thoughts and advice please.

Mystic · 12-06-2012, 05:10 AM

hey guys, so long story short my friend and i are starting a small rodentry and we are breeding fancy mice, rats, and hamsters. the hamsters we are breeding are Syrians, and we are only starting with 4. 2 girls and 2 boys.
(yes i have a new ham besides Ables! his name is frost and he is a dark eared white. i will show pictures soon.)
anyway, one of the girls we got we believe to be pregnant, she is a little round and all her "boobies" are showing. i have been doing some research on breeding and we are waiting 2 months before we breed the other girl we have because we believe her to be around 2 months at least. i know you need them to be around 4 months before they should breed and what not. but i was hoping you all could give me some good tips to help on our quest for healthy happy hams. like what to watch out for, and things to do to help them out. thanks guys!

Zebbie · 12-06-2012, 05:37 AM

You can make sure they all get lots of protein and vitamin e to maximise their fertility (both girls and boys) - so, egg, wheatgerm, mealworms, etc.

They apparently need 16 hours of light a day and reasonable warmth to breed, which is why breeding at the end of winter is the hardest time of year to make it 'catch' - so for a Jan/Feb litter make sure they stay warm and maybe have a lamp in their room from now until then.

Mystic · 12-06-2012, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zebbie

You can make sure they all get lots of protein and vitamin e to maximise their fertility (both girls and boys) - so, egg, wheatgerm, mealworms, etc.

They apparently need 16 hours of light a day and reasonable warmth to breed, which is why breeding at the end of winter is the hardest time of year to make it 'catch' - so for a Jan/Feb litter make sure they stay warm and maybe have a lamp in their room from now until then.

thanks Zebbie! the room they are in has daylight that comes threw the window and then most of the time at night it is dark in the room. what type of lamp are you thinking? such as a heat lamp or just a normal light if there wasn't enough light getting into the room?

shiny · 12-06-2012, 05:57 AM

Mystic - many animals have their breeding cycle (hormones etc) triggered by the photoperiod (the amount of daylight in the 24 hour day). Some animals' breeding is triggered by days getting shorter, some by days getting longer.

I haven't looked up hamsters as I don't breed them but Zebbie is saying 16 hours of daylight per 24 hours is needed for them to breed. If you want to artificially create this type of breeding condition for your hamsters then you would need to make their room have daylight for 16 hours a day by the use of a suitable daylight-simulating lamp.

Mystic · 12-06-2012, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shiny

Mystic - many animals have their breeding cycle (hormones etc) triggered by the photoperiod (the amount of daylight in the 24 hour day). Some animals' breeding is triggered by days getting shorter, some by days getting longer.

I haven't looked up hamsters as I don't breed them but Zebbie is saying 16 hours of daylight per 24 hours is needed for them to breed. If you want to artificially create this type of breeding condition for your hamsters then you would need to make their room have daylight for 16 hours a day by the use of a suitable daylight-simulating lamp.

thank you for explaining that so well shiny! these are the kind of tips i was hoping for ^_^

Vectis Hamstery · 12-07-2012, 12:18 AM

Some tips for happy healthy hamsters:
- Research before you breed, including unsafe pairings. Hamsterlopaedia is a good resource
- Have contingency plans for if you are unable to rehome babies or you have several sick animals/large vet bills (and offer lifetime back up for animals you breed)
- Make provisions for quarantine space
- Start with good quality hamsters of good health and good temperament
- Ensure hamsters have a good hamster mix as well as protein-rich extras
- Don't disturb mum and pups for the first 14 days

Hamsters, rats and mice each have their own challenges in terms of breeding and I would suggest starting with one species and one litter at a time if you plan to breed. This will allow you to gain experience and practical knowledge of that species without a lesser risk of you becoming overwhelmed with rodents.

