Dwarf breeding info:

• Once bonded, pairs can stay together for life.
• The father will help care for the offspring
• The female will raise a litter alone if the father IS NOT present.
• Dwarf gestation from mating to birth is 18 to 20 days
• Females mate again within 24 hours of giving birth and are usually pregnant while nursing a litter.
• The next litter is usually born 20 days after the first
• Litters can contain 1 to 8 babies. The average litter size is 5 or 6 but I have had a few females have 10!
• baby hamsters wean between 18-21 days
• They should be removed from mama when she has another litter or if she isn't pregnant, by 4 weeks.
• At 4 weeks all babies should be split into same sex cages to avoid inbreeding and unintended pregnancy

Things to Consider

1. To have a baby from my current hamster to cherish after he or she dies
2. To show people that dwarf hamster really can be sweet and make good pets
3. Because you want a certain color that is not currently available in your area
4. Because you want to show your children the process of birth and growing up
5. Because you have friends that want them
6. Because you know you already have a way to find ALL of the babies homes before they are born
7. Because you want to make money and think they will be easy to sell

What are some reasons NOT to breed your hamster?

1. If you do not know the background of your parent dwarf hamsters, you may get offspring that have neurological problems such as flipping, stargazing or pacing. If at all possible buy from a reputable breeder who knows the background of his or her hamsters by several generations. Even in the best breeding program, these problems can still pop up but they are less likely to if good records are kept. Other genetic problems can include glaucolma and diabetes.
2. No matter how hard you try or how sweet your parent hamsters are, it is very probable that at some point you will get a baby that is born aggressive. These hamsters punch hands from the beginning and bite hard. As adults they usually attack humans and often other hamsters. What will you do if you get a hamster like this? You should be responsible for such a hamster because few people want them as pets and since temperement can be genetic, you should not put them in a position where they might be able to breed. This usually means housing the hamster alone.
3. Breeding for specific colors is a worthy endeavor but it often requires some inbreeding so you once again have to know the background of the animals you are breeding to avoid problems. It is better to use a normal hamster as one parent that carries the genes you want as normal wild-type hamsters often produce larger and more robust offspring.
4. I am all for showing children life cycles by raising animals but make sure your children can handle you giving away the offspring or be willing to let them keep some. Also make sure your children can be responsible and respectful towards the hamsters. The adults may bite while breeding and the babies are very fragile if a young child picks them up and accidentally drops them (not the best way to teach about death as I have seen a few young children toss hamsters when they were surprised by something the hamster did).
5. There are many unwanted hamsters around so do not breed your hamsters unless you can find homes for them. Do not expect petstores to "buy" them from you. Petstores usually have their own commerical supplier and will not buy your hamsters even if they are nicer than the ones they keep (I know, I have tried this...chain petstores are not usually flexible in this regard). Sometimes petstores will not take them for free and if you have enough hamsters in your area, sometimes people will not take them for free either. Free animals are also in danger of becoming snake food. If you only want one litter, make sure you take out the father once the female is noticably pregnant. If you do not you will have litter after litter. In a six week period a female could produce 10-16+ offspring. If you do not separate the offspring, they may begin reproducing by 5 or 6 weeks. Babies should be sexed and split into same gender cages by 4 weeks of age.
6. You want to make money. This is not feasible unless you are willing to sacrifice the well-being of your animals with cheap food and poor quality bedding. Aspen shavings for 50-100 hamsters I usually keep costs $35 each week! This is why I resort to using shredded paper (I like the fact that it is less dusty too). Adding in food costs, water bottles, replacement cages, replacement wheels etc...I do not make money on my hamsters, I usually lose money because of the expenses. If you keep fewer hamsters than I do, you might do ok selling them. However, it is not always easy to find ways to sell hamsters and depending on your area, you might only get a couple of dollars for them. I spent quite a bit of money at one point putting adds in news papers....I did not even make back the money I spent for the ads. I breed because I love the hamsters...not for money. It just is not practical.

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