[Jack Garcia]

Does anybody know of a comprehensive hamster (syrian) genetics website such as we have in Finnmouse, but for hamsters?

Cait's recent thread has gotten me interested in hamster genetics. This is the most comprehensive I've been able to find so far: http://www.hamsterific.com/Varieties.cfm

...but it has pictures only (no gene codes) and I don't know if it's accurate or not...

 

[Rhasputin]

Try this out: http://hamster.etla.org/cgi-bin/topic_show.pl?tid=1105

 

[flutterbybutterfly]

That list on hamsteretlaforum is good, accurate and only short of photos. It was written by Kat when she and I were both Thames Valley Rodents. My username on the forum was Sonny, i wrote all the articals about food etc.

 

[Jack Garcia]

Wonderful! Thanks, y'all!

 

[Myth]

How did I miss this thread ? LOL !

I'd highly recommend having a good read here:

http://home.comcast.net/~cricetus/genetics.htm

 

[Jack Garcia]

Thanks you all. I really appreciate it. I've mentioned before how delicious I taste to hamsters, so I won't be adopting them any time soon. But it's really fascinating to read about their genetics and how they differ from and are similar to mice.

For example, what is called "black eyed cream" in hamsters (e/e) is the same allele that causes recessive yellow in mice.

 

[Myth]

Never met a (Syrian) hamster I couldn't tame down

Syrian / Hamster genetics I'm fine with - though Yellow can give me a headache.
Meece seem far more complex to me when it comes to genetics !!

 

[Rhasputin]

The only hamster I'd ever want, is a big, standard coat, calico tri-colour hammy... They make me drool. <3

 

[Jack Garcia]

Meece seem far more complex to me when it comes to genetics !!

Yeah, because of their status as both laboratory animals as well as food animals, plus pet animals and fancy animals, mice have had a long time and a great many generations for new varieties to pop up, the majority of mutations without show standards. As Tony Cooke said, "The mouse is all things to all people."

Their quick breeding helps further the vast array of genetic possibilities. In mice there are more possible coat and color combinations than in any other animal. I find that after having studied mice for ten years, learning new animals genetics (like budgies or bettas, for example) is relatively easy once you get over the initial newness.

 

[flutterbybutterfly]

Yellow, is an easy and lovely gene to work with in syrians

Pretty much everything you put it to becomes a tortoiseshell if female and a yellow or whatever colour mated to if male. The only exceptions being the cream based colours so Black Eyed Cream, Red Eyed Cream, Mink and Sable.

I put my huge Yellow female to 2 males last night, one male was only 9-10 weeks old so proably firing blanks but for a change, he was most certainly firing for a little while LOL :lol:

I will expect a mix of yellows, blacks, yellow blacks (i hope!!), yellow dominant spots, black dominant spots, black tortoiseshells and black tortoiseshell dominant spots and who knows what recessives might crop up! I know my black male carries rust as he has thrown chocolates and he is technically a Silver Black so we will see!!

Also mated my hugely fat Black Eyed Cream to a Long Haired Mink but we will see if this male is fertile or not before getting hopes up!! He has been a female for most of a year and stood to be mated 4 times and then suddenly dropped a pair :shock: will be interesting butr nice big babies i hope!

 

[Jack Garcia]

So here's a follow up question about hamsters. Please forgive me for its simplicity...I want to hear from "real people" what they do.

Do you put the female into the male's cage, as with mice? Or else, how do their solitary and natural territoriality affect breeding?

 

[Myth]

Do you put the female into the male's cage, as with mice? Or else, how do their solitary and natural territoriality affect breeding?

No - nothing like mice !
Females come into heat (usually evening time) every 3/4 nights.
I check my female by placing near intended males cage and stroking her back see if she will 'stand' (they freeze with tail in the air and await the males attention) That or pop them in a box with a metal grid between them so they can smell but not attack each other - again I see if the female will stand before letting the male go do his job.
This way works best for me and always has done - minimises risk of them damaging each other !

I mated up my White lad x my Red Eyed Cream and my Black x Black DS last night.
My current litter of 5 ( Black x Golden Tort.DS ) included a big suprise
- Rex babies ! - well chuffed.

 

[Jack Garcia]

Hmm...interesting. It saddens me to learn this, because I often see half a dozen or more Syrian hamsters of mixed sexes in the petstore's cages. :|

 

[flutterbybutterfly]

Shame they are kept in mixed sexes, half those females will get pregnant

I have had a female mate with one of her pups when the litter was only just 4 weeks old! I didnt know the culprit and to be honest, the babies were soo small and the female couldnt have coped with another litter so soon, wasnt planning on breeding from her again so i tried fostering the babies on the off chance but syrians do NOT do fostering, the other female ate them right away, even when rolled in her pee corner and bedding.

My current litter has been seperated from mum and split into sexes at 3 weeks because they have matured ridiculously quickly and the boys were following mum more than i was happy with.

As for breeding the syrians, i just stroke the female or scruffle her back to see if she stands and if she does, i usually put her to a male on a flat surface like a table or something as the males have a habit of falling off edges when cleaning themselve3s. Can take ages though, had hamsters go on for over an hour before i seperated them!

 

[Myth]

Hmm...interesting. It saddens me to learn this, because I often see half a dozen or more Syrian hamsters of mixed sexes in the petstore's cages.
Hmm...interesting. It saddens me to learn this, because I often see half a dozen or more Syrian hamsters of mixed sexes in the petstore's cages. :|

Agreed.
Though these days the 'better' pet shops have the sexes in separate tanks.
No excuse for it really as the males like most rodent species have easy-to-spot 'male bits' !

Just as there is a recommended breding age for mice same applies with Syrians.
Around 5 months onwards give or take - once the female has had chance to grow up some herself.