Hamster Pregnancy Question!?!?!?!?!?!

[7GameSavvy]

A couple weeks ago I put my two Hammies together when my female was in heat and they mated. I'm pretty sure Smidget is pregnant, she shows almost all the signs, hoarding extra food, making bigger nests, etc. However, she hasn't started producing milk and she is due around Thursday-ish. Does anyone know when they start producing milk???:confused:

Any help is appreciated!!! :)
Thanks,
Savvy

[7GameSavvy]

Come on you guys, I really need help!!!:)

Savvy

[amandala45]

why did you even let them mate?????

[trixtontheham]

yeah there are already a lot of hamsters around...are you a breeder?sorry i cant help ...dont know much about pregnant hamsters..sorry again

[Chaos]

What do you mean by producing milk? Her nipples should be much larger but you shouldn't see any milk itself, or I didn't.

I hope youy have 10+ homes lined up for the babies, or are prepared to keep that many. Finding good homes isn't as easy as you think.

[7GameSavvy]

Oh, yeah, I'm a breeder. Here in Vermont there aren't many places that sell hamsters. Most are pet stores and they're a good half hour drive from most places.

Chaos, that's what I ment, her nipples don't seem larger at all. Maybe she's not really pregnant.

Thanks for everyones help:)

Savvy

[LuckyBunny888]

Is she buldging out at all? If so she probably is. Not all hammies produce milk right before. Some wont even start until they start giving birth. I know thats what happened to one of our lil ladies at the petstore. It might be a small litter too. The hammie at the petstore only had one lil baby. Keep us posted!

[7GameSavvy]

Well, she's due today, and she sort of buldges but not much. It might be a small litter because it's her first one. But I have a feeling she's not pregnant after all:(

If she doesn't give birth today I'm going to start putting her back in with my male. Thanks for everyone's help!!!:D

Savvy

[Chaos]

Please don't put her back in with the male, not all hamsters give birth on the date they're due. Mine was early, many are late. Thats just asking for trouble especially if she's not in heat, as chances are she'll kill your male. Has she come into heat at all in the past two weeks? If she has, she's not pregnant. If she hasn't then she's is.

[7GameSavvy]

With her it's very hard to tell if she's in heat. And I'm not stupid, when I do put her back in wih my male I will immediatly seperate them if she's not in heat. If she is in heat they will only stay together for 20 min. or so.

Savvy

[Jiffykat]

So are you planning on getting them homes, or are you keeping them or what?

[7GameSavvy]

Two or three of the babies are going to friends of mine and the rest are going to be for sale through the classified. There is also a pet store starting up a couple towns away from me and they need small animals. But I really don't want the pups going to a pet store unless I have no other choice.

Savvy

[7GameSavvy]

Well, as of right now there are no babies.

Last night I moved my male into his new bin cage with two shelves, a ramp, etc. (pics. coming shortly). A couple hours after he was in there I put my female in too. She walked around a bit, calm as could be and he just followed her until I took her back out of the cage. Neither hamster got hurt and she wasn't in heat. I'll try again tonight.

Savvy

[juicyjuicee]

What is your purpose for breeding?

[7GameSavvy]

I want to make healthy, well bred hamsters more available to the area where I live.

Savvy

[Dash]

if you are a breeder shouldn't you know about this? you should do more research on hamster breeding.

[7GameSavvy]

I know plenty, this is my first litter. And like I said earlier, because she is not lactating I don't think my female is pregnant so I'm trying to breed her again.

[7GameSavvy]

I know plenty, this is my first litter. And like I said earlier, because she is not lactating I don't think my female is pregnant so I'm trying to breed her again.

Savvy

[7GameSavvy]

My bad, sorry about the double post:)

Savvy

[7GameSavvy]

UPDATE
Tonight Smidget came back into heat and I put her in with Twig, they mated for about 30 min. till Smidget started moving around too much. We'll see how it goes this time:)

Savvy

[trixtontheham]

its just my opinion but i dont think there should be hamster breeding when there are so many in shelters etc. if the ppl living in your area wanted a small pet im sure they could travel. again just my opinion.

