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Post by xymenah on Feb 17, 2008 13:15:21 GMT -8
I just wanted to make a comment about the chinese hamsters. I have a lone female chinese hamster at the moment I got her from the petstore when I was working there last summer. They are extremely hard to find and are actually quite hard to breed in captivity so it is actually pretty amazing that they had a litter. They are also not dwarf hamsters they are from the ratlike hamster group and not in the dwarf category. They used to be used for lab purposes until they discovered that breeding them in captivity was difficult. I absolutely love them. There is not a lot of info about them. There is controversy over them being kept in groups. Some people have groups work really well especially if it is males. Females can be vicious and jelouse in groups so that isnt usually a good idea. Some people also say they shouldn't be in groups. Anyway I just wanted to pass on that info since I know a bit about them. As for breeding gerbils well everyone has their own reasons I would expect. I obtained my 3 male gerbils from a breeder nearby and I only have these 3 at the moment and love them. I dont know if I would decide to ever get a girl and try breeding in the future or not but I am very paranoid about my animals and would be consulting my vet and my vet teachers at school and be doing a ton of research ahead of time if i ever considered that. Actually the only female animal I have in my house currently is my Chinese hamster, she did come from a group of all girls at the pet store, I checked. Anyway this is a great thread.
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Post by kjay on Mar 22, 2008 19:05:23 GMT -8
I agree with most of what I've read here but I am rather curious how the "responsible breeders" became responsible breeders. There are alot of young people out there who would follow the steps to become a responsible breeder. Yes, the questions one should ask themselves about whether they are ready to breed or not are important. Does anyone know where to obtain more info or are there any responsible breeders out there who are willing to intern someone who is interested in breeding? Would anyone share their experience of how they got into breeding?
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Post by sandy on Mar 22, 2008 19:45:36 GMT -8
That's an interesting idea.
Even though some would say I have some maverick ideas about breeding, I've been breeding gerbils since 1988, off and on. I've bred them because I'm interested in the coat colour genetics, because I just love the little critters, and because I like watching them interact with each other as families. I guess I love gerbil social life in addition to thinking that they are beautiful and fascinating. My family laughs with me because I have a comfortable chair in my "gerbil room" so I can sit and watch them, and actually prefer watching my gerbils on a quiet evening, to watching TV! "Gerbil TV" you could say.
I think a responsible breeder is:
1. Breeding for a specific goal, such as the betterment of gerbil colours, gerbil standards, or even just to allow children to view reproduction and the "facts of life" in a safe, controlled and non-threatening environment (not to mention, in miniature). I think a fair number of parents and teachers allow a gerbil pair to have one or two litters for this reason, and I don't judge them as long as they find responsible owners for the new pups. 2. Educating themselves about the welfare and care of gerbils, and doing their best to follow the advice 3. Not breeding a pair to exhaustion just to provide pinkies as snake food, or sugar glider food or something 4. Each litter is planned, or if unplanned unintentionally, further breeding is controlled. 5. Consideration is given to the risk of giving special care to unwell pups, runts, and also dealing with the emotional issues involved, If you will be tipped into depression by the loss of a weanling, breeding isn't for you. Not to say that feeling sad isn't bad, breeders all feel the sorrow but have to deal with it. 6. Watching the physical welfare of breeding females and not allowing them to become run down. Giving them special TLC. 7. Splitting up pairs, or ceasing to breed pairs, that have produced pups that carry deformities or severe health problems. 8. Always trying to minimize inbreeding and maximize outcrossing, again, this is about education. I'm not saying that inbreeding is a no no here, but I'm saying if it is done it should be done carefully with a specific intent in mind, not unintentionally. For example, if fixing a trait (say you have only one gerbil with a valued gene), breed that animal to two different, unrelated mates, and breed the pups with each other, rather than risking a direct back cross. Even though it involves more animals in the end, it is worth it. 9. Humane euthanasia practices, if it must be done at all.
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Post by Shooting Star on Mar 23, 2008 7:32:00 GMT -8
I like the idea of potential breeders and those just starting out finding an established, "responsible breeder" to mentor them long-term. I get the occasional "hey, I'm starting out, any advice?" emails, but I've never had someone that relied on me as an ongoing resource. How I got into breeding... When I was in 8th grade (2003), I needed to do an extra credit project in either History or Science. I much prefer science, and I had had gerbils since I was little, though none at that time. So after much convincing of parental units, we got an "albino" female from a store in town, and a Black male from a store a few towns away. Taught myself about breeding gerbils and color genetics, and made a nice little presentation at the end of the school-year. It could have been a real disaster. The original female (a DTW) had at least 7 litters, most of them back to back. Inbreeding ran rampant; I only ever brought in one other new gerbil. I somehow managed to never see a single seizure, fixed wrist, or RI, and rarely lost a pup, though towards the end, I was having problems with aggression. A year after the "project" started (2004), I had to stop breeding, because I couldn't find homes for all the pups, and I was overwhelmed. In high school, I had to do a big paper for my senior year. Having had some experience with breeding gerbils, and having developed a particular interest in color genetics, in the spring of 2006, I drove around the US picking up my new "founding" gerbils. North Carolina, Alabama, Missouri, Kansas, I even flew to New Hampshire for one particular female. I've been breeding since then, with another NC run and a few petshop finds added for outcrosses. I'm finally going to my first show this May, where I hope to pick up some more gerbils from unrelated lines, and maybe do well on the showing part, too!
