Breeding...

Question
QUESTION: Hi.
I have a alomost six month old panda bear Syrian. Me and my friend want to breed our hamsters. My hamster is in heat. Her hamster is a 2 year old black bear hamster. I don't know if they should breed because of the black bears old age. If they can not breed, can i breed my hamster with a long haired cream? Not the all cream ones, the ones that look like white and cream pandas. Please help. There is no rush. Thank you.
Love, Dakota

ANSWER: Hi Dakota

In theory this shouldn't be a problem.  What condition is the 2 year black bear hamster?  Usually around this time they are pretty frail - so I think that might stop him from being able to mate but it would be worth a try.

Hamsters come into season every 4 days and it is therefore important to work out which is the correct day for mating.  If you place her on the top of the male's cage so that they can sniff each other, but not actually touch.  After a few minutes, scratch her back - if she is in season she should go rigid and raise her rear end.  If there is no reaction or she is aggressive, then you need to try again either later that night or the following evening.  When females aren't in season they can be very aggressive.

If she is clearly in season, then place her and the male in neutral territory that doesn't have either of their scent in it.  You must not place her in his cage or vice versa or they can become aggressive.  I use a clean washing up bowl!

The best thing is to put the container/bowl on the floor with them in, then hover over them so that at the first sign of aggression you can separate them, especially as the male is quite old.  Don't let them sniff each other's faces - you want to direct the male towards her rear end.  As soon as they have mated they separate and the female usually washes herself.  The actual process can be very quick if the male knows what to do!  As soon as the mating process is over, separate them.

Then it really is a case of waiting.  The gestation period is 16-18 days for a Syrian and during this time if she is pregnant she will start to get her nest ready.  When you clean her out during this time, try to return any food hoard to her providing it isn't moldy.  Also don't over-feed her at this time - when a litter is born you can increase her food intake but you don't want any unborn babies getting too large.  I also suggest you remove any tubes/enclosed toys/houses from her cage as it is much less stressful if the litter is born in the open or under a platform.

During this time you may not notice much different apart from the fact that she will start drinking more, her nipples can become more pronounced and a few days before a litter is born she will bulge on her hips.  This is especially noticeable if she stretches up the bars.  

The actual labor is usually straightforward and often you don't even know a hamster has had babies until the next morning when you see her in her nest, reluctant to leave it.  If you listen carefully sometimes you can hear the babies feeding.  Don't be tempted to touch any of the newborns unless in an emergency as you don't want to single out any one.

If/when she has babies, please get back in touch and I can give you a step by step guide as to what to do.

If you feel confident about trying to mate her, I suggest you try with the older male first - but as mentioned before, you must watch them all the time as fighting can happen quickly and they can cause serious injuries.  If you are worried about this, you could wear gloves in case you need to separate them, or I usually hover with a box/container that I can quickly put over one of them if I need to separate them.  If the mating is unsuccessful, it might be worth trying again, but you will have to figure out which is the correct day for mating.  If that doesn't work, then perhaps try with another male.

In terms of genetics and what type of babies you'll get, I am afraid I can't answer this question and it might be worth looking on the Internet or asking another 'expert' to see if they have knowledge of this.  

I hope you get on OK.

Regards



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi again.
I'm sorry I'm asking another question. Any way. My friend decided at the last moment that she doesn't want to breed hamsters. Her mom said that she couldn't keep a baby so she got mad... any way, I have another friend with a panda bear hamster like I do. I'm not sure about its condition. He has 4 hamsters (two girls and two boys). I haven't asked him about breeding, but he told me his hamster (panda bear) is only 4 or 5 months. The other one was old and now i think this one is too young! I'm afraid my hamster will attack his. My hamster is the nicest thing though. I wasn't being smart, but i put her in a cage with its long lost sister. They didn't fight until it came down to who got to sleep in the little card board house. If thees hamsters can't breed, then where can I find a breeder to borrow a male hamster from? Thank you! Again, there is NO rush.
Love, Dakota

Answer
Hi Dakota

Before you mate your hamster I think you need to clarify why you want to mate her.  Will you be able to find enough homes for the babies - Syrians can have as many as 14 babies in a litter and at 4 weeks they need sexing and separating into two separate cages, and at 6 weeks they will all need a cage of their own - so it is a big responsibility and there are already lots of unwanted hamsters in the world.  Also, whilst most pregnancies go without a hitch, occasionally there are some problems and it can be very upsetting if the babies die, or mum get sick or rejects them.

Regarding the male, one who is 4-5 months old should be fine but obviously your friend would need to feel comfortable with using him to mate.  There is always the risk that the female will turn on the male and injure him, therefore some people may not want to take this chance.  If you do go ahead with this, then it is vital you do as I suggested earlier in that you put the female on the male's cage initially to see if she is in season before attempting to put them together - and when they are mating you stand over them all the time so that you can separate them if they do look as though they are going to fight.

Regards