[7GameSavvy]

There are no hammies in shelters where I live. And there are no breeders either. Just pet stores that breed their own and half of the babies have wet tail at least once before they are sold.

I respect your opinion trix and would agree with you if I lived some where else.:)

Savvy

[7GameSavvy]

UPDATE

Smidget isn't pregnant and I'm not going to breed her. She is 8 months old and I read something yesterday about how at 6 months old their pelvic bones fuse together and if they haven't had a litter yet they fuse too narrow. So if I did breed her she wouldn't be able to have the pups.

See you guys, I am some what responsible.:)lol

Savvy

[Jiffykat]

How do you know for sure she isn't pregnant? You just tried to breed her like a week ago.

[f1uffster]

Oh, yeah, I'm a breeder.......
Savvy
I know plenty, this is my first litter........
...............so I'm trying to breed her again.


UPDATE

Smidget isn't pregnant and I'm not going to breed her. She is 8 months old and I read something yesterday about how at 6 months old their pelvic bones fuse together and if they haven't had a litter yet they fuse too narrow. So if I did breed her she wouldn't be able to have the pups.........
Savvy

Am I the only person that finds all these quotes worrying consider you have claimed to be a well read breeder?? :confused:
I am very pleased that you have taken the decision not to mate your hamsters now but surely you should have known that this was an irresponsible act in the first place ... or is that just me picking holes?

[trixtontheham]

i noticed that too...if you had read up well u wud have know about their pelvis fusing so then u wudnt have meted them surely?

[7GameSavvy]

Jiffykat, I know she's not pregnant because she would have been showing signs by now.

Trix and F1uffster, I knew I shouldn't breed her after 6 months but I didn't know why. When I started this she wasn't 6 months old yet.

And F1uffster the quotes you posted weren't exactly what I said, you missed huge parts. And since I "worry" you so much, why is it exactly that breeding is irresponsible???

Thanks for being so harsh you guys, gees I didn't think this subject was so touchy. :rolleyes:

Savvy

[kenjes]

The only way I ever could tell was about a day or 2 before mine gave birth they got really big. Nesting is a natural instinct, along with hording food, all my hamsters do it. It's mainly a wait and see game. Good luck.

[f1uffster]

Jiffykat, I know she's not pregnant because she would have been showing signs by now.

Trix and F1uffster, I knew I shouldn't breed her after 6 months but I didn't know why. When I started this she wasn't 6 months old yet.

And F1uffster the quotes you posted weren't exactly what I said, you missed huge parts. And since I "worry" you so much, why is it exactly that breeding is irresponsible???

Thanks for being so harsh you guys, gees I didn't think this subject was so touchy. :rolleyes:

Savvy

I guess you are unfamiliar with the art of quoting.

If you quote a part of text, you precede or end the text with ....... to show that.
I didnt need to quote the entire text you posted as the rest was irrelevant. I did not change the context in which you wrote what you did.

I am not attacking you... I am just very worried that in the few months I have been a member of a few different pet forums, breeding has become so 'trendy'.

So many people seem to be reading a few bits online and assume they know all there is to know.
I guess its just a scary aspect of this technological age we live in...

On one hand, there is so much information out there, yet in another sense, there is so little because we need to be sure that the information we are reading is correct.

INTENTIONAL breeding without ALL the knowledge and skills required is irresponsible.
You have the genetic history to think about... how do you know you are breeding genetically healthy hamsters.
Do you REALLY know all of the risks involved in breeding your hamsters?

With all hamsters, especially Syrians.. first hurdle is the mating.... If you get that wrong, your hamsters could kill each other at the onset.
Then you have to hope that mum doesnt have any complications with the pregnancy.
Labour is hard on your hamster...there are a number of complications that can happen during the deliveries, especially if mum is too old or young.
The pups could contain poor genetics, and may live short miserable lives... (if mum isnt totally freaked out and doesnt kill them all)
Hamsters rarely have tiny litters... so can you sex, seperate and rehouse the pups?

Just a few points, please say you can at least see my side of the argument?
Breeding is such a touchy subject because it comes up again and again, and is often brought up by young people who no doubt love their pets, but dont realise that they could be killing or seriously harming them by attempting to breed them.
I am sorry if I have offended you, that was not my intention.

