Dzungarian hamsters are very friendly, easy to tame, require little food, so they are often turned up as pets. However, they have a very small lifespan, they are active in the evening and at night, require separate maintenance from each other (except for the kids - they can not be separated from the mother until the eyes are open). Before purchasing hamsters, it is necessary to take into account all the peculiarities of their lifestyle, in order not to regret buying.
At what age does reproduction begin?
Breeding this type of hamster is quite simple - it is only necessary to create favorable conditions, find the right moment and follow some recommendations.
Puberty in Djungar hamsters occurs at 2 months, but it is better to wait another month so that not only puberty comes, but individuals also have time to get stronger. More healthy offspring can be obtained from the union of a three-month-old male and a five-month-old female. Early pregnancy is extremely detrimental to the health of the female and can cause shock, followed by infertility.
In the evening, the female ready for fertilization will often raise the tail and pinch a strongly smelling substance. It is at this moment best to combine the hamsters for mating on neutral territory. If there is no possibility of mating in a separate cage, the female should be placed on the male’s territory, but not the other way round.
Before sitting down, it is recommended to do a general cleaning in the cage in order to wash off the smell of the host and reduce the conflict situation. Males react less aggressively to the temporary seizure of their territory and are more interested in mating than females.
Mating usually occurs at night, during the most active hamsters. A day or more earlier (if the conflict between individuals began) they should be seated in their cells. After mating, animals need to be given enough food and water to recuperate.
If after 4-5 days the female starts searching again with the enzyme, the mating must be repeated.
Choosing a pair
For the purpose of frequent and regular healthy offspring optimally contain 1 male and 3 females.
It is best to buy future parents from different owners or in different pet stores to be sure that the couple is not related. It is preferable to take Djungar hamsters for the purpose of further reproduction from the breeder, because professionals with a good reputation always observe the right conditions of keeping, keep strict records of the offspring and give the babies from different pairs.
At the time of purchase, the animals should be uniform in color with shiny hair, clean eyes and ears, the weight of individuals should be about 40 g, age - from one to two months.
Both parents must be strictly the same species. (there are very similar Campbell hamsters). Djungarian hamsters have a clearly defined black diamond on the head, and the entire color is bright and clear. At the Campgrounds, the wool itself is a bit wavy, and they seem ruffled due to this, the color is blurred.
It is impossible to pair Dzungarian hamsters of one exotic color (two tangerine or pearl ones), since their offspring will be incapable of breeding, because such types of coloring are derived artificially.For this reason, you need to pair the hamsters of different colors or two individuals of the classic black and gray color.
Creating suitable conditions
At home, before breeding, the female and the male must be kept in different cages, since the Dzungarian hamsters are very aggressive towards their relatives in their territory. At the time of pairing, it is best to use the third cell and launch future parents into it simultaneously.
Cage for mating should be spacious, and the temperature in the room - 20-25 degrees Celsius. In addition to the house, feeders and drinkers, there should be no distracting elements (ladders, pipes, toys). It is desirable that the pairing takes place in a quiet private room, where there are no drafts, at a sufficient distance from heating devices and in isolation from other pets.
It is best to use a one-story cage with a simple house for breeding dzungarian individuals in the house in which the couple can retire (you can put a little chumiza in the house - a favorite hamster delicacy). At the bottom of the cage is better to put the shavings of fruit trees with a layer of 5-7 cm.
After successful mating, the female of the Dzungarian hamster will become pregnant and start building a nest, therefore it is necessary to provide it with special materials: flax, hay, and fresh shavings of fruit trees. It is contraindicated to give napkins, cotton wool, newspapers, colored boxes in order to avoid injuries and poisoning the future mother.
How to determine pregnancy?
It is possible to understand whether a female is pregnant, on the 10th day after mating on simple grounds (until the tenth day the female looks as usual and nothing can be known): her tummy will round up, her appetite will increase markedly. She will rarely leave the house, the evening and night activity of the animal will decrease.
After mating, you must remove the ladder, wheel, pipes and access to the 2-3 floor of the house to prevent possible injuries to the female. Also, the expectant mother needs complete rest - any manifestation of stress can be perceived as a threat to offspring, and the female will destroy the babies.
The female, while she goes pregnant, requires an enhanced diet, in which there should be a minimum of dry food, and most of it is boiled egg protein, boiled chicken chopped meat, baby food from jars (with meat ingredients). Also during this period, you must constantly keep in a cell a chalky mineral stone.
