Ethical Hamster Breeders and Hand Raising the Runt of the Litter

[@VictoriaRaechel]

Taking care of baby hamsters is sooo stressful. It seriously makes me so scared when I see someone comment saying they’re gonna breed their hamsters because it seems fun or it’s cute.

[@emileyfisher]

I agree!

[@-_YouMayFind_-]

@The All Things Channel there are a lot of oeps babies born. They did survive...

[@-_YouMayFind_-]

For me it was not that stressful, my mother Russian hammie was a great mom. She did everything that she needed to do. The only thing that I needed to do is take way dangerous things out of the cage and give the mom enough mealworms and stuff. I do have the mom from a specialist pet shop in my country. She is not at all related to the father because I got him from a completely different kind of place (a breeder). I know where he comes from. I have seen his brother and sisters and also his parents. BUT I am not a breeder by the way. I don't want to be a breeder because it's expensive and I bound too much with the hamsters that I have. I have a nest of 3 babies now. Not that much. The babies and the mom are perfectly fine. I was so afraid that something could happen and it could. If the mom hamster does not get enough protein to take care of the babies she will eat them. It caused me stress when I did not know what was going on with the babies because the mom was hiding them so well.. I could not see them. I did not even know how many babies there were. Sometimes the babies made noise and I was like :O is everything fine over there???!!. But I am so happy to know now that they are fine and well.

[@seokkyungstears]

@@-_YouMayFind_- I bought a pair of robos, a black and a white. The petshop mistook the white one for her brother, so they bred. Luckily I separated both of them, but the babies were a surprise. Now I have all 6 of the babies, but one of them seems smaller. I think its fine tho, considering it crawls around like everyone else

[@daniela2994]

The commentary in this video is so good. Thank you for this

[@emilyflanagan6931]

I adopted a hamster that was pregnant with 12 baby’s it was super hard and she was my first hamster thankfully they all survived and so did the mother but I wouldn’t recommend

[@thesixxter]

My hamster is on pregnancy watch we think she may be pregnant

[@rebeccathornhill1351]

I rescued a hamster not knowing she was pregnant and when I finally found her babies it was because one of them passed away and I have been stressed out making sure they’re okay and safe ever since. They’re so cute but I wake up in the middle of the night in a panic because I am so worried about the babies.

[@idealsimsfour2670]

Hm. We're very different. I love watching my hamster family make babies then die out slowly through the years. I don't bread hamsters to give them away, I just let them just live their life as peaceful as it could be while i watch on the side lane. I think it's cute and beautiful. And it's fun building bigger and better cages.

[@critterpaws8373]

Thank you for providing such important information and recommendation. I am sure there are many owners that become bad breeders out there that should be listening to you.

[@hamuandxerxl4255]

Thanks for your opinion! Good video, really. I have seen so many cases of wrong breeding; crossbreeding of pet store hamsters doesn't always go wrong, but if it does it's so sad. People who do that show how little they know about genetics: for example there are several colors/genes that are lethal if mixed - others lead to babies without eyes, kinked spines and other deformities. I've seen them all; no, not at my place, I used to breed only hamsters with a pedigree. I happen to be a vet and an experienced breeder and even I can honestly say that breeding hamsters is stressful. So much can go wrong: sometimes the mother dies of a heart attack and then what? Or she suddenly leaves her babies. Or you adopt a pregnant mother that is too young and she is just stressed, doesn't nurse the babies or starts eating them. By the way, hamsters are indeed solitary animals, each one needs a cage of his own - imagine the huge problems if your hamster has like 14 babies or more: after just six weeks you'll need 14 new cages. So.. just don't.

[@emileyfisher]

Aww so cute! I agree....My aunt's best friend breeds dogs, cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs just for fun, cuteness, and money and it just makes me SO mad! My first piggy ever was actually from her. He is 6 years old right now. Yeah, I love the little dude, but I would never adopt anywhere besides my local animal rescue now but at the time I knew nothing about guinea pigs and breeders! And my cousin is now considering breeding dogs, cats, rabbits, hedgehogs, guinea pigs, etc. just because her mom's friend does it so she thinks its ok and because the babies are so adorable! UGH I tried telling her soo many times why it's not ok but then she just says, "it's fine it's not like I'm doing it for the money I don't care about the money I'll just give them away." Which honestly is even worse! They obviously will go to homes where the people know nothing about the animal's care!! It just makes me soooo upset seeing backyard breeders....what makes me even more upset is seeing people purchase from backyard breeders. Yes, I said purchase, not adopt. You don't "adopt" from a person who breeds for fun, cuteness, or money.

