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Hamsters - Breeding

You should be able to sex a hamster at about 2-3 weeks. The female vent and anal openings are quite close together while male openings are much further apart. The sex of adult male hamsters is much easier to determine as they have very large, prominent testicles.

Male hamsters should ideally be mated when they are 14 weeks old and females at 10 weeks old. However, you should note that both males and females can be sexually mature at about 4 weeks and should be separated as soon as they have been weaned, if mating is not part of a breeding programme.

As the time of copulation approaches, thin, stringy, cobweb-like mucus exits the female's vent. The female is then placed into the male's cage about one hour before dark. The pair must then be carefully observed for mating activity or fighting. The females can be very aggressive towards the male in this situation and can seriously harm him. The male should be removed at once if fighting begins.

Following successful mating, pregnancy lasts about 18 days. Before birthing the female becomes restless and usually discharges a small amount of blood. Litters can range from 1 to 10 pups. The pups are born hairless with their eyes closed but have their front incisor teeth.

Mothers with young must be provided with plenty of nesting materials, food and water. They must not be disturbed in any way. The pups should not be touched until they are at least a week old. The nest must not be disturbed and the cage should not be cleaned during this period. Failure to take these precautions most often results in cannibalism of the young.

Pups should start eating solid food at about 10 days but are usually weaned at about 3 weeks. Soften solid, pelleted food by soaking and place it on or near floor level of the enclosure for easy access by the weanlings. Water bottles must be positioned low enough so that the smallest pups can reach them. You should be aware that some pups will not be strong enough to extract water from sipper tubes, so be vigilant for this potential problem and provide an alternative water source for them.

Hamsters are naturally solitary animials and general housed singly. It is advisable that sexually mature females not be housed together because of their natural aggressiveness toward each other and males. To prevent any harm coming to them remove males from the cage after coupling. Dwarf hamsters are the exception to this rule as they are more sociable and can be housed in same gender pairs or small groups.

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