Discover the expert in you.
Discover the expert in you.
Hamsters are popular pets among people of all ages, due to their small size and ease of care. Some owners decide to breed their hamsters, either for profit or because they would like to ensure that their hamsters' legacy carries on. As with humans, timing is everything when mating hamsters and there is a distinct list of rules to follow when attempting to breed these members of the rodent family.
The golden hamster originated in arid and semi-arid areas in both Eastern Europe and in the Middle East. Hamsters are solitary creatures that are active at night. These little creatures have become popular pets and, with patience, can be trained or conditioned to use a toilet, a variety of exercise items and toys, including running in hollow balls and in metal rodent wheels. When kept as pets, hamsters can be conditioned to sleep during the night and to be active during daylight hours.
Line breeding has been used for centuries to improve domestic animals. Individual breeds are usually created with the selective use of line breeding, as doing so can "set" specific desirable characteristics. Line breeding must be done carefully, however, as undesirable traits can also become "set" in the bloodline. To avoid problems, most people try to not breed individuals that are too closely related or individuals which demonstrate characteristics which are not being bred for. If done carefully, line breeding can have very positive results and greatly improve the animals involved.
Selective breeding is breeding for certain traits. Hamsters are selectively bred for coat color, coat texture and size. Selective breeding takes several generations. A population that consistently produces selected traits is called a strain.
Roborovski hamsters (Phodopus roborovskii) are a species of dwarf hamster native to China. They were introduced into the United States in 1998 and are slowly gaining in popularity. This variety of hamster is not recommended for small children because they are very small, they move very quickly, and do not particularly enjoy being handled.
Robo hamsters are a quick and energetic species of dwarf hamster found originally in arid desert regions of Mongolia and China. The Robo is relatively new in the American pet trade, but has already become immensely popular with hobbyists and breeders alike. Known for its cute face and ease of care, a Robo is a terrific pet and does well in small groups with other hamsters from its family.
Hamsters are adorable furry creatures that offer parents an alternative to more high- maintenance pets, such as dogs and cats. Much like mice, the hamster's sole purpose in life is to reproduce at a large rate. The average female fancy, or Syrian, hamster will birth a litter of anywhere from one to eight babies. The hamster can also become impregnated at two to three months of age. The gestation period of the fancy hamster is sixteen to eighteen days.
Roborovski Dwarf hamsters, more commonly known as "robo hamsters," are among the most popular rodents on the pet market. Despite some early breeders' difficulties with the species, robo hamsters can actually be bred at almost any time of year in captivity, producing as many as nine pups per litter. Breeding your pet robo should be approached with care, and proper housing or future homes should be established for the pups before you begin breeding.
The Winter White Hamster has its origins in Eastern Kazakhstan and Southwest Siberia. Because of this, it is sometimes known as the Siberian Hamster. The Winter White makes its home among the open range grasslands in Russia.
Roborovski or "Robo" hamsters are the smallest species of hamster available as pets. According to the Hamsterific.com website, since Robo hamsters are the smallest and fastest of the pet hamster species, they are not good pets for children. Roborovski hamster females can have an average of six babies (or pups) in one litter, so it's best to find homes for the pups before breeding. Roborovski hamsters generally get along with other Roborovski hamsters, so the mated pair can be kept together.
Dwarf winter white Russian hamsters are a smooth-coated variety that can either be black and gray, sapphire, imperial or pearl in color. In the winter they shed their darker coat and are left with a snow white coat, which is a defense mechanism to hide them from predators during snowy months. Because the hamsters are more social creatures, they are usually friendly with humans than as are other varieties of hamsters. They can be, however, more aggressive with other dwarf varieties.
It's natural for anyone who owns male and female hamsters to want to put the two furry pets together and let them make babies. Before you do that, however, here's what you need to know.
