What are the consequences and effects of inbreeding in hamsters?

When it comes to hamsters, everyone is surely familiar with them; some people even keep quite a few at home. But anyone who has kept hamsters knows that hamsters cannot be inbred. So what happens when hamsters are inbred?

1. What happens when hamsters are inbred?

Inbreeding in hamsters increases the probability of hamsters developing genetic diseases, and the probability of intellectual disability is also relatively high. Generally, when the baby hamsters have grown for about one month, they must be separated into different cages from the mother hamster to avoid inbreeding.

2. When do hamsters go into heat?

1. Generally, it is only after the female and male have been together for 1 to 3 months that they go into heat. However, sometimes 3 months have passed and they still have not gone into heat, so the reason lies in the female not liking the male, or the male being too old. Female hamsters prefer to mate with hamsters slightly younger than themselves.

2. Generally, hamsters over 2 months old will go into heat. There is no specific period; generally more go into heat in summer, and they are less likely to go into heat in winter. This is still related to temperature. The warmer the place, the easier it is for them to have babies.

3. Generally speaking, male hamsters have reproductive capacity at about one and a half months, while females at about two months. After male and female hamsters are kept together, they will soon engage in mating behavior, but not every mating results in pregnancy. When male hamsters are in heat, their testicles become larger, and when female hamsters are ready to mate, they raise their tails and stay still. After the male smells the female's rear, mating will begin.

4. The symptoms of heat in females are relatively difficult to see. The hamster heat period occurs after adulthood; generally, hamsters that are two months old already have reproductive capacity. When female hamsters are in heat, they lick their private parts and do not reject the approach of male hamsters. Hamsters generally have a 4-day heat cycle, and generally white secretions appear in the later stage. As long as they are two or three months old, the heat cycle of female hamsters is generally 3 to 4 days.