Hamsters

Nala

Does anyone here breed hamsters? I'm thinking of starting as a hobby and am looking for advice on how to get started.

Falkorre

Take my advice, breed somthing else if u must breed somthing.
Hamster breeding is complicated and stressfull, I did it for years.
Hamsters are solitary animals, you can only house one per cage.

And u can only get the male and female together within a window of oppertunity of about 3 days, (hip spots are the best guage as to when, kinda oily patches on the hips, much more noticable during breeding time.

Even then, u will almost always have fighting to contend with when u introduce them, its not just a matter of popping them in the same cage for an hour to "do the deed".

Gerbils, are MUCH easier, they live in colonies or as a pair, and breed amazingly quickly and regularly, with very little help from u except for fresh bedding, food and the odd tiny bit of veg for vitamins .

B

Nala

I was considering dwarf rabbits too, kept rabbits for 12 years and haven't a bad word to say about them. I'd love another Himalayan like my last rabbit.

watty

Breeding *ANYTHING* is not to be taken lightly (some folks have suggested people ought to do a "driving test" before "breeding" themselves).

Cavies (Guinea Pigs) are relatively easy to breed, but need as much space as Rabbits really, and more than one male is near impossible, although they are colony animals. Also you really need separate house / run for male or the "girls" get a bit worn out having pups. Gestation is 63 to 70 days. One of ours drove us MENTAL by taking 82 days! (The stupid Boar must have missed TWO opertunities, though she was starting to "show" the right amount at the expected time.) Unlike most small furries, they are born sighted, adult teeth, able to run around and even sometimes go outside and eat grass the next day. We don't breed them anymore, our nerves couldn't cope!

If it is just for money, don't! (unless someone is subsidizing the food and bedding and hutches etc you need a large scale and direct sales to make money).

Washing local cars / windows is an easier, safer, quicker and often more ethical way to make money. Less time input.

Or do you want to try and breed for a particular coat pattern etc?

Keeping a pet can be a good "hobby", but unlike CB Radio, or Stamps, or Sailing you can't do it when you feel like it. Keeping a pet is like having a baby. You have made a 24hr 7 day commitment for the lifetime of the critter. Which can be anything from 2 to 10 years for cavies. Or 18 months to 5 years for a Hamster.

The better a pet owner the worse the final separation is too. Breeding requires even more commitment and much more risks.

What will you do with the offspring?

dudara

In fairness, I love my dwarf hamsters, but the thought of breeding them fills my heart with dread. The female is definitely the most vicious of the species and can easily kill the male if the mood takes her.

Nala

I'm not interested in breeding for profit, cos by the time I'd have bought the cages, food, and everything else, I'd probably be losing money rather than earning it. Besides, there's far more money to be made in a regular job.I'm interested in breeding as a hobby, I do have an interest in colour mutations and genetics, I am a biology student after all! It's only an idea at the minute, if I do decide to go ahead with it, I'll have to ring around some petshops first to see if I can sell them, obviously I can't keep them all! I've had Syrian hamsters before, they all lived to be 2-2 1/2 years, I've also had rabbits, cats, birds and fish (2 cats, 3 fish, 1 budgie and 1 cockatiel atm). I was thinking about breeding hamsters as opposed to something like birds cos I'm in college all day and Syrian hamsters are nocturnal, so I won't have to worry about them being lonely.