Q&A for How to Breed Dwarf Hamsters

That's just what hamsters mating looks like. Keep them in the same cage if you want hamster babies. There is also a chance he's really trying to hurt her, so keep an eye on them. You might want to ask an adult to help you supervise as well.

No. They can get aggressive.

If you're handling it for the first time, it could be scared. You could have also accidentally startled it.

Yes, they will.

A hamster can not bathe in water. Hamsters hate water. But they can bathe in sand. There is special sand for hamsters that they bathe in. Check with your local pet store.

No, but both of them do have to have reached sexual maturity. A female dwarf hamster should not be bred before reaching the age of 3 or 4 months. Males reach sexual maturity around 4 weeks of age.

Underneath, the males have two holes about one centimeter apart. The females have two holes really close together that may look like just one.

If your hamster has been hogging food, is quite frantic and her belly begins to grow, she may be pregnant.

Never clean the hamster's cage while her babies are under 3 weeks old. Some people will tell you 2 weeks, but I always wait 3 and I've never had the mother kill any of the babies.

You can, but you should be extremely gentle when doing so.

Dwarf hamsters are great pets for children. They don't require very much care, and are inexpensive. But it is cautioned that hamsters are delicate and can be easily injured.

You should definitely separate them. That sounds like aggressive behavior and you don't want any of them to get hurt (worse than they already are). If you really want to breed them, put them together only under your supervision and separate them again if it looks like the male is getting aggressive.

She is likely scared of the male. I would strongly recommend not putting them together. Breeding hamsters ethically requires a strong understanding of genetics, access to stock animals from a reputable breeder, a reliable source of income, and access to an exotic vet. Without this there are a lot of health problems that could potentially arise.

Yes, the hamsters will need fresh food and water, and the cage should be cleaned and bedding changed weekly.

There is no such thing as a "regular hamster". All hamsters are hamsters. Every hamster is a different species, and cannot mate with each other, so a winter white dwarf can't mate with a Chinese dwarf, and a robo dwarf can't mate with a Campbell's dwarf, etc.

Yes. A female hamster needs to be at least 3-4 months old prior to breeding. (She also needs to be in heat.) The males should preferably be around the same age, but should at least be older than 30 days.

No, you cannot breed any hamsters that are related to each other, as this greatly increases the likelihood of birth defects, diseases, and death.

It might be pregnant, just check her weight after she eats and check with a vet to make sure if she's pregnant.

They usually live for 3 - 4 years.

You can, but at the beginning you want to keep them all with the mom, so they can eat. After that, you can put the females with the mom, and the dad with males.

No, but you can have them breed in a cage if you have one as a pet.

Technically since they are both dwarfs it it possible to keep them together, but they may bother each other or bite each other.

It could be possible that she's pregnant. If she's gathering bedding/nesting supplies to one place, then it's very likely she's pregnant.

It really depends on the size of the cage. The bigger the cage, the safer it is to keep more hamsters in it, but litter mates tend to turn against each other as they age, so once they reach sexual maturity you should definitely separate them, for their own good.

Relationships aren’t as important to animals as they are to humans. Sexual instincts should kick in and they should mate regardless of how close they are. After impregnating the female, the male should be separated from her immediately.

There is a good chance the father will get aggressive with the boys if you put them all together, due to the difference in age. You also need to keep all the babies with the mother until they're weaned.

Assuming that they aren't separate species but rather different colors, yes. The sunfire may be a Campbell's Dwarf Hamster, but even then they have produced healthy offspring with djungarians.

If you drop it from a high enough place, it could get seriously injured, or even killed. The best way to prevent injury is to hold it close to the ground over a padded surface, such as carpeting.

The normal gestation period for a dwarf hamster is around 22 days.

Old hamsters will have thinner fur. They will sometimes have cataracts in their eyes and will be less active. They can also become skinnier.