Mystic · 12-07-2012, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vectis Hamstery

Some tips for happy healthy hamsters:
- Research before you breed, including unsafe pairings. Hamsterlopaedia is a good resource
- Have contingency plans for if you are unable to rehome babies or you have several sick animals/large vet bills (and offer lifetime back up for animals you breed)
- Make provisions for quarantine space
- Start with good quality hamsters of good health and good temperament
- Ensure hamsters have a good hamster mix as well as protein-rich extras
- Don't disturb mum and pups for the first 14 days

Hamsters, rats and mice each have their own challenges in terms of breeding and I would suggest starting with one species and one litter at a time if you plan to breed. This will allow you to gain experience and practical knowledge of that species without a lesser risk of you becoming overwhelmed with rodents.

i agree with you, sadly my friend has kind of jumped the gun on this already. i am playing a bit of catch up trying to read and obtain all the information i can on all of them. thats why i could use all the help i can get.

vanilla-yazoo · 12-07-2012, 05:09 AM

hey mystic
as someone who has had litters with not the best of luck, i can warn you and your friend its NOT fun and games
yes cute little babies, cuddled up together, seeing them grow from pinkies to mini mum's but having a mother cull a litter, having to hand rear, loosing the mum of my second litter, its definatly not all cute pups and cute photos

as vectis said, all that infomation IS needed
i know not all countrys have pedigree's, but ensuring they come from different lines, that the parents do not have any health problems, even in the back history.
I have one syrian that even with his pedigree isnt the colour he appears, but it wasnt a problem, but had i bred him to a patterned unknowingly there is a risk.

I wish you the best of luck with the litters, lots of plain cooked chicken or turky, chicken babyfood that is garlic/onion/leek free, tofu, egg, porridge, cat biscuits (onion free) will help, but remember you can not clean the cage untill the babies eyes are open, as it can disturb mum and the nest of babies.

if there are any questions, worries over mum and babies, colour identification, sexing the pups, there are many breeders on here, most with more experience then me, we can give what advice we can to help x

Mystic · 12-07-2012, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vanilla-yazoo

hey mystic
as someone who has had litters with not the best of luck, i can warn you and your friend its NOT fun and games
yes cute little babies, cuddled up together, seeing them grow from pinkies to mini mum's but having a mother cull a litter, having to hand rear, loosing the mum of my second litter, its definatly not all cute pups and cute photos

as vectis said, all that infomation IS needed
i know not all countrys have pedigree's, but ensuring they come from different lines, that the parents do not have any health problems, even in the back history.
I have one syrian that even with his pedigree isnt the colour he appears, but it wasnt a problem, but had i bred him to a patterned unknowingly there is a risk.

I wish you the best of luck with the litters, lots of plain cooked chicken or turky, chicken babyfood that is garlic/onion/leek free, tofu, egg, porridge, cat biscuits (onion free) will help, but remember you can not clean the cage untill the babies eyes are open, as it can disturb mum and the nest of babies.

if there are any questions, worries over mum and babies, colour identification, sexing the pups, there are many breeders on here, most with more experience then me, we can give what advice we can to help x

thank you vanilla for your advice. i wish there where real hamster breeders around here where i live. we have gotten the best hams we could find, we only have 4 and i hope that is as many as we will get. all but 1 male (my ables ) are to young to breed at the moment. i am hoping to make them all the healthiest as possible before we do anything with them, but i am aware of how bad things can go when it comes to breeding, but i do appreciate any advice you can give me in any way. is it better for the females to be a little fattened before they are bred? or is it not good to have them a little fat? i am hoping to make my own ham food mix, im hoping to do my best for these hams. they are not just a hobby they are wonderful living creatures that deserve the best life i can give them.

Jasmine Smith · 12-07-2012, 11:45 AM

I would watch their poo. If their poo turns a light brown, well some of the things you are feeding them could upset their belly, and you don't want a pregnant hamster to become sick. If you feed them anything that contains yogurt like yogi drops, be careful and watch their poo closely (not literally closely, keep an eye on them) as thats what happened to my hamster but she wasn't pregnant, though she stopped eating her food.

If you think this was helpful, let me know!!!