Pregnant Hamster ADVICE !!!

[Jso0om]

Hey so when i got my pair of Russian hamsters i wanted to breed them so i posted a thread about breeding and most of them told me to separate the female because she is too young. I thought she was 3 - 4 weeks olds but after contacting the pet store i knew that she was 9 weeks old so i didn't separate them and now obviously she is pregnant and i am expecting a litter by august 1 - 5.

You can see my hamster if I am wrong help me to figure out when she is expected to give birth. Now I am concerned about a little bit of things. firstly should i remove the father because i am out of town for this weekend (Returning on Saturday afternoon) so i got my mom taking care of my hamsters (Just changing the water bottle daily) so what i did is just to be in the safe side i removed the father in another cage because i heard many horrifying stories of father attacking his babies.

My second concern is that she is not building a nest. Back when the father was in the same cage i used to throw shredded toilet paper. The father was only nesting and the mother didn't care. she was just running on the wheel or eating or burrowing on her wooden hideout.

I have a question also, if she gave birth and i separated the pups like when they are 2-4 weeks old can she be pregnant a second time and if yes when.

And please can you help me prepare for the litter with just some advice

PS. I cant upload the pictures because of my internet

[Jso0om]

[Drago]

I'm not experienced with breeding dwarf hamsters, so please wait until getting 100% certain advice from experienced owners, before making big decisions.


I do believe you should take the wheel out about a week or so before her due date (this is also when the final cage cleaning should take place). Yes, the father should be removed, and if he's not, she could easily kill him, and breed as soon as she's given birth. Leave the mother to her own. She'll build a nest when she's ready. Keep her in a quiet room with lots of toilet tissue, and she should nest once she's ready. 2 weeks is definitely way too early to separate pups. They learn from their siblings and mother, and this helps them become social and functional hamsters as adults. I'm not sure the age you separate for dwarfies so I'll leave that to the more experienced people. She should also be given a long break after her breeding so she can recover and regain weight+fat. Just let her be and she'll do her thing

[Jso0om]

OK When should I remove the wheel because in my cage I got a wooden house (Hideout, where she sleeps) and 2 silent wheel and other toys. She spends most of the day sleeping in the wooden house and at night she runs way to much in the wheel. She runs very much so I thought if i took the wheel maybe she will be stressed

[AprilPearl]

Just wanted to add that 9 weeks is still very young to get pregnant - too young, in my opinion.

Also, you shouldn't breed from that pair again. As they are from a pet shop, they will be hybrids and you should never breed hybrids because they are prone to all sorts of health conditions and it is not in their best interests to perpetuate this.

I'm sorry if no one told you these things before and I hope you don't take my advice badly.

[Jso0om]

I understand but at the pet shop they labeled the place as "Russian Hamsters" and when i asked about her they said pure winter white
LIKE ???????
and is there is a chance that she may die during giving birth since she is a hybrid.

[AprilPearl]

It is possible they are pure winter white, as sometimes pet shops get pure stock, but it's more likely that the person in the shop was just making things up. As you can't be sure, it's best not to breed from pet shop Russian dwarves. Plus, you don't know their ancestory, even if they are pure WWs, and in general you should know the genetic background of any hamsters you breed.

I would say she is more likely to die from being too young than from being a hybrid. But, she will probably be fine. The minimum age recommended for breeding a female is 3 months and your girl is closer to 2 months. If the parents are hybrids, it the babies may suffer from health conditions which shorten their lives. One thing to be particularly wary about is diabetes, in both parents and babies. It would therefore be best to feed a sugar free diet (so not fruit etc).

[Jso0om]

You said she is more likely to die from being young
what things should i do to keep her life or reduce the chance of her dying
i dont want her dying

Originally Posted by AprilPearl

It is possible they are pure winter white, as sometimes pet shops get pure stock, but it's more likely that the person in the shop was just making things up. As you can't be sure, it's best not to breed from pet shop Russian dwarves. Plus, you don't know their ancestory, even if they are pure WWs, and in general you should know the genetic background of any hamsters you breed.

I would say she is more likely to die from being too young than from being a hybrid. But, she will probably be fine. The minimum age recommended for breeding a female is 3 months and your girl is closer to 2 months. If the parents are hybrids, it the babies may suffer from health conditions which shorten their lives. One thing to be particularly wary about is diabetes, in both parents and babies. It would therefore be best to feed a sugar free diet (so not fruit etc).

[Drago]

Originally Posted by Jso0om

You said she is more likely to die from being young
what things should i do to keep her life or reduce the chance of her dying
i dont want her dying

There's nothing you can do now. She's already been bred, and chances are, she's pregnant. No rudeness intended in this, but we did warn you on your other threads (many times) that she was too young and could become seriously injured or even die. Even healthy and conditioned mothers die, so it's really no guarantee. The best thing you can do now is let her be, and remember to get higher quality stock in the future

[Jso0om]

I hope she makes it and i thought it was an appropriate age to breed.