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So, now that you know what to expect as far as hamster reproduction goes, you may be interested in breeding hamsters yourself. This can be a simple process as long as you follow the steps, but it’s important that you don’t take this hobby too lightly – always make sure you have a home for your new hamsters, or that you’re going to care for them yourself. These are domesticated pets and they’re relying on you to look out for them.
Although we’ve seen that female hamsters can breed as early as 3 weeks of age, this is not recommended as it’s not good for both the mother and her future pups. Try and wait until she’s a good four to six months of age before trying to breed her – she’s a fully mature adult at this point and more receptive to bearing young.
A female Syrian comes into season every four days, and will remain this way for roughly 12 hours. It is during this time that the female will tolerate a male’s presence in order to mate. To see if the female is ready to mate, stroke your finger along her back towards her tail. If she arches her back, raises her tail, and splays out her rear legs she should be ready to receive the male. If she is not ready then do not place her in the presence of a male, as she will attack him.
If she is ready to mate you’re going to need to remove her from her cage using a scoop or cup (or gloved hand) and either place her in the male’s cage or in a neutral area. Whatever you do, do not place the male in the female’s cage! She will attack and likely kill the male if you do this. It may take up to four or five nights of this before the female feels comfortable enough with the male to allow mating to occur.
When the two meet they may tussle initially, but it’s nothing serious. Watch them for the first half hour, as this is when breeding will take place, if at all. It’s easy to recognize what’s happening; the female ‘assumes the position’, the male will mount her from behind, breed, and then dismount. This is repeated several times within the span of a few minutes. If possible, clean the female’s cage out while she’s in the male’s cage as you won’t be able to disturb her once she’s pregnant. Once the mating act is complete you should return the female to her cage to avoid any fights with the male.
Although the mother is ready to breed again three to four weeks after the pups are born, it’s advisable to wait three to four months before breeding again. This gives the mother plenty of time to recover from the pregnancy, birth, and rearing of her first litter. She will be 8-10 months old at this point, and still very healthy and fertile.
Generally, Syrians won’t be breeding after 12 months, although it is certainly possible. It all depends on whether or not she’s fertile at this age, and her overall state of health.
Although males are ready for action at five weeks of age, it’s probably a good idea to wait until they’re two to three months old so that they can hold their own against a full-grown female! Unlike females, males are ready to breed anytime (some things hold true no matter what the species!).
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