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Post by Chelsea on Mar 10, 2010 18:16:42 GMT -5
A friend of mine has a few dwarf hamsters and just had 2 litters, she was asking around if anyone wanted one and so she agreed to give me 2 of them. I tried breeding mice, with no luck, they all died quickly after I got them. Not sure if it was something I did, or if they were just in poor health already when I got them. I tried looking for info online but couldnt find anything good on breeding and raising them. So.... Anyone have any experience breeding and raising/caring for dwarf hamsters? Basic care, breeding, raising pups, etc? Thanks!
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Post by fuzzymom on Mar 11, 2010 11:35:34 GMT -5
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Post by Chelsea on Mar 11, 2010 14:53:26 GMT -5
Thanks From what Ive read they seem pretty easy to keep. Anyone know if they are equal or harder to keep/breed than mice? I tried breeding mice, and had no luck at all. Also... does anyone know if its possible to feed a "home made" diet to dwarf hamsters or mice? Like, not buying rodent food and giving them a home made mix of veggies and grains etc??
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Post by goingpostal on Mar 11, 2010 19:04:14 GMT -5
I think hamsters are a little harder to breed than mice, dwarfs are easier than regular ones though as I think you can breed them in groups. I don't think they are going to produce as well as mice or rats though. Homemade is possible but honestly it's a lot more expensive and more gets wasted, I've had to a few times when I didn't have block.
I would consider buying mice from somewhere else as well, they are ridiculously easy to keep and breed once you get going, I've never had one just die before.
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Post by Chelsea on Mar 13, 2010 10:37:48 GMT -5
I think hamsters are a little harder to breed than mice, dwarfs are easier than regular ones though as I think you can breed them in groups. I don't think they are going to produce as well as mice or rats though. Homemade is possible but honestly it's a lot more expensive and more gets wasted, I've had to a few times when I didn't have block. I would consider buying mice from somewhere else as well, they are ridiculously easy to keep and breed once you get going, I've never had one just die before. Thats what Ive heard too, that mice are really easy to keep. But I think I bought 5 total, and they all died. Maybe I wasnt feeding them right?? Im thinking it was just because that pet store wasnt the best place, and they could have been sick. The pet store had changed owners now and the comepletly changed it so its much cleaner now, and they dont keep 100s of mice in a ten gallon tank like they other one did (ok maybe not 100 but you know what I mean, there were way too many in there) But, since I will be getting these dwarf hamsters for free, Im going to give it a shot. My friend said that she keeps the mother and father in the same cage and the father actually helps care for the babies, how cute is that . I have a 10 gal tank, a 15 gal (same base size as the 10gal but taller) a 20gal long, a 40gal, and a 50ishgal long. How should I keep them? Im getting 2 hamsters to start with, a male and a female. Im thinking that it would be best to keep th pair in the 10gal, that way I can put any babies in the 20gal, and make a divider to I can keep the male and female babies apart until they are older. Then the I would let Jake (he is my litter hunter, Emmett has no idea live mice are food) kill all the males. Then put the females back in the origional tank? Not sure how inbreeding effects small rodents? Would that be OK, or would I be better off buying a new male dwarf so put in with the females? I dont want to have a huge number of breeders, I think I would stop there and keep maybe 3-6 breeding females and then just feed the babies as they come (allowing some to grow for a variety of sizes) Also, even though they are feeders I believe they deserve a good quality of life before their time comes, so what should I have in the cage for them? I dont have any wheels, Ive always heard those are dangerous. Would things like tupperware containers (for dens and climbing) and paper towl rolls be good things for them? anything else?
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Post by goingpostal on Mar 13, 2010 16:54:09 GMT -5
Most people inbreed, I've only been breeding about a year and I just pick up a new male every now and then, I rotate males though which I don't think will be possible with hamsters, I think they probably do better in set groups. I would take your first litter and hold back all the females until breeding age, in 10 gallons I would probably do 2.1, than one larger tub to hold feeders in.
I feed all my males off at/before weaning and keep all the females together. I give the mice shredded paper, paper towel rolls, egg cartons, paper drink holders, small boxes, etc. I have my whole family stuff for me so it works great.
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Post by Chelsea on Mar 13, 2010 21:12:11 GMT -5
Most people inbreed, I've only been breeding about a year and I just pick up a new male every now and then, I rotate males though which I don't think will be possible with hamsters, I think they probably do better in set groups. I would take your first litter and hold back all the females until breeding age, in 10 gallons I would probably do 2.1, than one larger tub to hold feeders in. I feed all my males off at/before weaning and keep all the females together. I give the mice shredded paper, paper towel rolls, egg cartons, paper drink holders, small boxes, etc. I have my whole family stuff for me so it works great. 2.1? I thought that meant- Males.females.... That would mean 2 males and 1 female in the tank?? <<confused Do you use water bowls, or bottles? and what do you feed? and what do you use for bedding? Is it possible to use just plain dirt? I have a huge bag of peat moss, it would be great if I would be able to use it for this.
