How do I know when my Hamster is in season

[rodentman]

i am going to be breeding my hamsters but i am only going to put them together when the female is in season, but i am not sure how to tell when she goes in to season??? thanks

[Hamsters82]

The only way I know if a female syrian is in season is that you can definitly smell them. They have this odor to them and if you stroke their back, they stop doing whatever and stand still and their tail will be up. But that's all I know, sorry.

[rodentman]

thanks for that info i'll try that ;D

[Die Fledermaus]

rodentman said:

i am going to be breeding my hamsters but i am only going to put them together when the female is in season, but i am not sure how to tell when she goes in to season??? thanks

You should NOT be breeding hamsters especially not Syrian hamsters! There are many many unwanted and unloved hamsters needing homes - adopt and rescue some as I have done.

A Syrian litter averages TWELVE babies. In a month all will need to be separtated by gender, and in 8-9 weeks ALL will need to be living ALONE. They will start fighting at nine weeks; they may start killing each other at ten or eleven.

You plan to keep all the babies in SEPARATE habitats? Or do you plan to dump them on a pet store that does not want them and is already overcrowded?

Hamster breeding, even for dwarfs, should be done by experienced professionals, but you obviously do not even know when a female is in season.

PLEASE PLEASE do not breed. Please.

This site discourages breeding and promotes rescue.

And this thread belongs in the other forum - a forum that exists primarily for genetic information, not to encourage breeding particularly by novices.

[rodentman]

calm down! i am only going to have one litter of pups

[rodentman]

and by the way do you now how hard it is to get rescued hamsters in scotland the'r like gold dust!!

[Die Fledermaus]

If YOU are going to keep them ALL, then that is fine.

But with the mom and a litter of a dozen you can expect to have an average of 13 hamsters and all must live separately. That is a lot of work and a big expense - I know as I once got a hamster who it turned out was pregnant ( the store lied) and I kept her entire litter of 12. Her name was Rainy and her story is on these forums.

Each hamster required a big bin or other habitat, wheel, water bottle, food dish, bedding, toys, and a hide box (or something). $40 minimum per hamster just for start up. Multiply that by 13 and you get $520, minimum. Not including additional food and treats, replacement toys, and the time needed to interact with them and clean their homes at least every other week.

You can handle all that. . . at age 13?? I could barely handle it as an adult, even with a lot of help.

[ladyjosephine]

I think, before you start breeding, you should think about the amount of money it's going to cost you... What If the mom dies and the babies have to be hand raised? Can you do that? And what if the mom needs surgery, can you pay the vet bills? And what if you can't find every baby a new home, can they stay with you and have their own cage?

I don't think your age has anything to do with responsebility, I'm 'only' 17 and I pay everything myself. At the moment I am 'owned' by 9 rats, 8 syrian hamsters, 1 bunny, 2 mice, 1 Bird and a dog...So that's allot of food,bedding,toys and Unexpected costs...

*I'm sorry for the bad spelling, I'm in a hurry....I have to clean out some cages and after that I want to see Ocean's Eleven on TV *

[Die Fledermaus]

BTW, I forgot to include the father in my calculations above. So that is TWO parents plus a litter of 12 (maybe more) equalling 14 Syrians that have to live ALONE very soon. You have almost $600 ready to buy them what they need? You have the time to clean one habitat EVERY DAY? That is what you will need to do to keep 14 clean over two weeks.

I could not do this as a responsible adult; even with a lot of help it would be hard. You are going to do this at age 13? Puhleeze.

No breeding!

[rodentman]

just so you know im not going to do this on my own i will get help from my dad and from all my mates and other relatives. and age dosent matter its how responsoble you are!.
(and you know how you said not to breed because you thought i was to young well everyone has to start at somepoint)

[Die Fledermaus]

>> age dosent matter its how responsoble you are!. <<

True. But as you will recall, I specifically cited MONEY issues - concerns a 13 year old could NOT handle alone. I am talking about many hundreds of dollars just in start up expenses for 14 or more Syrian hamsters. I know some 13 year olds who are more responsible than some adults - but they do not have the money.

Glad you told us you are NOT going at this alone!

[rodentman]

can you stop telling me why i shouldent breed, and tell me how to tell when my hamster is in season!!!!!!!!!

[hamwolf89]

why? you are obviously not a good care taker for syrian babies, and lots of them. Mine as well give up now, no point in going on if your going to get stressed with so many babies.

[Die Fledermaus]

rodentman said:

can you stop telling me why i shouldent breed, and tell me how to tell when my hamster is in season!!!!!!!!!

You WERE told the answer to that question in this thread.

Now you are sounding so irrational I do not believe you are serious about any of this.

My last post above merely clarified some issues, and expressed relief that you are NOT going into this alone - especially as you will need $600 minimum in money just for startup. Obviously, no 13 year old has that, although you might have time (with help from those others you mentioned) to clean a habitat every single day as you will have to with 14+ Syrians hamsters living separately.

As I have stated in this thread and the announcement at the top of this forum, this site discourages breeding. As your question was answered, and our warnings and advice given to you, this thread has no further purpose.

Thread locked.