Things You'll Need:
- 10 gallon aquarium
- Bedding
- Water bottle
- Food bowl or dispenser
- Appropriate food
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Step 1
Create a good environment for your pet rodent. Most do best in glass aquariums with appropriate bedding. Cedar chips are considered toxic to rodents, so stick with wood or paper shavings that are approved for rodents. With a water dispenser, food dish, maybe a plastic exercise wheel and a cardboard tube that they can explore, they're ready to go.
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Step 2
Choose rats if you're a beginner. They are among the friendliest and smartest of the rodent world, and any male-female pair will mate. Siblings or even mother and son will try to breed, so don't leave them together. Rats breed year-round. It's a good idea to wait until the female rat is 5 months old for her first litter. Put her with the male for about 10 days. Pregnancy lasts 21 to 25 days, and litters are usually in the 10 to 12 range. Get the little boys out when they're 5 weeks old or they will try to breed Mom.
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Step 3
Keep male to female mice at a 1 to 3 ratio in the cage. Male mice will fight. Expect a female to produce up to 12 babies every 3 or 4 weeks, year-round.
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Step 4
Breed gerbils with only 1 girl to a guy. Females can be very jealous and attack the other girls. Once your male and female have made friends, they will be ready to breed when they are 3 months old. Pregnancy usually lasts about 28 days, and you can expect up to 8 babies. Dad is allowed to hang out and help raise the family, as long as Mom doesn't think he's being too bossy. Breeding is year-round, and gerbils are known to mate for life.
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Step 5
Find a cage just for breeding hamsters. Hamsters prefer the solitary life, and hamsters are tougher to breed than most rodents because they tend to fight, male or female. The female is ready to breed when she is 4 to 6 months old, and a musky odor will be noticeable when she comes into heat. Try putting her in her mate's cage, and if a fight doesn't break out, leave them alone for 15 to 30 minutes. If they start a scuffle, separate them (watch your fingers), wait a while and try a neutral cage. Pregnancy lasts about 18 days and litters can be as large as 18. Get the babies out when they're 3 weeks old--or Mama could eat them.