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Post by kjay on Mar 23, 2008 19:31:08 GMT -8
Thanks for the replies. I am trying to learn everything I can to see if I want to commit myself to "breeding". I have had pets all my life; horses, dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, hamsters, birds and fish. I have always considered myself a responsible pet owner. I educated myself so that I could give them the best possible care. I have seen just about every situation you can run into with the various animals and my experience has taught me that I am up to the task of breeding. My favorites are gerbils and geese. I started this conversation because it seems as if not a lot of people decide consciously before hand, " I want to be a gerbil breeder." So, whats the best way to help someone who finds themselves with gerbils for the first time and thinks that it might be fun to breed them. I have known people in my life who have allowed their cat to continue to breed because they like seeing the little kittens but are then irresponsible in their care, up keep and finding them homes. Education seems to be the key to the question- To breed or not to breed? I really like this forum and wish that I would have found it earlier!
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Post by sandy on Apr 16, 2008 13:36:36 GMT -8
Thanks, kjay, well good luck with that, and let us know how it goes!
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Post by RitzieAnn on Aug 13, 2008 2:05:21 GMT -8
Whoop! Comments deleted, as you guys seem to have made several totally not pertaining to responsible breeding. Sorry guys- start up new threads in the correct boards please.
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Post by jackhamershmal on Jan 10, 2009 6:28:21 GMT -8
My friend breeds baby pedigree dwarf hamsters and sold over 300 in the past year for about $8 each and $25 for a litter of 5 and its mom. Hes made over 300 dollars a month just selling babies. Hes even got a business card (he sells them to this hamster website just for dwarf hamsters that are purely breed). They sell for about $25 each. He also is the main supplier of the dwarf hamsters at my local Pet Smart they are all supplied by him and he is only 12 years old. I still get a bit about $50 month because I made his website and I manage his business money wise so I get a $50per month. Not to mention it is a lot of fun and it makes it a lot easier if you have two people help. I myself have gerbils and not dwarf hamsters but hamster but he still keeps about 30 dwarf hamsters in a 40 gallon tank. It takes up almost every weekend and every other day of school but its well worth it and it can be very rewarding money wise and also knowing you can breed a high quality bred hamster.
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Post by loveflash on Feb 13, 2009 9:29:39 GMT -8
this is good information! i would like to breed with my gerbils but i am not sure i want to quite yet, i will have to wait and see!
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Post by lisagt07 on Nov 22, 2009 19:12:48 GMT -8
Hello Everyone, I am a fairly new ower of two gerbils. I bought them from Petco. I was told they were both females. However, I am not so sure of that...Actually I am starting to think I have a pregnant gerbil on my hands. I never went through this before so I'm a bit nervous. I don't want any thing to go wrong. What should I be looking for? How can I tell if she is pregnant? What do I do? Right now they are both in a 40 gallon tank....
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Post by greenbelt09 on Nov 23, 2009 14:35:33 GMT -8
This should probably be started as a new thread so people will actually see the problem. But if you do think one is male, then separate them now. If you don't have another aquarium to put one in, make a permanent split out of aluminum wire (the how-to is in the FAQ under introducing). A permanent split would be great because they can still interact and see each other, but can't mate. (and 20 gal each is definitely big enough, don't worry about spacing). Please don't keep them together if they are of different genders, because usually pet-shop gerbils have poor genetics or are inbred (or if they are from the same litter will result in inbred and therefore usually unhealthy pups), which leads to MAJOR health problems in the pups, including seizures, RI, deformities, stillbirth, and other ailments that can lead to death.
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Post by toad772 on Jun 12, 2010 0:07:46 GMT -8
Well just felt like answering all the questions on the"survey"
(1) Why do I want to breed? For snake food. (2) What will I do with pups? I will freeze them. (3)What if something goes wrong? Well since I am breeding for snake food the runt dieing is not a issue and as for illness and vet bills if they get sick in the freezer they go so no vet bills. (4)Who are the parents? That doesn't matter for my purposes. (5)Do you have lots of gerbil experience? Yes I do and I have lots of breeding experience I used to breed for pets(years ago) but now going to breed for snake food.
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Post by eldunai on Jun 20, 2010 14:36:14 GMT -8
How is that funny?
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Post by Jill on Jun 20, 2010 15:34:12 GMT -8
I don't think they're trying to be funny. I think he is just being honest.
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Post by eldunai on Jun 20, 2010 16:07:16 GMT -8
oh i see, honesty is good, but with so many people loving gerbils on here, some may be quite sensitive
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