A female can be fertile every 4 days, so if you have put a female in heat and a male in the same cage, you probably want to know how much time you have left before the arrival of the young, also called gestation period. Yes, but by the way, how does reproduction work in the hamster?
First of all, you should know that breeding hamsters is quick and easy. But keep in mind the other side of the coin: you will have to be able to support the numerous young to be born. Moreover, in order to have viable and healthy young, it will be advisable to avoid certain types of interbreeding between populations.
How long does a female hamster stay pregnant?
Depending on the species of your little friend, refer to the table below. This is the gestation time, in other words the time that will elapse between the mating of your hamsters and the birth of the young.
| Species | Gestation time |
|---|---|
| Russian Hamster | from 18 to 22 days |
| Syrian Hamster / Golden | 15 to 16 days |
| Hamster Roborovski | 20 to 22 days |
| Campbell's Hamster | from 18 to 25 days |
| Chinese Hamster | 20 to 21 days |
During this gestation period, you can give your female a protein supplement if you wish. It is not an obligation. It is also at this time that the female will prepare her nest to welcome her future babies: give her some cotton balls that she will arrange as she likes by pushing them in a corner out of sight most of the time, to isolate herself.
On the physical side, the female will of course get bigger and you may see her teats filled with milk in preparation for the nursing phase.
How long is the female hamster in heat?
During the breeding periods (see below), a female hamster is in heat every 4 dayss. During this period, the female is in ovulation period, in other words she is not fertile only a few hours only.
The breeding period of hamsters
In the wild, each species of hamster has its own cycle and its own reproduction period. In other words, there are specific times during the year when females are fertile.
| Species | Period of reproduction |
|---|---|
| Russian Hamster | from April to September |
| Syrian Hamster / Golden | from April to September |
| Hamster Roborovski | from April to September |
| Campbell's Hamster | |
| Chinese Hamster | from February to October |
The periods above are the observation of what happens in nature: we see that in the winter period, hamsters do not reproduce. In captivity or in breeding conditions, this cycle is not necessarily respected.
Or, idéalement et pour suivre le rythme naturel, sauf à être éleveur professionnel, il convient idéalement de respecter ce cycle et ces périodes de reproduction, pour la bonne santé de vos hamsters, notamment des femelles. Ci celles-ci ont trop de bébés, trop souvent hors de ces périodes propices, elles s’épuiseront et mourront plus vite. A part si vous êtes un amateur ou un passionné averti de hamsters, nous vous conseillons autant que possible d’éviter de vous lancer dans la reproduction de vos hamsters.
How do I know if my hamster is pregnant?
Read this article to help you to know if your hamster is pregnant. To sum it up, you should know that in the first days, unless you have seen the act of mating, you will not necessarily be able to suspect it. Afterwards, the belly of the female will begin to grow and to round off and you will be able to notice the appearance of udders.
My hamster is giving birth : what to do ?
Nothing! Let nature take its course, do not touch the young or the mother. Put the male in another cage if it is not already done. The female will give birth of several baby hamsters that you should not touch during the first 15 days of their life, otherwise the mother could kill them and eat them if she feels your human smell on their skin. So make yourself as discreet as possible.
At birth, the mother hamster will cut herself the umbilical cord of her babies: generally, if they are viable, give a little cry, are in good health she will let them live. On the other hand, if the female detects a problem on a newborn, she will also eat it.
The only thing you can do to help your hamster is to leave her alone, in a room without too much noise, and without sticking to the cage (even though it's exciting!), and feed her accordingly.
After giving birth, your female hamster will protect her babies during their first few days and feed them by nursing them. Do not try to feed the little hamsters!
Then I advise you to read this article to learn more about the evolution of the first days of the baby hamsters
Weaning of baby hamsters
Lorsqu’ils deviennent « grands », c’est à dire capables de se débrouiller par eux-mêmes, la femelle hamster arrête d’alimenter ses petits désormais capables de manger seuls. Dans la nature, elle aura tendance à s’éloigner de ses petits pour trouver un autre endroit. En captivité, il vous revient donc de séparer la mère de ses petits afin d’éviter qu’ils ne se battent et qu’elle les attaque.
This period of separation between mother and baby is called weaning. It depends on the species of your hamster:
| Species | Weaning |
|---|---|
| Russian Hamster | between 18 and 28 days after birth |
| Syrian Hamster / Golden | between 21 and 35 days after birth |
| Hamster Roborovski | between 20 and 25 days after birth |
| Campbell's Hamster | between 18 and 28 days after birth |
| Chinese Hamster | between 21 and 25 days after birth |
At the end of this period, you must put the mother and her babies in different cages.
At what age can a hamster have babies?
We talk about sexual maturity, that is to say the time during which the males and the females are in age to reproduce. Two main criteria : the age of the hamster and its species.
| Female Hamster | Sexual maturity |
|---|---|
| Russian Hamster | between the 40th and 45th day |
| Syrian Hamster / Golden | between days 56 and 84 |
| Hamster Roborovski | after day 135 |
| Campbell's Hamster | between days 45 and 65 |
| Chinese Hamster | between days 35 and 90 |
| Male Hamster | Sexual maturity |
|---|---|
| Russian Hamster | between days 45 and 65 |
| Syrian Hamster / Golden | between days 45 and 65 |
| Hamster Roborovski | after day 135 |
| Campbell's Hamster | between days 45 and 65 |
| Chinese Hamster | between the 40th and 100th day |
Même si cela est théoriquement possible (et arrivera si vous laissez les hamsters mâles/femelles dans une même cage), ne faites pas faire plus d’une portée par an à votre femelle, afin de la préserver en bonne santé. Une reproduction trop fréquente l’épuisera et écourtera sa durée de vie.
Hamster breeding rules
We advise you not to start breeding hamsters, do not try to make them have babies because the rules are quite restrictive and it is better to leave this activity to professionals.
If however you want to launch out in the activity, here are some rules which it is advisable to follow in an imperative way:
- Avoid inbreeding and crossing two white hamsters, two light grey hamsters, two white-bellied hamsters, two Dalmatian hamsters, two satin hamsters
- Do not cross 2 hamsters of different species (ex: a Chinese hamster not to mate with a Russian hamster). This never happens in the wild, there is no reason for it to happen in captivity.
- Do not crossbreed hamsters from the same lineage.