Syrian hamster breeding
Syrian hamster breeding is
Choosing hamsters to breed
Trait | Syrian hamster value |
---|---|
estrous cycle | 4 days |
breeding age and weight female | 56 days or 90-110g |
breeding age and weight male | 63 days or 100-120g |
duration of estrous | 4-23 hours, 20 average |
postpartum return to estrus
|
5-10 minutes |
gestation | 16 days |
weaning age and weight | 21 days, 35-40g |
age beginning dry food | 7-9 days |
litter size | 4-12, with 7-8 average |
age beginning dry food | 7-9 days |
mating scheme | pairs or 1 male to 2-4 females |
Mother hamsters younger than 13 weeks old are likely to have a high number of babies, which can lead to complications in pregnancy and less healthy births.[2] Mother hamsters that are older than 8 months for their first litter may have other kinds of pregnancy problems.[2] Mating a mother who is between 4-6 months old is a standard recommendation.[2] The age of the male hamster is less important, except that young males may have no interest in the female and older male hamsters may not be fertile.[2] Any adult male hamster will typically always be ready to mate with any female hamster.[2]
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Female body cycle
If a female hamster encounters a male when her estrous cycle is not at the point for mating, then the two hamsters will be aggressive to each other and could be injured or killed from fighting.[3] When a female hamster is in season to breed, her estrous cycle spans four days.[3] Every fourth day between sunset and sunrise she will be in heat and receptive to mating.[3] She will be more receptive later in the night.[3]
In the wild, hamster mating season is spring and summer, so hamster mothers only go into heat in those seasons.[3] In typical domestic settings, female hamsters will breed year-round.[3] The triggering factors that make year-round breeding are 12 hours of daily light and absence of cold in the winter. [3]
Progression of the estrous cycle includes different vaginal discharges.
Introducing the pair
When the time is right, the breeder introduces male and female hamsters with supervision because of fear of aggression and fighting.[7] They are separated after mating. Until this time, the hamsters will separately housed, as Syrian hamsters are strictly solitary.[7] The male hamster must not be placed in the female's home.[7] Either the female may be brought to the male's home, or a small box of neutral space may be outfitted with hamster bedding and presented as the mating area in which the breeder places both hamsters.[7] A male typically will be ready to mate and not defend himself initially.[7] If the female is not receptive, then she will attack him, in which case the hamsters must be separated to perhaps try again another time.[7] If the hamsters fight for any other reason, they must be separated.[7]
If the female is receptive, then she will run in front of the male a few steps, then freeze her body.[7] The female then exhibits lordosis behavior.[8] In response, the male will typically groom the female hamster's rear, then mount the female. Mating lasts several seconds.[7] After mating, the male may groom himself or the female.[7] Then he will mount the female again.[7] The mating pair should be left to repeat this for 20-30 minutes or until one of the hamsters loses interest.[7]
When supervising the mating, the breeder seeks to separate the hamsters if either becomes aggressive.[7] During mating the male is likely to lightly bite the back of the female's neck, but if he is overaggressive, then they may fight.[7] Sometimes the male may get distracted and groom the female's ears or become confused and try to mount the female from the front or side.[7] If necessary, the breeder may poke the male to get his attention, which will usually prompt the male to try again from the beginning.[7] If the male loses interest in the female, even without aggression, breeders will separate the hamsters.[7]
Record keeping
There are established general practices for record keeping in animal breeding.[9] These practices can apply to any breeding program, and are commonly applied to Syrian hamster breeding programs.[9]
Larger breeding operations almost certainly must be managed with a digital database.[9] Smaller breeding operations still use paper records.[9] Minimum record keeping typically includes the following information:[9]
- source of animal
- identification of foundation bloodstockor strain
- name of person managing animal
- relevant dates
- date of birth
- dates of major interactions, like health care interventions
- date of acquisition, if acquired from external source
- in the case of research animals, reference to institutional clearance for research
- genealogy
Record keeping might include details about environmental and care conditions.[9] Records might be kept for environmental temperature, humidity, light cycles, when pens are cleaned, what sort of food is provided, and who has access to the animals.[9] Health records might include medical observations, diagnosis of any medical conditions, and notes about any health care animals have received.[9]
References
- ^ Field 1999, p. 43.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Logsdail 2002, p. 112.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Logsdail 2002, p. 113.
- ^ arik (2023-08-18). "Life Span of a Syrian Hamster: Unlocking the Secrets". Retrieved 2023-08-18.
- ^ a b c d e f Field 1999, p. 45.
- ^ a b c d e f Ostrow, Marshall (1988). Breeding Hamsters. New Jersey: TFH Publications. p. 68.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Logsdail 2002, p. 114.
- ^ Field 1999, p. 44.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Mulder 2012, p. 774-5.
Notes
- Logsdail, Chris; Logsdail, Peter; Hovers, Kate (2002). Hamsterlopaedia : a complete guide to hamster care. Lydney: Ringpress. ISBN 1860542468.
- Field, Karl J.; Sibold, Amber L. (1999). The laboratory hamster & gerbil. Boca Raton [u.a.]: CRC Press. ISBN 0849325668.
- Mulder, Guy B. (2012). "Management, Husbandry, and Colony Health". In Suckow, Mark A.; Stevens, Karla A.; Wilson, Ronald P. (eds.). The laboratory rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, and other rodents (1st. ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier Academic Press. pp. 765–775. ISBN 978-0123809209.
External links
- Breeding Syrian Hamsters, a guide from the National Hamster Council
- How to Breed Syrian Hamsters provided by WikiHow
- Hamsters mating, a 2-minute video showing Syrian hamsters mating