thinking about breeding syrians....

[pixibubbles]

well... title says it all really,...

i'm experienced with hamsters... and have hand reared one rejected baby and dealt with a few of the nastier illnesses as a few were rescues... my best friend's hamster is beautifull... he's a black short haired and has an wonderful personailty... the parents and grandparents are healthy and still going at an average of around 3 years. (pretty good for syrians) he's 17 months old.

Mine is a lovely smokey grey long haired... she suffered from fur eating mites a while ago but is back in excellent health... she came from a reputable breeder (in London... i live in coventry) and is about 15 months old. has a wonderful termperment and is incredibly nosey,

cages are not an issue (there are about 6 in good condition in the shed... most of my rescues came with cages or had them bought REALLY fast) and my vet is excellent if needed. there aren't any good breeders in this area that i've found and there are already a few people i know who would love to be hammie parents and would be really good. and to be honest any offspring these two had would be lovely creatures.

only thing is i've heard pet hamsters aren;t always very good moms... they end up missing human contact and turning on babies coz of this... i would hate to put little rocky through anything like that... is this true or just another stupid rumour like "hamsters love swimming" ? the concern is rocky is VERY tame... i think she's never spent more than two consective days in her cage...

also is two generations back on the father's side enough? and would i be better off waiting until the weather is cooler? thinking about how uncomfy hammie would be lol

This isn't something i'm doing but i am thinking about it seriously... what does everyone else think?

[PetLuver21257]

I really don't think that you should breed Syrians. They can have up to 20 babies (it's usually 8-10 though or less) and they all need separate cages and everything....

Plus, isn't your female too old to have babies? I mean don't their hips fuse or something if they haven't bred before they are 1 year old...? Anyways, I really think it isn't a good idea. You need to know more about their genetic background.
Do you have a lot of money to spend on them?
Do you have a lot of cages?
What are you going to do with the babies?

[pixibubbles]

yes to the cages,

vet said she'd be ok to breed (i had her checked out in case we do deicde to go ahead) but i hadn't heard about the good pets=bad moms thing to ask him

yes to the money

and already have quite a few good prospective hammie parents lined up who want hamsters but dont want to buy from pet shops coz frankly whoever is breeding hammies round here needs shooting... i know two people who have brought from two different pet shops and the hamsters looked identical and developed cancer at same age (about a year)... most of the babies round here look really similar... i suspect one breeder supplying all pet shops and doesn't give a hoot! (and yes i am trying to find out who they are to report them. it's completely unacceptable and creul to both hamsters and hammie parents) i've taken in three rescues, and my friend has had 4... and none of them have lived past 18 months... it's heart breaking... but i won't put a healthy animal down so just live in fear of finding THAT lump.

if my friends are going to have hammies i would want them to have from good stock and frankly would hate them to go through the sorrow and pain of cancer with a pet.

additionally i would mroe than happily keep at least two of the babies and dads owner would take a couple two, and yes we both have sets up suitable for them as we have frequently rescused hammies in past... but already have parents lined up if ever i did breed. put it this way... if a hamster with problems comes into petshop... it's me or her who gets a call before the RSPCA i tihnk the problem is people dont go0 back and complain when a hammie dies at a year... but two petshops near me are looking for new breeders (not into it myself but at least they are responsible ya know? )

BTW... she has 2 hammies @ mo... her black and a rescue and i have one hammie a bird... so am able to take on babies.

[pixibubbles]

just to point out again... am not actually doing this @ mo just thinking about seriosuly. i know people here care about hammies and are worried about them getting into bad places...

[Sparky2006]

"Do you have a lot of cages?"
"What are you going to do with the babies?"

i think they were kinda anwserd right?

But why say do not breed them for? he asked for advice not "should i? or should i not?"

Look first things first you need to have hammies with good knowladge of their genetics and all that. Once your certin you know it all you need all the cages,supplies all ready and waiting. Youll prob need around $200-$300 spare incase anything goes wrong (mailny for vet bills...)