Pregnancy in dzungar hamsters lasts little, but despite this, the embryos have time to form and gain enough weight during fetal development.
How is it going?
Pregnancy takes place in these individuals without features, with the exception of reducing the activity of the female. Her pregnancy lasts from 21 to 26 days (in the absence of pathology). Just before the birth lost appetite.
Approximately by the middle of pregnancy, the female begins the nesting period - the arrangement of the house for children. It is necessary to try not to disturb her once again, even if it is very curious to look inside (it is better to watch the video on the Internet on this subject).
If there is an early birth or vice versa, the timing of gestation was delayed, then the animal should be shown to the vet as soon as possible.
On the 18th day after the onset of pregnancy, it is necessary to do a general cleaning of the cage, but try not to touch the house with the nest (remove the remnants of food, replace the chips, wipe the bottom and the bars with a clean damp cloth, thoroughly wash the water bowl and the feeder).
Childbirth
When the term of labor is right, interfering with the process or moving the cage is strictly prohibited - it is desirable that the animal be in the room alone. Normally proceeding childbirth in Jungar hamsters lasts about two hours, babies are born one at a time with an interval of about 15 minutes.
If many hamsters are born at once (10-12 individuals), you can help the mother:
- it is necessary to take the baby with a clean and warm teaspoon (it is impossible to touch the newborn with your hands);
- put on a paper towel and remove the amniotic sac;
- cut the umbilical cord with disinfected nail scissors (you should move a few millimeters away from the tummy);
- return the baby in the nest to the rest of the kids.
After 30 minutes after the end of labor, the first feeding of babies with mother's milk should begin.
Before the next pregnancy, the female needs rest. The next mating can be carried out no earlier than a month after the previous birth, otherwise the new offspring may be weak and painful, and the female will cease to become pregnant at all.
Care after offspring
The cage (better showcase) for mom with newborn babies should be at least 60 by 40 cm in size and be in a quiet, slightly darkened place. In no case can the male be planted: the mother will fight with him for her territory, the babies will prevent the new mating, and the male will begin to vent its aggression on the newborn, and very often the males gnaw on all litter.
In the cage there should be a drinking bowl, as well as a feeding trough and a wheel for the mother to rest from motherhood and to avoid the nervous exhaustion of the female.
Newborn babies mother hides in the nest. They are born with eyes closed, with a complete lack of hair, but already with teeth. A nursing mother constantly needs clean water in the drinker (it needs to be replaced once a day in the afternoon).
Before the onset of two weeks of age, the mother is fully caring for the babies herself. But if one of the kids crawled out of the nest, then it can not be taken by hand.
Return the fugitive, you can use a regular teaspoon. To do this, rinse the spoon with warm water, shake well and gently pick up the baby, and then return it to the nest with extreme caution.
If you take the hamster with your hands, the strange smell will negatively affect the female, which will be a sign of the threat of invasion of the nest, and she will bite the baby. Touching little hamsters is possible only when they are 2 weeks old, but they need to be disturbed as little as possible.
If the female has abandoned the babies, it is not possible to feed them all, as you need to look after them around the clock, maintain a constant temperature of 25 degrees in the nest and feed all newborns at the same time every two hours for two weeks (such babies will be weak, fearful and unable to breeding). Until the kids open their eyes, cleaning in the cage is not recommended (except for the replacement of food and water). It is also necessary to refrain mother from swimming in the sand until the end of feeding.
If the female begins to show aggression to the cubs after they have opened their eyes, then they should be deposited in a separate cage or box, continue feeding baby food from the jars, and pour water from the pipette. If the female behaves calmly, the babies should live with her for 21 days, after which they should be separated by gender and transplanted into two separate cages or boxes.
When babies are 2 months old, they can be distributed. Be sure to notify the new owners of baby food (brand), litter (best fit lime chips), branches for grinding teeth (preferably thin dried sprigs of currant). For the best adaptation in a new place, it is recommended to give part of the litter together with the hamster, since the familiar smell will help reduce the animal's stress when moving. The first 3 months is undesirable to give treats, with the exception of a boiled egg and a piece of fresh apple.
The life span of the Dzungar hamsters is very short: only 3 years. However, with the right content, the animal will delight its owner all this time and actively reproduce.
How dzhungarsky hamsters breed, look in the following video.
