ive read that a hamster wont get pregnant in winter, is this true?
No they will breed through the year if allowed to.

if youve had hams that have had litters when have they had them?
4 weeks ago

ive had two hams have litters, one in may and one in august

Just to add I didn't breed Zena, she was pregnant when she arrived but as I could answer the questions I did :lol:

I was really hoping you would have sorted your enclosures so that you could rescue

 

I have been thinking about breeding hams also recently, not to make money but as a hobby so to speak, and also I LOVE having baby animals around haha... how long can you keep the babies with their mum? Its syrian hams im interested in and I know they don't like to live with other hams, but is there an acception to their babies or do you need to separate them after a certain time?

 

I have been thinking about breeding hams also recently, not to make money but as a hobby so to speak, and also I LOVE having baby animals around haha... how long can you keep the babies with their mum? Its syrian hams im interested in and I know they don't like to live with other hams, but is there an acception to their babies or do you need to separate them after a certain time?

i took the boys away from mum ham after 4 weeks, girls at 6 weeks

 

Just to add I didn't breed Zena, she was pregnant when she arrived but as I could answer the questions I did :lol:

I was really hoping you would have sorted your enclosures so that you could rescue

she wont let me rescue unless i get a new cage for each ham, i dont want to throw away perfectly good cages

 

I have been thinking about breeding hams also recently, not to make money but as a hobby so to speak, and also I LOVE having baby animals around haha... how long can you keep the babies with their mum? Its syrian hams im interested in and I know they don't like to live with other hams, but is there an acception to their babies or do you need to separate them after a certain time?

4 weeks the boys need to be separated and 6 weeks for them to be split into individual cages, there is no exception to the rule all syrians need to live solitary.

she wont let me rescue unless i get a new cage for each ham, i dont want to throw away perfectly good cages

She isn't the only rescue out there ya know And you don't have to throw out cages, just get suitable cages for the species

 

She isn't the only rescue out there ya know And you don't have to throw out cages, just get suitable cages for the species

those cages would be sat unused though when they are perfectly well

and shes about as close as i can get, there arent many rescues in my area, the one i spoke too was quite far away as it is

 

those cages would be sat unused though when they are perfectly well

and shes about as close as i can get, there arent many rescues in my area, the one i spoke too was quite far away as it is

You can sell them? They don't have to be unused In fact other rescues probably wouldn't expect you to change your existing cages unless they really are unsuitable :confused1:

Many small animal rescues will organise an animal run to get the fluffs to you if you are suitable, I've had 4 animals come to me from a rescue that was 3 hours drive away because there are many people that are willing to help to get an animal into a forever home

 

You can sell them? They don't have to be unused In fact other rescues probably wouldn't expect you to change your existing cages unless they really are unsuitable :confused1:

Many small animal rescues will organise an animal run to get the fluffs to you if you are suitable, I've had 4 animals come to me from a rescue that was 3 hours drive away because there are many people that are willing to help to get an animal into a forever home

oh dontttttt, you make me want to do it

but i want babies too

 

oh dontttttt, you make me want to do it

but i want babies too

That's the plan

Rescuing is far more worthwhile than breeding IMO, yes babies are cute but there are plenty of baby hamsters needing homes in rescue

 

That's the plan

Rescuing is far more worthwhile than breeding IMO, yes babies are cute but there are plenty of baby hamsters needing homes in rescue

not very young babies though

oh i would love to do both tbh

 

not very young babies though

oh i would love to do both tbh

I doubt rescues will rehome to you if you breed, I know I wouldn't :confused1:
You're right you won't get young pups, but 12 weeks is young enough and you will be giving a fluff a second chance, which IMO is much more worthwhile.

 

I doubt rescues will rehome to you if you breed, I know I wouldn't :confused1:
You're right you won't get young pups, but 12 weeks is young enough and you will be giving a fluff a second chance, which IMO is much more worthwhile.

dont get me wrong i see what you mean, ive rescued before and slingshot was the loveliest ham ive known, he was so shy when he came to us but after a few weeks he had us wrapped around his teeny paws and was so mischievous!

BUT

the two times a ham has had litters that was sooooo good! watching them grow and develop, get their own little personalities etc

 

I wish I could find a local hammie rescue, id love to take in another syrian or even a pair of dwarfs

 

she wont let me rescue unless i get a new cage for each ham, i dont want to throw away perfectly good cages

Do you mind me asking what size your cages are for your hams and mice? The capacity (i.e. no of litres a bin holds) doesn't let you know the actual floorspace. I know you let your animals out every evening for hours at a time but big enclosures with lots of floor space mean that the animals can have loads of fun running around for the hours during the night when no one is with them (I worked out that one day in a mouses life is the equivalent to around 2 months of a human year, so even 2 hours in a cage can seem like weeks to a mouse.) Your existing cages can always be added on to any new cages to make ham and meece mansions - I found Ikea really good for big boxes. The large Samla one cost me £22 and it's the same size as the big hamster heaven cage It's also something to consider if you do decide to breed as given the number of babies you could potentially end up keeping you may not be able to give each animal the same amount of free ranging time as before if you ended up keeping several litters worth of babies.

