cageing and breeding

Question
Hello!
I have two questions. My first one is.... My hamster had babies Feb. 18. I want her to have babies again but probally not for a while, like maybe in sept. If she would be a year old, then would that be too old to have babies? Also If she would be too old what's the latest she could probally have babies without being too old? My second question is... I have a critter trail cage. Have you ever heard of those? Well, My hamster, Angel, has one of those cages and if you haven't heard of them they have a little plastic area on the top of the cage with a few air holes. I don't know if they have enough air in them. She sleeps in it all day. Also Snickers had that kind of cage and I'm wondering if thats how she got sick because she would always block the holes with her bedding. If I only put toilet paper in them do you think that would be OK for angel? Because then she couldn't stuff up the holes.

  THX
  Alexa  

Answer
Hi Alexa,

Females usually become sterile at around 12-14 months.  However, if you find that she is not sterile at 12 months, you can give consideration to breeding her again if she's healthy and robust.
As for your other question - Yes, I've heard of Crittertrail cages.  In fact, 3 of my hamsters (both Syrian and Dwarves) are housed in them, and I think they're quality cages, except maybe for larger Syrian hamsters.  My female actually became stuck in those tiny tubes and I had to break it apart to get her loose.  Needless to say, I replaced the tubes w/ S.A.M. tubes, which are larger and more suitable to Syrian hamsters.  So I'd advise you to watch out for that.  She also sleeps in the compartment at the top.  You can use toilet paper if it would make you feel better (just make sure it's unscented).  Or, you could periodically remove some of her bedding from the compartment so that it's not blocked.  

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.

Kelly