Considering Breeding ... Opinions?

[GreySyrian]

As the title said I am considering breeding my two hamsters who are both at the 4 month age although Id likely wait a few more months so I could save to fund extra cages etc.

My female is a pet shop ham, so genetic wise isn't the best option, however my male is from a breeder. Another question I wanted to ask was what is the oldest age you can breed a male from? As if it's a longer scope than with females I might consider waiting till I can get a better suited female. My female is SH dark grey (her litter mates where torts/golden) whilst my male is LH golden (Golden, cinnamon, yellow and dark grey main colours in pedigree) so as far as I know these two are compatible colour wise.

I also read thats its best to allow the hamsters to get used to each other without being directly in contact- the place suggesting putting them both in hamster balls next to each other but wasn't sure if this would wise as it conflicts with other sources suggesting that hamsters can become stressed if they see another hamster? If someone could clarify please

I've done my research and believe I know enough, I know there is an unpredictability with numbers and my plan would be to only ever breed this once and keep a single hamster. The others, which is where my main issue lies, I would re-home. I've read up about this and found someone mention putting adverts near schools ? (I have two in my village) which could be a place to start, I'd however check out homes and provide a care sheet beforehand so people could confirm theyd be able to provide the correct cage etc. But other than this where is the best place to rehome?

I am asking for opinions as I know i'm probably getting over excited at the prospect of tiny furbabys so would greatly appreciate your opinions and if you think this would be a wise thing to do.

I've seen the question 'why do you want breed' coming up a lot and my reason is to gain experience but mainly just for the experience- as a hobby. Although I only plan on breeding once, as I know breeding unwanted hams is the last thing I want to do.

[Sm_banks]

Males can breed throughout their entire lives, however females become sterile at around 1 year old. The optimal time for breeding however would be when both are 6 months old.

[CMB]

Best to try and only put them together when the female is in heat / ready to breed or they will fight. I have bred a few litters many years ago. I had homes setup for the babies before breeding. If you stroke the females back and she stops still and crouches she should accept the male and mate.

[GreySyrian]

Thanks for replys Sm_banks & CMB! How did you find homes before breeding?

[velma]

I believe the age of females is also due to their pelvis fusing over a certain age but I could be wrong. I believe some of our American friends use pet shop hams as supply is so limited there and the country too fast to travel across but with in England access to good breeders isn't a problem so I really wouldn't advise breeding your pet shop female. They haven't been bred with health in mind and also, very importantly, you can't see all the colours they are carrying and some colour gene combinations can cause eyeless pups to be born. The best advice I've seen here is to get in touch with a good local breeder and see if they can mentor you. Take plenty of time learning about genetiics and finding everything you possibly can. Then when you feel ready you could see about acquiring a suitable female. If you've managed to find a mentor you will have someone to help you everything, including when things go potentially wrong (such as mum canibalising the pups) so you'll gave the best chance of healthy mum & healthy pups.

[Jenibelle]

To chime in on the pelvic bones fusing: I'm speaking in regards to guinea pigs, but I assume it would be the same for hamsters. (At least for piggies) We now know that the pelvic bones fusing is a myth; the pelvic bones do not fuse together, but they do become stiff, which can make passing the babies more difficult or even impossible in some cases.

[GreySyrian]

Originally Posted by velma

I believe the age of females is also due to their pelvis fusing over a certain age but I could be wrong. I believe some of our American friends use pet shop hams as supply is so limited there and the country too fast to travel across but with in England access to good breeders isn't a problem so I really wouldn't advise breeding your pet shop female. They haven't been bred with health in mind and also, very importantly, you can't see all the colours they are carrying and some colour gene combinations can cause eyeless pups to be born. The best advice I've seen here is to get in touch with a good local breeder and see if they can mentor you. Take plenty of time learning about genetiics and finding everything you possibly can. Then when you feel ready you could see about acquiring a suitable female. If you've managed to find a mentor you will have someone to help you everything, including when things go potentially wrong (such as mum canibalising the pups) so you'll gave the best chance of healthy mum & healthy pups.

That would make sense, thanks for the advice My only problem would be space now!

[Sm_banks]

Bin cages are perfect for moms raising litters.

[CMB]

I had family and friends wanted them. My local pet shop said they would have some, as they used to prefer to get the babies from local breeders or breed their own as they are usually tamer.

It was a small local pet shop. They gave their breeding females a rest from breeding and had some babies from me.

[Nancy's Hamsters]

Well many have already gave good advice for you. I am one who had to start(re-start actually my whole hamstery using some back yard oopsie pups(nice side of this is I could at least see and check the parents coloring and temperament), but had to go with some Pet Store bought hamsters.

However your male is quite able to breed his whole life time, though near his end age he may not be as potent and produce very small size litters. Since you can locate pedigreed hamsters fairly easy I would suggest waiting and enjoying your female as a pet. The other thing would be to ask the breeder of your male what they think about your current female on if she may be a good match to the male you got from them. Don't be upset if they say she is not as they know their lines and will know if she would be a waste of time and money to breed. Remember it cost just as much to breed a pedigree litter as it does a unknown pet only litter. The advantage of waiting for a female with a nice pedigree would be a great start to perhaps becoming a show breeder and you should have a good idea on pup colors if you know the genes of the female.

You also will know beyond a doubt that no inherited health issues might lurk behind the fur. Not to say because you have two pedigreed hamster means no health issues but it does limit them.

I can say your Male does not have the Yellow gene even with it behind him as Yellow is gender dominant meaning his Mom would need to be either Yellow or Tortoiseshell to give him the Yellow gene and he would not turn out Golden but Yellow. Goldens can carry Cinnamon, and Dark grey so he has potential for those colors if his mate should be or carry them also. My other question would be is Dark Grey found in commercially bred hamsters over there as here in the USA it is not found in Commercial bloodlines BUT Silver grey abounds here and in UK pet stores as well. A Homozygous Silver Grey hamster can sometimes be almost as dark as a poor quality Dark grey.

The good news is to find out if your pet store female is really Dark Grey or is Silver grey all it would take is to breed her to a mate who has NO greys in the gene pool. If she produces grey pups you will then know she is a Silver grey and not dark grey. Also it would be VERY important to determine what grey she is before breeding her to a male who may potentially carry dark grey as it is frowned on to cross the greys together ever.

Dark grey has some genetic defects you need to be aware of and most Dark Greys are smaller in size too.