[@dwightk.schrute162]

What would people breed for if not for cuteness, money, or fun?

[@emileyfisher]

Dwight K. Schrute Exactly, breeding really shouldn't be done at all

[@scarletace8419]

So cute! I breed rabbits (with LOTS of research and of course they are spoiled to death). Rabbits aren't the same as hamsters, but I'm sure breeding any animals has similar downfalls. Breeding animals is super expensive! I make just enough money to pay for the feed I spent on them and a little extra for new equipmet (so pretty much no profit. I do it for educational purposes. To teach the public proper care and teach 4h/FFA kids care as well). They require much time and effort.You don't know what kind of home they'll actually end up in. I've had several people contact me saying they dropped the bunny and killed it. It's heartbreaking. I've also had mothers attack their young. Recently a mom kicked her baby and cut it open. I had to put it down as it was suffering and nobody could help it. I cried for hours. It can be hard sometimes. Mothers have complications, babies get ill, deaths, vet costs, rehoming, feed costs, suppliments, new equipment, etc. are all downfalls to breeding that most people don't think about before jumping headfirst into it. It can be a very upsetting process, but it can be rewarding if you know exactly what to do when each situation arises (and sometimes they arise DAILY). I agree it's not for everyone, even though I do love the sweet little guys

[@tide7598]

my hamster only had 2 kids thank god and my older sister and my mom helps me take care of them along with the father and they are very healthy

[@kayesguineapigs]

Bless you for caring for God's tiniest rosebuds.

[@stilllottie1952]

I got my female hamster yesterday she’s only 4 weeks old but I’ve been researching about breeding my male and female (not yet she’s not old Enough) but I’ve been researching over a year now so when she is old enough can I breed safely ?

[@biktikz]

No.

[@whyjustwhy2168]

Don't ask just do it. People are haters

[@kikyamart8749]

Of course you can just be prepared for the litters and think about homes for them

[@meganschwartz3937]

Watching these videos for future emergencies

[@brittoncarlile2786]

"Their cute as tits!"

[@ClassicCityMinistry]

My wife and I decided we were going to buy our daughters a robo hampster at pet smart....then we decided it needed a friend so we got the other at pet supply plus and thought they were both Male and boy were we wrong...last week we found out they had babies...that same week we found these cute little furry guys momma gave birth to another litter...so we gave dad back asap...now we have mom and the babies...were about to surrender the other babies to pet smart...and we are going to try and keep a girl or two from both litters...we did not expect this and it was shocking...but I make sure that momma gets enough food and water and rest...I feel so bad for her...she has been a very good mom to her offspring!....any advice would be appreciated tho with the best food!....we have them in a big hampster cage it's the biggest one we could find on amazon!...but there doing great there are 6 from first litter and I'm not sure how many from the other havent seen them yet...last we saw they were pink just born!

[@-_YouMayFind_-]

How does this normally go in nature? Do the babies all die? I mean where does the mother get her proteins from in nature wild?. My sister has baby gerbils and she did not even know that it were female and male. I am wondering how it can be so tough meanwhile these hamsters need to be able to make babies in wild too. What is the difference?

[@tiffyah3982]

Second comment! If I commented in the last videos saying I wanted to raise baby hamster I meant as in rescuing a pregnant hamster from somewhere like Craigslist or something and raise the help the mother raise the babies. I do research on animals and situations that will probably never happen but just in case lol. I low key would hate to breed multiple litters as once. Of course it’s cute and fun at times but I understand the truth. I just want he experience but not purposefully. For example if someone gives me a hamster that turns out to be pregnant I would be a happy camper. I would never want to breed.