[7GameSavvy]

Thank you for your input f1uffster. I would not have taken it so badly if everyone else hadn't been so critical. I don't want to blame anyone for my behavior but sometimes posts come off a little harsh.

Someone who intentionally breeds their hamsters with only a little or no knowledge is irresponsible. However, I have done extensive research for many months on the web and in books. I realize that not every source is correct so I try and find as many sources as possible. I also realize that a source that has some correct information also may have some false information. For example I have a hamster book that says pregnant female hamsters show no real physical signs of pregnancy, which I know is not true due to the numerous pictures I have found of pregnant hamsters with big bellies. But the book also said to keep your mother hamster in a quiet room while she raises her pups and not to interfere (sp?) which we all know is the absolute best thing to do.

When it comes to genetics hamsters are pretty hardy hamsters. Having been started from only 3 animals they have very few genetic flaws (except those made by captive breeding mutations to color, coat, etc.). I know which colors, patterns, and coat types shouldn't be bred together because degenerate (sp?) young will result. For example, never breed two satins or you will have babies with bald and thin coats, homozygous dominant spot babies die in utero or shortly after birth, and homozygous anopthalmic white babies have no eyes and have a shortened life span of 6-12 months.

I bought my male for the purpose of breeding so his conformation, color, coat pattern, and coat type was looked at carefully according to NHA standards. The same will be done for my breeding female(s) when I get her. I also breed my hamsters according to the NHA breeding code so none of my females will be over bred. And all my hamsters are on excellent diets inlcuding fresh fruits, veggies, grain, egg, and yogurt.

When the babies are ready to be weaned I have a 25 gallon and a 10 gallon tank to split them into according to gender. And the first litter already has 3 homes lined up.

Sorry my post was so long but I really thought it was important that you know I am responsible and knowledgable and I wouldn't do anything to harm my hams.:)

Savvy

[7GameSavvy]

Oh, my bad it's not NHA it's NHC (thought it was National Hamster Association but it's National Hamster Club). I'm also going by the care and breeding guide lines of the Internet Hamster Association of North America (IHANA).:D

Savvy

[Jiffykat]

And the first litter already has 3 homes lined up. I am not meaning to keep picking on you like many people are, but you realize that your first litter will probably be like 10 or more babies right? And syrians can not live together, so unless those three homes are willing to tank three babies that need to be kept in three seperate tanks, then you don't even have hones for half of your first litter and you are talking like you want to have multiple females breeding at once.

[Chaos]

I am not meaning to keep picking on you like many people are, but you realize that your first litter will probably be like 10 or more babies right? And syrians can not live together, so unless those three homes are willing to tank three babies that need to be kept in three seperate tanks, then you don't even have hones for half of your first litter and you are talking like you want to have multiple females breeding at once.

I had homes lined up too, 10 of them. I had 11 babies and all but ONE home backed out at first. I did find most of them home, but ended up having to keep 4 females.

[7GameSavvy]

I realize you're not trying to pick on me Jiffykat. But, the three homes are seperate (three different people). I have enough tanks for the genders to stay together and I have resources to get more if I need to seperate them individually. I'm going to advertise in the classified ads as soon as I know a litter is on the way. Oh, and I don't want to breed more then one ham at a time but I would eventually like a couple females in case people really like my hams and want one but the last litter was just born, because I don't want to over breed one female.:)

Savvy

[TiaMaria]

Who are you all to judge? Petshub is a family guys! We are here to support people who need our help. So next time you all want to be so negative how about you leave it at the door. He obviously knows what he is doing and if you are so concerned why don't you private message him and ask instead of just bad mouthing him. Most of you should be ashamed of yourselves. I'm disgusted by the disrespect and jump to conclusion opinions you guys had. I think guys owe him an appology for your behavior. We must set and mature example here. Not act like little children.

[7GameSavvy]

Thanks for your support Tia:) Oh, and I'm a girl, lol:D

Savvy

[TiaMaria]

Oh sorry about that hun! I'm female too :P

[7GameSavvy]

That's good:) Seeing how your name is TiaMaria, lol:D

Savvy