Then youll need to read up what to expect, when to breed, what age, etc etc.

Do reaserch for at least 2-3 months minium.... look at books, website, people, not just on the internet...local breeders too.

i hoped this helped...good luck in what ever you choose to do.

Get every thing ready first...so you do not need to mess around once you got the hammies and it gets too late

[animalmagic]

I don't generally agree with people breeding their pet hamsters. One thing I will say though, is that you appear to be a lot more cautious and responsible than a lot of people who come on here and go "I'm gonna make my two pet shop hamsters have babies cos they're sooo cute!!"

If you do decide to do this, take a LOT of time to think it through. Speak to other breeders.

Also, what are your main reasons for breeding them? If you said it in your post I apologise, I'm in a rush and haven't got time to read it again, gotta dash out!

[TiaMaria]

After a female has turned a year and hasnt been bred the hips do fuse, so when she gets pregnant, she could die giving birth. Find a younger hammie to breed if you can.

[Moosley]

for the first litters, hamsters shouldnt be older than 6-8 months old, your hamster is probably *only jsut* viable for breeding... but it isnt the same, if they are going to be bred from they need to be a lot younger...

and also 'smokey grey' isnt a colour... is she a light grey? a dark grey? a silver grey? hetrozygous or whatnot?

if you dont know what colour she is...

[pixibubbles]

technically she is a dark smoke pearl. Mother was grey... father was yellow/sand/gold/whatever you want to call it... would be father is a blue-black and both parents were same although he carries the vilot gene recessivly from grandmother

Sounds like she is too old really :( but i wasn't in a situation to breed sooner. shame... her babies would have been lovely pets for others, but i wouldnt risk her for the world. i guess would be hammy parents will have to wait... or travel a few hours to a decent breeder lol

doesnt mean i still wont shut down this eejit from round here tho... rest assured that person gonna get it when i catch em.... GRRRR

Thanks for the advice mnwah mwah mwah all x

[pixibubbles]

oops.... Lilac not violet. wrong shade of purple lol... but it's irrelevant... i love my hammy too much to risk her health, however adorable her babies would have been i won't risk her.

xx

[TiaMaria]

Sounds like a beautiful hammie, you're lucky! :)

[pixibubbles]

oh she is... and i am... i'll get piccies up as soon as i can find the camera cable... sitll lookign lol... the problem with moving is you lose EVERYTHING lol i'm sure it's in a box somewhere...

[pixibubbles]

oh she is... and i am... i'll get piccies up as soon as i can find the camera cable... sitll lookign lol... the problem with moving is you lose EVERYTHING lol i'm sure it's in a box somewhere...

[Sparky2006]

eek! lol try to find it ...for your hammie!!

[LMDH]

Smoke pearl - lovely - I met one of those for the fist time on saturday and was quite impressed.

Perhaps the breeder you got her from can help you out with starting to breed. Its always useful to speak to other breeders and maybe go and look at their set-ups before starting yourself.

[Sparky2006]

piccis!! lol

[TiaMaria]

Yea, i really wanna see piccies too! :D

[pixibubbles]

have an idea.... maybe friday (busy at work til then) xx

[TiaMaria]

okie, so friday it is :D

[Sparky2006]

PICCIS! LOL FRIDAY IT IS THEN!!!!! lol....

[TiaMaria]

Sparky I think we're spamming :p

[Sparky2006]

yer lol soooo ill stop til 2ommrow!!

[TiaMaria]

haha, I won't stop..I'll keep going :p

[Sparky2006]

hehe!! lol its friday i want pics, i want pics!!!!!! lol !!! pics!!

[PetLuver21257]

OMG, it's Friday! POST PICS! :D

[TiaMaria]

lol now everyone is spamming :D

[Sparky2006]

no its saturday!!! post pics!!!