Have you decided if it is your mice or your hamsters you are going to breed? You only posted about breeding mice last week. It might be better for you to decide on one, learn all the genetics and good breeding practices of that species before taking on the challenges of breeding both at the same time when you have so much to learn - especially as breeding both at the same time would mean a lot more cages of a decent size and a lot more animals that you could end up keeping on top of having to learn all the genetics and inheritable problems that you need to avoid breeding.

To add - I don't know any rescue that would let you take an animal if you were breeding. And if a rescue did let some one who breeds take a rescue in, I have to admit I'd avoid them with a barge pole, I wouldn't want to go to a rescue knowing they would let a breeder take in an animal and it could be used for breeding (as I very much doubt they would be honest about their intentions of doing it either. )

 

You seem to be making excuses to validate breeding
I'll leave it at that...

 

Do you mind me asking what size your cages are for your hams and mice? The capacity (i.e. no of litres a bin holds) doesn't let you know the actual floorspace. I know you let your animals out every evening for hours at a time but big enclosures with lots of floor space mean that the animals can have loads of fun running around for the hours during the night when no one is with them (I worked out that one day in a mouses life is the equivalent to around 2 months of a human year, so even 2 hours in a cage can seem like weeks to a mouse.) Your existing cages can always be added on to any new cages to make ham and meece mansions - I found Ikea really good for big boxes. The large Samla one cost me £22 and it's the same size as the big hamster heaven cage It's also something to consider if you do decide to breed as given the number of babies you could potentially end up keeping you may not be able to give each animal the same amount of free ranging time as before if you ended up keeping several litters worth of babies.

Have you decided if it is your mice or your hamsters you are going to breed? You only posted about breeding mice last week. It might be better for you to decide on one, learn all the genetics and good breeding practices of that species before taking on the challenges of breeding both at the same time when you have so much to learn - especially as breeding both at the same time would mean a lot more cages of a decent size and a lot more animals that you could end up keeping on top of having to learn all the genetics and inheritable problems that you need to avoid breeding.

To add - I don't know any rescue that would let you take an animal if you were breeding. And if a rescue did let some one who breeds take a rescue in, I have to admit I'd avoid them with a barge pole, I wouldn't want to go to a rescue knowing they would let a breeder take in an animal and it could be used for breeding (as I very much doubt they would be honest about their intentions of doing it either. )

these are the cages

another is in a rotastak and leonard is in a bin with a habitrail ovo

i will breed the hamsters as i know a lot about hamster breeding

 

Sorry, but in my opinion those cages aren't big enough The smallest cage a single male mouse should be in is a cambridge which is 2 foot by 1 so you would need something bigger for your group of mice. Syrians need a minimum of 80cm because they are so active, especially at night. Is the wagg food for the hams and the mice? It isn't suitable for either. Wagg food doesn't meet the nutritional requirements for any rodent THey are definitely things that you would need to look into changing if you were to decide to breed any animal - some breeders use smaller breeding cages to make it easier to handle the babies, but at other times the animals have nice big cages to run around in. And if the diet isn't a good one and doesn't have everything that the animal needs then it can have pretty big detrimental and serious effects on both the mum and the babies.

 

Sorry, but in my opinion those cages aren't big enough The smallest cage a single male mouse should be in is a cambridge which is 2 foot by 1 so you would need something bigger for your group of mice. Syrians need a minimum of 80cm because they are so active, especially at night. Is the wagg food for the hams and the mice? It isn't suitable for either. Wagg food doesn't meet the nutritional requirements for any rodent THey are definitely things that you would need to look into changing if you were to decide to breed any animal - some breeders use smaller breeding cages to make it easier to handle the babies, but at other times the animals have nice big cages to run around in. And if the diet isn't a good one and doesn't have everything that the animal needs then it can have pretty big detrimental and serious effects on both the mum and the babies.

all the hamsters use the cages for are sleep, eating and peeing, when they are awake they are out (we are awake all during the night)

the wagg food is for the mice but they get harry hamster as well, the hams get harry hamster and a mix from the local pet shop, they also get other things added to their diet

i am going to buy these

ASDA 110 Litre Plastic Storage Box and Lid - Clear | Plastic Storage | ASDA direct

 

i will breed the hamsters as i know a lot about hamster breeding

Shame you don't know enough about suitable cage sizes.....

That's it I will say no more, my time is better spent elsewhere :mad2:

 

Shame you don't know enough about suitable cage sizes.....

