is my bin cage suitable for my pair of russian dwarf hamsters ??

[Jso0om]

OK Thank you and i am confused by thegender of my first pair of hamsters. HAve you seen the photos ? what do you think ??

[cypher]

To be honest if you are unable to sex your hams you really aren't ready to breed yet, I think you need to give this more consideration & research.
If you do breed you will need to be able to sex the babies at a young age so you can separate the male & female pups before they begin to breed again if you're unable to do that you really are going to end up with a huge number of interbred hamsters which really isn't going to be a good thing at all.

[Drago]

As cypher has said- I really want to encourage you to hold off. If you don't know what a pedigree is, their species, not their sex, you're going to have a lot of trouble breeding. I don't mean this to be rude at all, but you have to think in the best interests of your hamsters. Females can easily die due to complications, and it is very saddening to lose a mother, and consequentially her litter. You may actually find research to be very fun, I certainly think it is! You don't have to listen to us, but for the good of your hamster, and yourself, you should at least consider our advice Let us know if you have any other questions

[Jso0om]

When the mother will give birth, i will immediately go to a vet and when the pups are 2 - 3 weeks old i will go again for the gender thing.

ABOUT THE BIN CAGE. I got a new one and here are the measurements and its pretty tall.
Height - 15.5 inches
length - 27 inches
width - 12 inches

[Drago]

It's less about you being unable to sex, and more about the genetic side of it. If you aren't careful with which hamsters you breed together, you could wind up with deformities and extremely unhealthy hamsters. It's also very expensive and can get out of control quickly, so if you're going to go ahead with breeding anyways, do be aware of this!

For the bin cage, it's still a bit small unfortunately. It's better than the other bin, but you could definitely go bigger 450 sq in is considered the minimum humane cage size. It's still not ideal, but better than nothing. Why not share some links of bins in your country and we can help you to choose a good sized one

[FelicityAnn]

Originally Posted by Jso0om

When the mother will give birth, i will immediately go to a vet and when the pups are 2 - 3 weeks old i will go again for the gender thing.

Hi. I'm a bit worried about you moving the mother and litter just after birth. New mothers are prone to killing and eating newborns if they're disturbed.

And I'm sure you don't want that to happen, do you?

[Jso0om]

Originally Posted by FelicityAnn

Hi. I'm a bit worried about you moving the mother and litter just after birth. New mothers are prone to killing and eating newborns if they're disturbed.

And I'm sure you don't want that to happen, do you?

No I will not disturb the mother till week 3 - 4 and at this age i MUST Separate males from females and they will be independent.

[Vectis Hamstery]

3-4 weeks old is far too young for the female to be paired - she's still a baby herself. It is dangerous for young females to have litters as carrying and rearing a litter takes a big toll on any female hamster's body but more so on a growing body. Please split them up as soon as possible and I really hope she hasn't become pregnant. 4 months old is the youngest I'd recommend, perhaps older if she's small and the male is large (you don't want the mum carrying pups larger than she can give birth to). You will need to put her on pregnancy watch for up to 3 weeks and treat her as if she is pregnant until then even when you've taken the male out.

There are several species sold under the name 'Russian' but 'Russian' isn't of itself the name of a pure species. It's more usually used in pet shops to sell hybrid hamsters. I agree with the advice above that hybrids should not be bred due to the horrible health problems. In my mind, breeding hybrids intentionally is not ethical (and is strongly discouraged by the National Hamster Council). If you have no pure Campbells or Winter Whites in your country yet are determined to breed, I would advise choosing a different species. Robos, Chinese and Syrian hamsters cannot be hybridised.

If you are planning to breed Campbells, Winter Whites or Chinese hamsters, I would recommend checking them for diabetes before pairing. It's no guarantee, of course, that they/the pups will never develop it, but it will help to reduce its incidence in your lines (from my personal experience).

Mums should be left entirely alone (no peeking in the nest) for 2 weeks after their due date apart from a quick food and water change. They need lots of extra food and protein-rich extras. From when the pups' eyes open (around 2 weeks old, sometimes a little sooner, sometimes a little later) the pups will need lots of handling to get them used to being handled and make them good tame pets. From 4 weeks old they must be split into single sex groups and it is essential this is done correctly to prevent uncontrolled inbreeding and multiple litters. If sexing is done wrong it can lead very quickly to a very large number of hamsters. Pups can be rehomed from 5-6 weeks old, perhaps later according to your preference and how the pups are developing but not earlier.

I would not advise introducing hamsters for breeding in a large environment like a bin cage as that is likely to lead to arguments.

[Pebbles82]

I posted on your other thread before reading this, along similar lines to the others. I would urge you to wait and learn more and get more prepared. Sometimes we think we have researched but there is all sorts of stuff on the internet, good and bad, and even if you have studied good material, a lot of it comes down to choosing the correct hamsters to breed - they do need to be a suitable pairing, not just any old pair of hamsters of different ages and uncertain background. Or it could lead to a lot of suffering, both for the Mum and any babies born, possibly with neurological issues or other serious genetic defects.

What Vectis says is true (and she is an experienced breeder). Your hamsters will be hybrids, almost certainly. Sometimes owners and sellers don't know much about Russian dwarf hamsters either, as there is no such thing as a "pure Russian" hamster. Only a pure Russian Campbells or a pure Russian Winter White. A hybrid can look like either. Hybrids shouldn't be bred. They already have genetic predispositions to diabetes and other illnesses just by being hybrids in the first place.

The bin you have is a bit small but would do temporarily for one of them until you get your other bins sorted. But as Vectis says, you really must separate them, and think further about which species to breed from. You want to breed healthy babies not bring more suffering into the world.

Regarding the cage - you've done a great job on the bin and the meshing. I would remove the fuzzy nesting material and put in a big pile of torn up strips of plain white toilet paper. It's a safe nesting material and they like to pouch it and weave/build a nest out of it. It's safe if swallowed unlike most other nesting materials which can cause intestinal blockages. I'd also suggest putting a house/hide in as well so each has somewhere to retreat to that is dark, or they feel stressed. A tissue box or shoe box with a hole cut in is fine.

[Jso0om]

Thank you for your replies and i will think about what have you said.