Breeding Syrians

[Tammy22]

Hi everyone,

most of you probably already know that i breed Roborovski hamsters and have been for the last 6 or 7 years.

I had always kept Syrian hamsters since i was very young, only one at a time but i loved all of them very much.

When i got my first pair of Roborovskis it was very refreshing to have hamsters other than Syrians, because of the fact that they were so different in personality and behaviour, and also because they could live together harmoniously (most of the time, lol!) I loved watching them interact with each other and i soon got another pair!

After thinking that i might want to breed Roborovskis it took me about a year and half to decide that i was definately going to go ahead with breeding them. During this time i did as much research as i could (although there wasnt very much info about Roborovskis at that time!), managed to obtain plenty of cages, tanks, hamster accessories etc. and also managed to locate as many responsible and experienced Roborovski breeders as i could.

Once i obtained my first few unrelated Roborovskis, paired them up, and eventually had my first litter, i was absolutely hooked, and i soon realised that all the time i had spent preparing was well worth it!

Anyway, getting to the point! For the past two years i have been seriously thinking about starting to breed Syrian hamsters. I have read everything i can get hold of, read everything on the net i can find and read everything i can find about genetics and colours.

I understand all about the main ethics of hamster breeding from breeding Roborovskis such as the importance of only breeding from hamsters from very good lines with detailed genetical backgrounds, keeping the hamsters healthy, care and feeding of pregnant females etc. etc. Also, I have enough time, money, cages, accessories etc.

I think i have learned alot from my research and i fully understand that breeding Syrians is different to breeding Roborovskis, as there are so many different genes involved, but i really am willing to learn as much as i can, and i definately dont want to rush into anything!

I think i understand the basics about how dominant and recessive genes work and i understand about the lethal genes and the genes which are not recommended to be mixed. but i am still having trouble identifying certain colours and i am still very confused with the shear number of genes there are out there and how they all interact - i find it all very overwhelming!

I am so worried about finally going ahead and then making a giant mistake!

So, i was really looking for as many helpful hints as possible and i also wanted to know the best way to begin breeding Syrians?? I understand that first and foremost the hamsters should be from very good lines and be 100% healthy, at the correct age for breeding, but i would also like to know which colours are best to begin with etc. and which breeder to obtain my first breeding hamsters from?

I know that one of the things i should have done by now is to contact some breeders for information and experience, but, to be honest, i am a bit scared about the reaction i might receive!! - i really want people to understand that i am very serious about doing all of this in the best way possible!

Please be kind to me it was a big step for me to write this post and i am sorry it is so long! but i just wanted to explain as much as possible.

Any help is most welcome!

Kind Regards,

Tammy x