Breeding question

[_nod]

Lately I've been pondering the possibility breeding Nico. He's a beautiful little ham and as much as I love to give hams a second chance at a forever home, I'd also like to have the experience of caring for some from birth.

It wouldn't be my intention to sell any pups or even give any up for free for that matter. Unless somebody I already knew and trusted wanted one or two. I'd try and keep any as male and female groups initially and split them up in to smaller groups or individuals when/if need.

So here's the thing, Nico as you may know came to me from a P@H adoption centre, is it completely irresponsible for me to breed from him, given that I know nothing of his genetics? Or could it be ok if I find him a mate which is from known stock?

I admit I don't yet know much about, the genetics of it all colours and patterns, mutations, possible issues for which Nico could be a carrier?

Should I just put this idea out of my mind completely and not even bother to research it further?

I've read a little but about breeding Robos and obviously would research a whole lot more before hand, as this wouldn't be something I'd plan on attempting for a few months.

[icklemunch]

Promise me if you decide to, please let me know i would love a pair of robo's

[_nod]

Of course I would. I'd do my best to sex them properly too

[icklemunch]

Haha. Thanks

[HollyHamster]

I wouldn't breed Nico, coming from an unknown line. He could very possibly have been inbred, and thus, carry unknown health issues.

[Sanctuary]

I am not a breeder and never have but I know what most people would say and it's not to bother.
What I will say and probably get hated for it is this:
If you are ready to be responsible for all of the babies even if they are born with health issues then go ahead and breed him. It would be different in my mind if you were breeding to sell but if your keeping them or giving them to people you know or on this site that can understand they may have health issues but can be bought back to you if they dont want to deal with any problems that arise then thats fine.

Sorry if this annoys breeders on here and I do NOT want any other newbie person breeding to take this as a go ahead as my opinion would be different depending on who was wanting to breed. For this situation I say go for it.

[Amethyst_ice]

I almost feel from your post you want someone to tell you it is not a good idea. You bring up everything that most people would say against.

Let me remind you of this helpful sticky:

Think Before You Breed!

You say you would like experience caring for a litter from birth. Have you perhaps considered helping a breeder near you, watching first hand what goes into the process? Or perhaps at a local centre?

I know how lovely it is to have a special ham and want to see them live on through their young, but I have sadly had friends that have bred their special ones and the young die far too young (I took on one of these young and lost him at 10 months old).

There is also a risk to the parents and I know personally I would not be able to cope with losing either parent from a mating or a birth.

However if you do decide to breed I wish you luck and of course the forum will be here to assist and support

x

[evel_lin]

I think it would be quite cruel to knowingly bring babies into the world that could have problems. You have no idea what conditions he could be carrying. Or what if the female attached him?

If you want the experience of breeding then why not arrange to get two hamsters with known genetics from breeders and in the meantime do a lot of research so you have a good idea of the genetics and the different colours you'll likely have from a particular mating

[_nod]

Thank you all. I will probably breed some at some point, I've had hamsters on and off for approximately 25 years and raising hamsters from birth is just something I'd like to do. It's just a question of if it could be a possibility to breed from Nico and if I did what could I do to minimize any risks.

Amethyst ice, I have read that thread multiple times over as well as many other threads in this sub-category of the forum and more. It's just that a lot of the health issues I've read about relate to Syrians and particularly hybrid dwarfs. I didn't want to assume that this is something that I shouldn't attempt, only to later find out that this advice was more aimed at syrians, as I've not come across much evidence of many genetic issues in Robo's other than decline in inbreed colonies and spinning in some lines linked to the white faced gene.

Also, 'No' is not the answer I was wanting, mealy the answer I'm expecting

evel_lin, I do have a little experience of reintroducing robos, I decided to split my pair of females late last year as they started squabbing right before I was going in for surgery. The squabbles weren't that serious, but I knew that during the recovery I wouldn't be there to check on them as much as I would like, so I took the option to split them up to be on the safe side. After my recovery I reintroduced them and they've been happy ever since, other than two tiny hiccups when I've introduced new things in to their cage which has caused them to become a little territorial! Even if I get two from different breeders I'd still need to introduce them and run the risk of fighting.