe she will be giving birth on 10.01. Then, I believe I need to have ready some other cages to separate them by 31.01. I hope I have my dates right. Thank you Souffle! I still hope she's not pregnant but I need to be prepared in case she is.

[souffle]

It is 4 weeks separation for syrians so you will have till around 7th February. A couple of storage boxes from Ikea will suffice for the pups for a few weeks till they are homed. Ask questions on your thread now will you.

[Vipin]

OK, Thanks! I will move to my thread now. Thank you!