breeding

Question
can a "teddy bear" hamster breed with another breed "type" of hamster?

Answer
Hi Andrea

A teddy bear hamster is a Syrian hamster.  Providing they mate with another Syrian this is fine.  You can't cross breed Syrians with dwarf hamsters etc (would be very difficult due to their size anyway) and it isn't advisable to crossbreed different types of dwarf hamsters although this often happens accidentally.

There are some dangers of mating hamsters - firstly it is important that the female isn't 'over bred' nor is too young or too old.  Around 3-6 months is a good age.  Also, she should be in a good state of health.  The male and female should both have good temperaments otherwise the litter might not be that great.  Remember that a Syrian can have a large litter - I have known them to have between 5 and 14 (although I did read of someone having 20).  At 4 weeks they need sexing and the boys separated out and at 6 weeks they need a home of their own so it is important to make sure enough people will take them if necessary.

If you go ahead with this I can advise you on the mating process.

It would be worth you looking at one or two sites that give information about breeding hamsters as they explain some of the dangers of mating different types - i.e. one type of Syrian hamster carries a defective gene and if mated will produce eyeless babies (I have 3 eyeless white hamsters living with me at the moment).  Some good links are: http://www.hamsters.co.uk/syrian_hamster_mating.htm
http://www.hamsoc.org.uk/varieties.php?id=white

I hope this helps you.

Regards
Sheila