That's it I will say no more, my time is better spent elsewhere :mad2:

look i didnt come on here for a lecture

 

In all honesty i can see why the rescue didn't re-home to you and advised you to get better cages for all your animals. It doesn't matter how little time they spend in there, they need to have a good amount of space to play as they can't be out the cage the whole time they are awake.

Breeding is far from easy and isn't all 'ooh cute hamsters' it's a lot of hard work and you need to put in a ton of time and effort and possibly money. You need to take into fact that if you couldn't re-home them you would need decent sized cages for all of them as you couldn't have them all out 24/7. What if there is complications with the babies or the mother do you have all the funds to pay for vet bills. Do you have the time to hand rear each baby if the mother doesn't accept them? Breeding is not something to be taken lightly and takes a hell of a lot of work. You need to be able to have money for vets, extra food, extra bedding and extra everything really.

I breed chipmunks and it's not easy and i really researched it, they have amazing housing, from great breeders and i have the time and money for them but when my mouse had an accidental litter i was petrified as i was not ready for it and they are just so much smaller and i was worried sick.

The others have tried giving you some brilliant advice.

 

all the hamsters use the cages for are sleep, eating and peeing, when they are awake they are out (we are awake all during the night)

the wagg food is for the mice but they get harry hamster as well, the hams get harry hamster and a mix from the local pet shop, they also get other things added to their diet

i am going to buy these

ASDA 110 Litre Plastic Storage Box and Lid - Clear | Plastic Storage | ASDA direct

That box is far better so you would need that for your hams and your mice with the size of the group you have And if you do still intend on breeding you will need something that size for every hamster you keep and every group of 8 mice, then at least a 2x1 foot cage for every single male alongwith at least a 12 inch wheel for syrian hams and at least a 6.5inch wheel for a mouse.

As for feeding the mice hamster food, it is completely unacceptable - mice do not get what they need from hamster food. Companies like Wagg rely on people not doing research on their pets' dietary needs. You can do research and use it as a base if you make your own food by adding other things that make it suitable for mice, but if you are feeding them on a completely commercial mix you are far better getting them a good rat muesli (even P@H rat muesli) as Harry Ham and Wagg food doesn't even come close to giving them the trace elements, essential vitamins, protein and fat contents that they need to stay healthy. It would be like feeding a cat on nothing but dog food - it might come close but close is no good when it can affect their health, strength and immune system.

 

That box is far better so you would need that for your hams and your mice with the size of the group you have And if you do still intend on breeding you will need something that size for every hamster you keep and every group of 8 mice, then at least a 2x1 foot cage for every single male alongwith at least a 12 inch wheel for syrian hams and at least a 6.5inch wheel for a mouse.

As for feeding the mice hamster food, it is completely unacceptable - mice do not get what they need from hamster food. Companies like Wagg rely on people not doing research on their pets' dietary needs. You can do research and use it as a base if you make your own food by adding other things that make it suitable for mice, but if you are feeding them on a completely commercial mix you are far better getting them a good rat muesli (even P@H rat muesli) as Harry Ham and Wagg food doesn't even come close to giving them the trace elements, essential vitamins, protein and fat contents that they need to stay healthy. It would be like feeding a cat on nothing but dog food - it might come close but close is no good when it can affect their health, strength and immune system.

so mice can have rat mix? then i will get some from my local pet store and add a little bit to their diet each day as i know completely changing the food all at once can cause stomach upsets

 

In all honesty i can see why the rescue didn't re-home to you and advised you to get better cages for all your animals. It doesn't matter how little time they spend in there, they need to have a good amount of space to play as they can't be out the cage the whole time they are awake.

Breeding is far from easy and isn't all 'ooh cute hamsters' it's a lot of hard work and you need to put in a ton of time and effort and possibly money. You need to take into fact that if you couldn't re-home them you would need decent sized cages for all of them as you couldn't have them all out 24/7. What if there is complications with the babies or the mother do you have all the funds to pay for vet bills. Do you have the time to hand rear each baby if the mother doesn't accept them? Breeding is not something to be taken lightly and takes a hell of a lot of work. You need to be able to have money for vets, extra food, extra bedding and extra everything really.

I breed chipmunks and it's not easy and i really researched it, they have amazing housing, from great breeders and i have the time and money for them but when my mouse had an accidental litter i was petrified as i was not ready for it and they are just so much smaller and i was worried sick.

The others have tried giving you some brilliant advice.

we have the time and money yes

 

Sorry to butt in on this post but just have a quick question about mouse food-my daughter is currently using a pet shop mix(their own mixed stuff) and I have seen the one in p@h called gerbil and mouse muesli...which is better and what ingredients should there be in the pet shop own mixed one so I can tell if it's ok?