can i breed siblingsif not how can they tell their siblings?

Question
Hi Charlotte!!!
ok my sisters friend just gave us two dwarf hamsters,and according to the internet one is female one is male.But i really want some babies arond the cage.Accept i dont really think siblings will mate.If they do great but if they dont oh no.What would happen if i bread her with someone elses hamster would my male eat her babies?And would breeding cause a short life for my female??If 4 some reason they did mate would i have to seperate all of them from the male??
how many babies come at a time and do they selfmate like birds do? well thank you Chaarlotte!!!!


Answer
Hi,

If they are siblings you should separate them now as they will mate, but this is bad. Youd don't want to inbreed them as you can cause all sorts of genetic problems, and it is bad for the hamsters. If you want to breed you need to make sure you have a male and female from totally different families and only then breed when you are very certain they are not related.

On your other questions you will need to ask a hamster specialist on this site as i specialise in gerbils not hamsters, and so can't give accurate answers, sorry!!

Thanks,
Charlie.