HAMSTER REPRODUCTION
Before breeding hamsters, one should consider why s/he should breed his/her hamster. One can opt for adopting a hamster, which is much better as there are so many unwanted hamsters out there!
If you still want to breed your hamster or if your hamster had an unexpected pregnancy then the following information would help you in trying to make the reproduction process work better for the hamster.
A female Syrian Hamster can breed from as young as 21 days, but it is best to breed for the first time at around four to six months of age. Once bred, the female hamster should be given four months to recover condition before breeding again. Female hamsters are usually sterile at 12 – 14 months of age.
Dwarf Hamsters will breed at around three to four months of age, while the Roborovski Hamsters usually do not breed until they are eight months of age.
Female hamsters usually come ‘on heat’ every four days. Syrian Hamsters, being solitary animals, should only be introduced to each other (preferably they should be introduced in a clean place and not their own cage) when the female is ‘on heat’ – if the female attacks the male than it means that she is not ‘on heat’.
Contrary, Dwarf Hamsters are much easier to mate – if they know each other then you can expect that they will have babies soon but if they don’t know each other use the same system to the one used on the syrian hamsters – check whether the female is willing to accept the male. Usually in the Dwarf Hamsters, the male plays an important part in the bringing of the family but sometimes it’s better to remove the male when the female gives birth as then the male hamster will mate the female hamster again after giving birth.
When the female hamster is pregnant, she will start to build a nest and during the last two days, she will gain weight in her stomach area which will become very noticeable. When the female hamster gives birth, it is very important not to touch the nest or babies and avoid cleaning the cage for the first 3 weeks or else the female hamster could panic and kill the hamster babies. If it is really necessary to 'clean' a cage area while the mother hamster is nursing her babies, you should only use a small piece of tissue to 'clean' the cage but avoid touching the nest area. Provide additional bread soaked in milk in a small food bowl for the mother hamster and babies as this will provided extra protein for these hamsters. The babies can be separated from the mother hamster when they are 4 weeks old as they become sexully mature.
The gestation period for Syrian Hamsters is 16 days. Dwarf Russian Hamsters, Campbell’s and Chinese Hamsters is 18 – 21 days while for the Roborovski Hamsters 23 – 30 days.
KNOWING THE SEX OF A HAMSTER
It is very tricky to determine the sex of a hamster. In Syrian Hamsters, it is more easy to know their sex than Dwarf Hamsters due to their size. A male hamster will have testicles and by time these will become more noticeable. Female hamsters will have nipples and if the coat is short they can be noticed.
The easiest way to tell if your hamster is a male or female is to look at the distance between the two openings at the rear. In male hamsters the anus and the penis (which is kept tucked up inside a small opening) are further apart. In females the anus and the vaginal opening are much closer together in comparison to the male hamster. A small tip on how you can identify the sex of your hamster is, that a male hamster will have a very small 'pink dot', while a female hamster will not have this 'pink dot'. To see detailed pictures of male hamsters and how it could be easy to distinguish them then read this hamster article.
