Hamster — breeding (owner-practical care, Merck Veterinary Manual pet-owner)
Source: first-hand Merck Veterinary Manual pet-owner text, saved to source_file; every claim below is a C1 byte-substring of it.
Claims
Hamsters are normally housed singly except during breeding periods.Except during breeding, it is safest to house hamsters singly.Donnelly , BVSc, DVP, DACLAM, DABVP(ECM) , Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA Last updated: Sept 2024 v3227763 Multimedia | The best time for hamsters to have offspring is when they are between 10 weeks and 15 months old.Breeders use pairs with 1 male and 1 female, as well as groups of hamsters with 1 male and multiple females.Breeding of hamsters is best left to experienced breeders because hamsters (particularly females) can become aggressive during mating.Also, a number of genetic defects are associated with various types of hamsters, so breeding hamsters without having knowledge of their genetic heritage is not recommended.Breeding females are larger than mature males and the female hamster’s aggressiveness often means that a male hamster will be injured by a female cage mate.As pregnant hamsters approach the time to deliver the litter, they may become restless and active and may have vaginal bleeding.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.Normal litters contain 6 to 8 pups, and offspring are weaned after about 21 to 28 days.
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Source: pdf-raw/owner-care/merck_hamster.txt · https://www.merckvetmanual.com/all-other-pets