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Old 02-13-2017, 06:07 AM   #1
Mirai
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Question Keeping a male and female together (moved post)

so basically I have 5 hamsters (3 babies and the father and mother) at first they squeaked at each other and one of the babies always ran away from the father though he didn't even look at the baby, but I spent 2-3 days putting the father with the mother and babies for a limited amount of time and under my supervision, after 2-3 days i noticed that they started digging through the cardboard so they can get to the father's side of the cage (i separated a detolf cage in half) and then I removed the cardboard and the hamsters were happy to be together, sometimes they squeak when their mouths are close, but other than that they're very happy, the father even started running on the wheel again, so I'll say squeaking is totally normal.
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Old 02-13-2017, 06:18 AM   #2
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Default Re: Is this normal

Mirai it is not a good idea to have a male and a female plus pups together simply because they will breed back to back litters and mum will become very stressed and her body will suffer. It isn't fair on her. Dwarfs will mate as soon as the female gives birth. She is likely already pregnant again. You must separate males and females by 4 weeks else they will start to interbreed. You can quickly be over run with inbred babies you cannot find homes for.
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Old 02-13-2017, 08:51 PM   #3
Mirai
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Default Re: Is this normal

They were seperated before, but the male got depressed and wouldn't do anything, it wasn't bc i want to, i had to put them together so he would stay alive, the pups aren't too small so he can't hurt them, and they still haven't aged a month, i know i can't keep them together bc of the extra litter I'll get, but I'm willing to do anything so my hamster would not be depressed and stressed and actually eat something, Kai (the male hamster), didn't used to even play in his wheel, but since i put them all together he started coming out of his nest more often, he actually walked a bit on the wheel which made me so super happy.

I know the dangers of breeding, but Luna (the mom) and Kai had had a healthy litter before and none of them died, they were even strong enough to wonder around the cage even when they still haven't opended their eyes and they would stumble all the time, and if she got pregnant again, I'll keep the babies too, bc I don't think I'll find someone in my area where they would take care of my babies like i do or better, so I'm willing to pay whatever it takes to keep every single hamster happy.

Thank you for your concern, i hope you could understand my point of view and why i had to do what i did.
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Old 02-14-2017, 02:02 AM   #4
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Default Re: Is this normal

Wishing you the best, with you hamsters. What species do you have?

Last edited by Cinnamon Bear; 02-14-2017 at 06:27 AM.
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Old 02-14-2017, 05:04 AM   #5
souffle
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Default Re: Is this normal

Mirai I would take the father and his male pups out of the group when the babies are 4 weeks old. He will then have company and will be perfectly fine and you will not have any more pups. Don't let him stay until the next litter are born because he will mate her again immediately and then another litter. Then the female babies will get pregnant and it will all just be too much. People end up with hundreds and the inbreeding can result in genetic faults coming through.
They are not little people in skins. Kai would be eating enough or else he would not survive. They do become more reclusive when separated but will come out of that in a couple of weeks. Their instinct is to breed and raise more and more babies. In the wild they only live about 7-8months. You don't want that for yours do you?
Make sure you sex them properly and get dad and sons out as soon as you can. Keep two single sex groups of mum and daughters and dad and sons but if possible home some of the pups as 2 brother or two sister groups so they can get the attention the need. Everyone needs a warning though they they could fall out and to keep a close eye on them.
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Old 02-14-2017, 08:27 AM   #6
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Default Re: Keeping a male and female together (moved post)

Definitely separate him as soon as you can. Hamsters aren't social creatures like rats and gerbils and thus won't become anxious or depressed when separated from cagemates, in fact they might be even happier! His depressed behavior could be in response to a cage change, and will need time to allow him to settle down. Hope all goes well for your hams and their pups
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Old 02-14-2017, 11:39 PM   #7
Mirai
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Default Re: Keeping a male and female together (moved post)

The species is winterwhite dwarf hamsters, the babies are currently 22 days old, i sexed them yesterday and apparently i have 2 male pups and 1 female, I'll check again today when they are awake.

Originally when i had the 3 pups it was a surprise for me, the pet shop told me both hamsters were male, and even if they were female and male i wouldn't have taken only one of them, bc they were cage mates and the only ones left, when i arrived at the pet shop to get tue hamsters, the female (she was pregnant but they thought she was a male) was being fed to a snake, I immiedietly told them to get her out of the snake cage, then when they gave me the two hamsters, i had to check that they didn't put a small syrian instead of a winterwhite dwarf hamster, but whem i opened both small boxes, the two hamsters were sad, so i placed them in one box then i gave them a little piece of carrot, so I'm having no regrets on the surprise litter that i had.

Thank you all for your concern, I'm glad i could get some helpful advice, and I'll do as each one of you suggests.
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Old 02-15-2017, 12:16 AM   #8
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Default Re: Keeping a male and female together (moved post)

If you got them from a pet shop then they're not WW but Russian hybrids (cross WW & Campbells) accidental litters from hams that are pregnant when you bring them home can't be helped but breeding hybrids carries a lot of risks for both mother & pups so you should really take every precaution to be sure there are no more litters.

I was wondering how long did you give the male to adapt to the change when you separated him & what kind of enrichment/stimulation you provided him with, it can take a while for them to get used to a change like that but they usually do & there are plenty of things you can do in their environment to make it interesting for them to get them coming out more although some males can be a bit lazy & if they have a food bowl & cosy nest are happy to stay in bed most of the time!
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Last edited by cypher; 02-15-2017 at 12:53 AM.
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Old 02-15-2017, 09:08 PM   #9
Mirai
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Default Re: Keeping a male and female together (moved post)

I left Kai to adapt for mostly 3 weeks, each say he gets lazier than the day before, he started getting fat, he ditched his wheel, i checked his diet for any sugary stuff (i suspected Diabetes) but there weren't any, but now he's energetic and active, he started digging again and using the chewing toys, I even feel like his eyes are brighter and happier, he didn't hurt any pups at all (i removed him as soon as i noticed Luna's belly, so he only met the pups when they were weaned)

How can i know if they were hybrids or not?, I've learned that winterwhites can change color in winter, can WW hybrids change color too?.
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Old 02-15-2017, 09:13 PM   #10
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Default Re: Keeping a male and female together (moved post)

Any Russian with an unknown history or that comes from a pet shop should automatically be considered a hybrid.The only way to get a purebred of either species is to get them from a breeder and have a pedigree as well,which is incredibly difficult.
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