Introducing a 3 weeks old male to a 7 weeks old female

[Sn0wy]

Hello,
If I introduce a 3 weeks pup to a 7 weeks old female do you think she will attack him? Isn't that a good idea? I want to try this so she can breed a few litters later.
I read that it's better to pair them when they are younger than 8 months, but I haven't read anything about age differences. This is my first time with Campbells.
Thanks

[Lougarry]

I wouldn't put a mixed sex pair together until you are confident the female is mature enough to cope with a litter. They can fall pregnant at a few weeks old but that wouldn't necessarily be good for mother or pups.

I'm not sure about dwarfs but for a Syrian I wouldn't want a female to fall pregnant before 4-5 months of age. Hopefully, a dwarf expert will be along shortly.

[kyrilliondaemon]

I fully agree with everything Lougarry said. Was going to say all of that but she's said it for me

[Pompompoms]

In terms of accepting yes, a three week old is still a baby so likely to be accepted by another hamster.

The issue here is the age of your female. Your female isn't an adult herself yet, but is able to fall pregnant, and your young male will very shortly be at the age he could impregnate her. I took in a robo that had got pregnant at seven weeks old and her poor little body was absolutely ravaged by what had happened, never to recover. The health of the hamsters, the female in particular must be your priority here, I don't breed my females till they are at the very least three and a half to four months old.

You also have the issue of ethical breeding here, I know nothing about your Campbells, but will assume they are both from healthy traceable lines, ansd therefore suitable for breeding?

[sue12]

I'm sorry but a 3 wk old pup should not even be away from mum yet let alone being introduced to a 7wk old breeding partner, baby hamsters are not fully weened at 3 wks and a 7wk old is FAR to young to have a litter, hamsters are fully mature at around 4 months and this is the PERFECT time to mate them any younger and you risk producing weak/small babies let alone the damage your female will suffer, having a litter takes a lot out of a female and she needs to be in tip top health and big enough to cope with the babies. Please keep the male with mum for at least another week and don't put him with your young female until they are much older and you have researched breeding to a full extent it is NOT something to be taken lightly.
On another note where did you sauce your "Campbell's" from if it was a pet. Shop then they are most likely hybrids, and I wouldn't recommend breeding them EVER as hybrids can suffer a range of health problems such as diabetes, neurological problems, head tilt and fitting, the only way you can be sure they are not hybrid is if you purchased from a reputable breeder and I can assure you a reputable breeder would NOT let a 3wk old pup go to a new home 5/6 wks is the earliest.

[DrKMcK]

Where did you get a 3 week old baby from?

[Sn0wy]

Thanks for all your replies.

Well, the pup is with its mum yet, so don't worry because I'll try to do things well.

I can suppose then that none of your Campbells are paired, in order the female doesn't get pregnant too young? Or in other words, what's the oldest age that two Campbells can be put together without fights?

[kyrilliondaemon]

I don't breed, but hamsters can be paired at any age - it just gets more difficult to pair two adults than to pair two pups or an adult and a pup. Our pairs/groups are all same sex, but we temporarily paired an eighteen month roborovski with a four month roborovski a while back, it lasted about two months before the younger ham realised it was in the middle of puberty and decided to be a pest lol
Our current pair is a father-son pair who were introduced when the son was four weeks old, and our trio are sisters but thats just when its easier. Introducing hams for breeding is best done when the hamsters are ready to breed and that depends partially on age and partially on the hamsters.

I mean this in the best of possible ways, but it'd look a lot better if you researched this yourself rather than having to come and ask. I find it a bit worrying when someone who plans on breeding doesn't know about the risks of a ham getting pregnant too young (or too old).

[Sn0wy]

It'd look better if you were a little kinder. I've researched the web but it's difficult to find clear and precise information (even contradictory sometimes) about this topic, I know the risks of a ham getting pregnant too young or too old, I've kept syrians for 8 years and since she is my first campbell I just wanted to learn more from experienced owners. That is the reason why this forum exists or am I wrong?

Anyway thanks for your answer.

[kyrilliondaemon]

My logic was that searching the forum'd get you the answers, and if you know about getting them pregnant too young surely you'd have realised that pairing them so young was risky?
Not trying to be rude now, just genuinely confused