How long are hamsters pregnant

In some cases, you may have to do this a little bit earlier. Watch the mother's behavior closely around this time and if she's overly aggressive, it might be time to move the pups to separate cages. However, do not separate them before the age of 24 days, minimum. It's ok if their mother seems impatient with them - they're now the equivalent of teenagers so that's perfectly understandable.

That's why you need two separate cages. You need to make sure these pups don't perpetuate the breeding cycle and the only effective way to do so is by separating them by sex. If they are Syrian hamsters, they'll soon need to be placed in their own individual cages anyway.

For now, until you find them the great homes they deserve - make sure boys and girls don't share a cage. You should be able to sex them by now. If there's a pup that you're unsure of, place that one with the males.

That way, if it turns out to be a female, you'll only have one pregnant female on your hands. If you place that pup with the females and it turns out to be male, all of the females could become pregnant.

There's no immediate rush with sexing newborn hamsters. Born blind, deaf and without fur, they're not going to start breeding right away. In fact, handling the pups this early could stress out the mother. She may end up rejecting and even eating the tiny pinkies.

Remember, during the first five days, you should not bother the mother hamster and her pups at all. A good time to sex the babies would be after they opened their eyes, possibly during that first cage clean-up, around the age of two weeks.

Carefully pick up each pup and turn it over so the belly is facing you. Look just under their tails, there should be 2 distinct openings in this area, they are typically are small and pink, they might look slightly raised around the edges.

The hole closest to the tail is the anus and the hole closer to the abdomen is the location of the urinary and genital organs. Males have a very clear separation between the two holes, so it is easy to tell the openings apart. In addition, you may see small swellings in the groin area, these are the growing testicles. Females have openings that are very close together and you might even have trouble telling the two holes apart due to their closeness.

They might appear to be a single opening. In young pups, it can be hard to tell the sex of a hamster so if you are unsure, recheck them often or have an experienced vet check to verify the sex of the pup.

Syrian hamsters, the largest of the household hamster breeds, can be the easiest to sex due to their size.

Female Syrian hamsters have pretty prominent nipples that appear in two rows down the belly. Males have very obvious testicles where this breed is concerned, though they can be tougher to find if the hamster has long fur on their belly.

Please take the time to find very good homes for your hamsters. Make sure future owners understand the commitment involved in raising a hamster. Give them all the information they need beforehand and make sure they have a great cage and all the other equipment needed for their new hamster. If anyone is looking to adopt two hamsters, make sure they are of the same sex, to prevent future pregnancies. What's more, if these are Syrian hamsters, make sure the owners have two cages for them and know to keep them separate.

Please don't sell the pups to pet shops. Carefully screen potential adopters and do charge an adoption fee, or ask to see the equipment you bought. This is your way of making sure they're not just buying the pups to feed them to snakes yes, that can happen! Finding good homes for your hamster can be very difficult. Still, it's your responsibility to make sure the little ones have the best possible lives.

Good luck! Hamsters look really cute when they take care of their newborn, know more about the breeds of hamsters aside from these really cute Syrian hamsters. Also, after the hamster has given birth what should you do afterward? We can say that its parents will take care of them but you can also do your obligation as its owner. Thank you so much we just got hamsters yesterday and are freaking out because of this. Skip to content. Breeding hamsters - should you get your hamster pregnant?

Provide an adequate supply of food for the young hamsters during this time to make the transition easier. You can remove weaned hamsters from their mother at approximately 3 to 4 weeks of age, though if a litter has exceptionally small hamsters or babies that failed to flourish, let them stay with their mother an extra week. Baby hamsters can safely go to adoptive homes as early as 3 weeks of age. It's preferable to adopt them out before they are 7 weeks old.

Dwarf litter mates of the same sex do well together when kept in pairs. Litter mates of opposite genders will quickly reproduce if housed together, and other breeds may fight as they become mature. Some breeds of hamsters, particularly dwarf varieties, are difficult to tell apart from a gender perspective when they are young, but you have to distinguish and separate males from females to avoid unintentional breeding.

Hamsters have two distinctive openings on their undersides adjacent to their tails. I think my female hamster is pregnant and now she is making a big nest how long ofter she makes her nest will she give birth. Limited availability due to high demand. Please see our Stock Availability page for more information.

Has your hamster been in contact with a male recently? Below are the approximate gestation time from mating to birth periods for some of the different species of hamster: Syrian hamsters: 16 days Chinese hamsters: days Winter White hamsters: days Roborovski hamsters: 22 - 30 days The gestation periods vary between hamster species. Prev Next. When they are ready to give birth, provide them with nesting material.

This helps them feel secure and lowers the chance that new mothers will abandon or eat their offspring. Mothers and litters should not be disturbed for at least 7 days after the offspring are born, especially if the mother has never given birth before. Fostering abandoned offspring onto a different mother is rarely successful. Limit your activity around the cage to providing food and water as needed. Normal litters contain 6 to 8 pups, and offspring are weaned after about 21 to 28 days.

The pups are hairless and their eyes and ears are closed; however, pups have their front teeth incisors at birth. In most cases, it is safe to slowly begin handling the pups when they are about 7 days old.