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Post by goingpostal on Mar 14, 2010 0:22:31 GMT -5
Sorry, 1.2. I couldn't remember which way it was and didn't have time to look it up. I use bottles, bowls just become a disaster very fast with bedding and food. I know some people use dirt, I use woodstove pellets with a little shredded aspen for nesting. Pellets are $4 for 40 pounds here and seems to cut the smell. I feed mazuri 6f to my mice and gerbils, had to call around to find a place that would order it but bulk lab block is going to be cheapest.
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Post by fuzzymom on Mar 14, 2010 22:32:17 GMT -5
Your mice may have died because of where you got them. I've had mice die for no reason other than where they came from. A homemade mix is possible for rodents. This one is recommended for mice/rats. You can feed just the mix but it is recommended to add lab blocks to the diet. www.ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=28391
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Post by Chelsea on Apr 1, 2010 17:50:59 GMT -5
Your mice may have died because of where you got them. I've had mice die for no reason other than where they came from. A homemade mix is possible for rodents. This one is recommended for mice/rats. You can feed just the mix but it is recommended to add lab blocks to the diet. www.ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=28391Do you HAVE to use lab blocks? Ive looked and cant find them in any store around here. Ive been looking at hamster diets and they seem to be pretty much the same as mice. Is it possible to feed an all home made diet? Anyone have list of foods that are a "must have" in a home made diet? I am getting the hamsters tomarrow. I dont know how many yet, I will get however many she is willing to give me. The litter had 10 and she only has homes for about half, so she said I could take whatever is left. I will try to sex them (they are about 6 weeks now, so I think I should be able to tell which is which) and get one male and as many females as I can. I would just take them all, but she doesnt want any of hers to be food. We made an agreement, the ones I got from her would be strictly pets (well, breeders) and I can do whatever I want with the babies as long as I didnt use the ones I got from her as food. Which is perfectly fine with me becuase I planned on keeping the breeders as permanent resisdents anyways (even once they cant breed anymore, I will keep them as pets)
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Post by goingpostal on Apr 1, 2010 21:04:56 GMT -5
Did you call around some feed stores for lab block? Mazuri has a dealer list, I just called the closest one and got them to order it in. I know there is a couple complete homemade rat mix recipes online but no idea on whether those are suitable for a hamster diet as well. I'm sure hamster food will work but it might be expensive, most people use block because it is complete and cheap, once you get breeding even modest quantities it's amazing how much they eat. I know some people use cheap dog food or hog feed instead of lab block as well.
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Post by Chelsea on Apr 2, 2010 14:36:28 GMT -5
Did you call around some feed stores for lab block? Mazuri has a dealer list, I just called the closest one and got them to order it in. I know there is a couple complete homemade rat mix recipes online but no idea on whether those are suitable for a hamster diet as well. I'm sure hamster food will work but it might be expensive, most people use block because it is complete and cheap, once you get breeding even modest quantities it's amazing how much they eat. I know some people use cheap dog food or hog feed instead of lab block as well. I asked around feed stores and the pet store thats near me and they said they didnt have any... Im guessing low quality dog food is better for them because it is mostly grains? (bad for dogs but good for hamsters) How about a lower quality cat food, would that work too? OK, now Im confused. My friend said they were dwarf hamsters... um, they dont look dwarf to me. The parents seemed pretty big, and were of tan/brown vs the greyish color the dwarfs are. Anyone know if a good picture quide to tell what they are??
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Post by fuzzymom on Apr 5, 2010 16:48:11 GMT -5
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Post by Chelsea on Apr 5, 2010 17:37:13 GMT -5
Ya, they are deffinitely NOT dwarf hamsters. They are syrians(?) I think. They look exactly like this - www.mallvibes.com/attachments/sale/10014d1250482200-2-month-old-teddy-bear-hamster-20-if-pick-up-today-v_syrian.jpg One of them is really mean, and trys to bite me. Another freaks out if you try to touch it, and the 3rd is really nice and likes to be held. I think they are all females... but its hard to tell cause they are really fluffy. I may feed 1 or 2 of them (the mean ones) to the ferrets. I know syrians dont breed well and have to be housed seperatly so Im not going to bother even trying. The one thats really nice I may give to my neighbors kids or something, becuase he/she is cute and friendly so if I can find a good home for him I dont have a problem with giving him/her away. If no one will take the friendly one then he will become ferret food also.
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Post by bindiferret89 on Apr 17, 2010 16:17:58 GMT -5
I know this thread is a few weeks old, but if you're still interested in breeding hamsters, I might be able to help. I bred dwarf hamsters for about a year and have kept Syrians a long time. I bred them for pets, but I spent about 6 months researching their care and housing before I started, and can recommend resources for you or talk to you about breeding them.
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