| Hamster Campbells RDH |
Campbells Dwarf hamster - This species is the most colorful and widely distributed of the dwarf hamsters in most of the USA. One big concern to true breeders is the hybridizaton of Campbellls and Winter Whites. What a breeder needs to know - the basics * RDH may begin to breed about 28 days of age * Pairs are best put together at weaning age and left together for their entire lives. * Litters may come every 18 days, most breeding pairs produce at least 5 or more litters. * Average litter size is 5 pups. (I have had litters of RDH that were consistantly 8 - 9. My record litter is 13 pups that survived to weaning age.) * Life span is 1.5-2 years, but non-breeding animals may live longer. Light exposure and food protein levels have an effect on the breeding effectiveness of all hamsters. * Humidity & temp have an impact on the sex of the pups. * The parents combined attitude and personalities have a direct impact on the offspring. * Breeding records must be kept on all individual animals and litters. * Culling and selection of breeding stock is essential to ensure the quality of pups you're producing.. * To ensure accuracy, double check gender on all breeding stock and pups and keep only same sex groups after weaning. For beginning breeders, I would recommend that they start their breeding program with unrelated individuals, keeping extremely accurate records on all phases of the lives of the stock. This should include birth dates, size of each litter, loss of pups, colors and patterns produced, health concerns, behaviour of individuals, and pictures of animals if feasible. More on breeding dwarf hamsters. - Dwarf hamsters (like the Syrians) are also plagued with odd names given to them by the pet shop industry. BlackBerry Dwarf - Black Dwarf Domino Dwarf - black mottled dwarf BlueBerry Dwarf - Blue Dwarf Siberian Dwarf, Harlequin, - Any White or white marked dwarf - very vague term- Not referring to any one species, just a dwarf hamter.., could mean platinum, winter white??? |
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