Hamster Breeding Projects

Before You Breed Your Hamsters

• To undertake a humanely managed hamster breeding project, it's important that you have adequate space, resources, and time, and that you pay attention to your hamsters' well-being. While it does not involve the same time commitment as breeding animals with a longer gestation period, breeding hamsters should not be treated lightly or done on a whim.

  A heated or finished basement can be a good space to set up your hamster breeding project, provided you can ensure there are no drafts or dampness. You may want to make use of a heat lamp, placed at a safe distance from the hamsters, to provide sufficient warmth for them prior to breeding, during pregnancy, and for the first few weeks of the babies' lives.

  If your job, school, or lifestyle demands that you be away from home for much of the day, you may want to consider shifting your other priorities (outside of work or school) so that you will have adequate time to care for your breeding pets.

Which Hamsters to Breed

• It's best to breed hamsters of the same breed. Common hamster breeds are Syrian, dwarf, and Chinese. If you acquired your pet hamsters together from the same pet shop or breeder, it's likely that they are the same breed, but you may want to take them to a vet to make sure.

  To increase your chances of successfully breeding hamsters, it's best to raise one female and one male hamster from babies to sexual maturity, which occurs around two to three months for dwarf hamsters, and around four months for other hamster breeds. It's also essential that you keep the female and male hamsters in separate cages to prevent fighting and premature mating, which can lead to a litter of weak babies and also shorten the mother's lifespan.

When to Breed Hamsters

• Female hamsters have a very short oestral cycle, ovulating once every four days. This is good news for the new hamster breeder; if your first attempt at mating your hamsters is unsuccessful, you'll have another chance in just four days.

  Female hamsters emit a musky odor when they are entering their fertile stage, which lasts anywhere from four to 18 hours, beginning in the evening, and is the only time she will be receptive to mating attempts from a male. You can also tell when a female is fertile by gently stroking her toward her tail; if she is ovulating, she will stop moving, flatten her body, and lift her tail.

  Keep in mind that if it's too cold, most hamsters will not breed, so either make sure the hamsters' cages are warmer in winter months or begin your breeding project in the spring or summer.

Breeding Protocol

• It's advisable to set up a neutral breeding territory that is neither in the female's nor the male's cage. You can use a separate cage or escape-proof box to dedicate to this purpose. Mating your hamsters in neutral territory will decrease the chances that the pair will fight and reject one another.

  Once you think your female hamster is ovulating, transfer the male and female hamsters to this neutral territory, wearing gloves as you do so to prevent nips and bites. (The gloves also prevent the transfer of your human scent to the hamster pair). Make sure the breeding space is warm and includes the same clean bedding material as you use in the hamsters' cages.

  Keep the hamsters together for 15 minutes to one hour. When you notice that they have ceased taking interest in one another, transfer them back to their separate cages.

Gestation

• You'll be able to guess when your female hamster is pregnant because she will not ovulate again four days later. The gestation period for hamsters is very brief; they are born about 16 days after conception. Hamsters are identifiably pregnant around 10 days into the pregnancy, at which point their abdomens swell and their nipples become more prominent.

  Make sure your pregnant hamster is well-fed. Also give her high-protein foods such as tofu and boiled eggs. Mixing wheat germ into her food can also make the birthing process easier. You can still gently handle a pregnant hamster, although when she is approaching her due date it's best to leave her mostly alone.

  Make sure her cage is clean on Day 14 of her pregnancy, and remove extra items, such as the hamster wheel. Provide her with extra bedding so she can nest with her babies. You may want to move her cage to a warm, quiet location and disturb her as little as possible while you wait for the babies to arrive.

Baby Hamsters

• Leave the mother and baby hamsters alone for at least three weeks after their birth. Handling baby hamsters before this point increases the chance that the mother will reject them or cannibalize them. The cage will probably smell more than usual, but it's best to make sure the mother and babies have lots of extra bedding to begin with, and adequate food and water, instead of disrupting their habitat to clean the cage. You can continue to provide high-protein foods during this time.

  After about three-and-a-half weeks, the babies will no longer be dependent on their mother for nourishment. Identify the sex of each baby hamster and make sure the females are separated from the males. Do not place the babies with their father or mother, who may bully or cannibalize them. Baby hamsters of the same sex can be kept together for an additional two to three weeks before you'll need to transfer them to new homes or separate cages.