Breeding Hamsters

Breeding & Mating
The first step is to introduce the female hamster to male’s cage every evening for several days during the period of estrus – a 12 hour period of time when female will mate with male hamster.  The female hamster will spray her legs if she’s ready. If the female only fights with the male, cage them separately.If the matting occurs, it’s better to keep both hamsters together for several hours.

Litter Size
If you notice that the female is becoming fatter after 2-3 weeks after matting, this means that she is pregnant. You might see that the pregnant hamster will spend less time running the wheel and more time eating and sleeping. As the date approaches, pregnant hamsters may become aggressive.  The dates of the gestation may vary but approximately it’s 20-25 days and the litter size can be 3-5.  Sometimes, it may be up to 12 depending on the type of hamster. Sometimes, mother may eat some babies…that’s sad but true.

Birth Of Hamsters
Grooming,eating and digging activities increase before giving birth to baby hamsters. Baby hamsters are born at 10-20 minutes intervals, and the mother will be cleaning the nest area or sleep between births. Make sure that mother hamster has enough food and fresh water because she may be very hungry in the end of the process. NEVER disturb the hamster or cage during the whole process, because female can interpret this as threat and eat babies.

Baby Hamsters

At the age of 15 days, babies will begin to drink water and eating food. Place a small food dish to make them reach it , as well as the bottle of water. Little babies will live together, eat together and fight with each other.  They will become mature after 6-7 weeks. If you want to find out the sex of your hamster, take a look at the genital area. Males have genital opening separated from the anus, while females have them together.