[@monkeycmonkeydo]

Lol you said they are cute as tits. Never heard that expression before

[@laurendoerr]

I used to breed and show Mini Rex and Californian rabbits. I would have at most 5 litters a year. One issue you have with Mini Rex is that sometimes there is baby born that we call a peanut. It is literally the size of a peanut when born whereas a normal healthy baby is 3 times that size at birth. Peanuts almost never make it past a couple of weeks even if you are lucky. I never had one live and have only ever seen 1 that made it to adulthood that another breeder had at a show. That rabbit was under 1lb full grown when it should have been 4-4.5lbs. It is hard to see peanuts in a litter knowing they will not make it. Hand raising baby rabbits is also almost impossible. That is why you always try to have at least 2-3 litters born at a time. (you can foster the babies onto the other mother [very easily]).

[@ariadnamartinez2240]

Does anyone know where I can by a winter white in Florida? Ours just passed after less than a month from purchasing from PerSmart and my son really wants another one. He barely got to enjoy the one that passed and neither did we!

[@sunflower_5886]

Great vid!

[@emilydotbug]

I understand that breeding animals is not something to take lightly considering its literally the life of another creature but what about you or anyone else is SO much more ethical or qualified to breed hamsters?? Like how long did YOU research breeding before you started?? Or how long did the breeder youre working for study??

[@sweetiebearie]

breeding is understanding genetics. genetics are biology. you have to know what is okay to breed together, and what could cause risks for health. the point in breeding is not to make more babies, thats what rodent mills do which is where petstore hamsters come from. the point is to create healthier, happier hamsters which are more and more tame to better the domestic species'. breeding properly requires specific care requirements, like what to do at each age of baby hamsters life. it requires special feed, special treatment, extra time and observation, extra money... ethical breeders consider all of this. backdoor breeders just put any two hamsters together and make babies and see what survives to sell them off. it does not help the breed in any way, and often results in serious health concerns for the baby hamsters and potentially the mama. for instance, if you are unaware of the genetics of the two parent hamsters, all of the babies could end up with genetic heart abnormalities which result in seizures, chronic illness (the hamster will take antibiotics daily for the rest of their life), and death.

[@abbiesianlouise]

How is thumbalina now??

[@sherwoodsmallpets]

Thumbelina lived just over her first birthday- she was healthy for all of that time, and we found her asleep in her nest one morning

[@slonemagyar1034]

Wait why can’t you show hamsters without their eyes open??? I’m sorry I’m just confused

[@emileyfisher]

Lol I am confused about that too!

[@novakali]

Taking photos of the babies before they have opened their eyes is highly stressful to them and the mom. It can cause the mom to eat them, or cause them to become sick from stress.

[@slonemagyar1034]

Tanya Foster that still doesn’t make sense. If the babies eyes are closed how is it any different, how could a hamster know if your recording them or not

[@novakali]

They will be stressed by your presence. They can not be handled and neither can mom. The nest can not be disturbed. The enclosure can not be cleaned. None of that can be done until a certain age. And that age happens to coincide with eyes opening. That's the best way I can explain it.

[@stilllottie1952]

If the hamsters eyes aren’t open then they aren’t old enough yet and still need there mother close so if you start touching them or the mom then she could eat the babies

[@sophiasslimecreations3465]

I did my research I want to trade some hamsters do you think that’s OK

[@travisnixon5157]

Ok

[@kikyamart8749]

Ok videos like this kind of annoy me... I'm in massachusetts and I cannot find a single adoption or breeder in the tri-state area... It's making me want to breed them just so there is at least one place for ethically raised hamsters. I'm trying to avoid pet stores but my goodness two months of looking and nothing.

[@henryhernandez5392]

How to breed hamsters?

[@j0oker18]

It is not THAT stressful, stop scaremongering. Having a litter of baby hamsters can be quite fun and rewarding.

[@whyjustwhy2168]

Exactly. These Victorias are so damn annoying!

[@animalcrossingnerd8142]

Bad she must be 4 weeks old to leave here mom

[@henryhernandez5392]

I breed hamsters so i can feed my owl

[@lucyjo5170]

Henry Hernandez You didn’t need to comment that

[@dwightk.schrute162]

ItzLucy Xx The owl needs to eat

[@emilydotbug]

I know i probably sound ignorant but except for of course not fucking immediate family members do people have to look back however many generations to see of their blood line is gonna be "good" or "clean" before they have kids??? Whatever happened to letting god do the work and just loving and caring for whatever comes out!? Idk if that makes sense to anyone but yeah...

[@MrGeek6000]

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