Breeding Dwarves

[swEet pEa]

Hi I'm totally new to breeding hamsters but I have two that I'd like to have have babies. I need some info and tips from a more experienced breeder!

The first thing I want to know is if I should leave the two together until the babies are grown enough to be separated, or should I put the girl back in her own cage? That leads to my second question: The girl I want to use has another girl living with her and I was wondering if they could still be together? I don't really want to separate them but I don't know if that would be bad.

How long is the normal gestation period and how many babies do they have on average?

Thanks, anything else you can tell me will be appreciated!

[Rodentguy]

Since you might not get a post right away you should do a google search and learn the basics. Hope I helped! :)

Rodentguy

[swEet pEa]

Well I already do know the basics but what I was mostly wondering about is if they should stay in the same cage or if I should put her back in her own and if she can be with the other girl.

[Rodentguy]

Ohhhh! Well I don't know much about that. Sorry.

Rodentguy

[TiaMaria]

Well...I would say..leaving her with the male, after she is pregnant is a good idea..if they get along together that is...if not put her in a seperate cage..personally i would never leave her alone with another female during pregnancy or birth, but some females have been known to help the mothers..but if left alone with another female..the other female could kill her babies..gestation can take anywhere from 20-28 days but most have there babies at 21 days...caring for a pregnant mother is tough work..she will need extra protein to keep her milk supply high, and lots of fresh clean water...to add protein to her diet once pregnant boil an egg and let her eat some..but not to much..or bread soaked in milk...little slivers of meat is good for her too..such as steak etc. For water u can give her some lettuce and other water based veggies such as celery carrots etc...keep feeding her, her regular hamster food with all these. Dont give her too much water based veggies..because it could give her diahrea and that is bad during a pregnancy cuz she will be dehydrated..and chances are eat one of her babies to get moisture. Once the babies are born put the water bottle down low so they can get some...and mom will do the rest..do not disturb the cage for three weeks..if by chance your bedding gets wet..chances are mom has already moved the babies to the dryest spot, so clean the cage around her..if nessecary pick mom up and put her in a bucket and then pick the babies up with a spoon so your scent isnt left behind, and put the babies in a different bucket..clean the cage..put the babies back first and then mom. Once the babies get big enough to eat food like mom,,make sure there is an abundant supply because mom would rather kill her babies then see then suffer and starve to death..Monitor mom at all times but do not disturb..if u feel that mom is having difficulty, get her to the vet immediately..before u even consider breeding find the babies homes..unless u are going to care for them all, there are far to many uncared and unloved abandoned hamsters in this world..

Most of all good luck to u and keep us informed...i hope this information helps..if u have any more questions u can e-mail me or add me to MSN Messenger at tiamaria@shaw.ca

Tia

[TiaMaria]

OoO..A couple more things...Once the babies hit 5 weeks i would seperate them into a cage for male, and a cage for females..to stop incest breeding at 7-8 weeks they can go to there new homes...

[swEet pEa]

Thanks so much TiaMaria :) I was thinking that it would be bad to keep the other female with her because I didn't know if she would kill the babies or be nice to them or whatever but all your info helped me a lot :)

[swEet pEa]

And I am planning to keep and care for all the babies because I've got a cage for girls and a cage for boys (unless there's too many then I'll get another or two more cages if needed).

[JessicaReed]

Go to http://www.hamsterific.com

[Revenge]

here is some more advice if the female looks like she is going to beat the crap out of the male be sure to separate them cause I noticed so much anger behavior problems with the dwarfs I breed

[TiaMaria]

Maybe ur dwarfs are just retarded? :|

[Revenge]

hey watch it! You inslut my animals you inslut me! their not retarded!

[TiaMaria]

Marital Issues then?

[Revenge]

more that their fully grown adults that our used to be alone by themselfs