If you are thinking of breeding your pets, or purchasing a certain species of rodent specifically to breed, what is the motivation? Before breeding your pet or getting into small or large-scale hobby breeding, think carefully about your decision.
CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE YOU BREED
1) MONEY > if you want to get into breeding animals to make money, almost any experienced breeder will tell you not to bother. Most breeders are hobbyists, and any money that is made by selling offspring will typically go back into the hobby. Cages, bedding, food, toys, nest boxes and veterinary bills are all necessary costs, and usually breeders either 'break even' or end up paying out money to maintain their animals. It does depend on which species of rodents one breeds and how much the offspring can be sold for, but typically profit is low.
2) EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE > do as much research as possible before attempting to breed an animal. This way you can prepare for any problems that may arrive and know what is or is not normal. You should know all aspects of husbandry on the species, and simple but important things such as if the male should be separated from the female during gestation, the average litter size to expect and the basic developmental timeline for the young.
3) SPACE AND TIME > another big consideration is do you have ample space and time to breed? Take for example fancy mice. The male and female will need separate enclosures except for the short period of time it takes for the female to get pregnant. Once the pups are weaned, the males must be removed from the females to prevent inbreeding. That is a minimum of 3 enclosures. The number of enclosures increases for the more pairs and separate bloodlines that you have. Your animals should be checked on daily and cage cleaning is time consuming.
4) FINDING HOMES > it can be very difficult to find homes for your rodent pups. Even the more exotic species tend to have a small market of other hobbyists. More common species, such as guinea pigs, are flooding into local animal shelters and rescues. Some breeders will accumulate a waiting list before they breed their animals to ensure that the offspring will all have homes. Some people home breed animals for their local pet stores. This can be a disadvantage because the stores will give them the bare minimum price for their pups so they can mark it up, and they have no control over the treatment and care their animals will recieve once in the store or over who purchases them.
5) LOSING YOUR PET > unfortunately, most rodents are either pets or breeding animals. Whatever pet you may currently have, be it a Syrian hamster, degu or squirrel, once it has a mate and starts having young their personalities often change. They can become nippy, protective and skittish, losing the bond they once had with you. There is also the possibility of losing your female pet due to complications giving birth which can lead to death.
CHOOSING BREEDING ANIMALS
For the most part, breeding your pet is not a good idea. Take a Syrian hamster for example. It may be a nice colour and have a wonderful temperment, but do you know anything about it's genetic background? Likely it came from a pet store, so you have no way of knowing anything about it's genetic history and it should not be bred. If you purchased your hamster from a breeder, then you can ask them. The age of your pet is also important if you have a female. Keeping with the example of the Syrian hamster for instance, it would be risky for her to have her first litter before 3 months old or after 5 months old.
If you are purchasing rodents for breeding purposes,get your animals from a breeder. Make sure they reputable and can provide you with animals with a good genetic background. Ideally each rodent you purchase should be unrelated so you have more diverse bloodlines to work with. If you purchase the same species from two or more breeders, find out where they originally got their breeding stock from to make sure they are not from the same bloodlines. You do not want to inbreed animals, meaning breeding together relatives. The effects may not show up immediately, but the immune systems of inbred individuals are weaker and tend to lead to a shorter lifespan. It can also lead to unwanted behaviours such as aggression, parental infanticide or repetitive movements.
The most important thing to look for in breeding rodents is health. Any bloodline that seems prone to a certain illness should no longer be bred. A pairing that produces small, sickly pups should not be bred together again. Temperment is another important factor. Friendliness and handleability are important in the rodent species that can be tame and will be kept as pets rather than a 'display' species (such as African pygmy mice). Temperment also includes how an individual reacts to others of it's own species. In a typically social rodent species, an overly aggressive individual should not be bred. A female that kills her litter without any apparent reason should also not be bred again. Lastly, there are physical traits which are desirable, such as colour, coat type, size, markings and confimation.
OTHER TIPS AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR BREEDERS
1) TAKE CARE OF YOUR FEMALES > obviously your male breeding animals should be maintained in top condition. They can breed throughout their lifetimes as often as required without problems, but your females cannot. Extra care and timing needs to be taken into account with your female rodents. Having too many litters, being bred too young or too often make for a weakened and sickly female with a shorter lifespan. The litters that she nurses will also not be as strong and grow as fast as they should. A good rule of thumb for most rodents on having their first litter is to wait 2 months after their minimum maturity age to attempt a first breeding. For example, a Roborovski hamster matures at 6-8 weeks old, but should not have their first litter until they are 4 months old. There should also be a proper rest period between litters. Generally speaking, most rodents should only bear young for 2 or 3 years depending on lifespan, and not exceed 6-8 litters in that time. For a year's breeding, a female should either have no more than 2 consecutive litters, or 2-3 litters with a 2-3 month rest period between day of weaning and day of birth of the next litter.
2) ADVERTIZING > part of being a rodent breeder and finding homes for your offspring involves informing the public of who you are and what you have to offer. Designing a simple webpage for people to visit is a good idea. Get onto online exotic animal breeder lists and in pet magazines.
3) SHIPPING > once you have your animals, a means of advertising what you have available and people interested in purchasing from you, you must decide whether you will be willing to ship your rodents. Legally the only way to do this is by air, and it's often very costly. If you breed rodents which are rare in other areas though, there will usually be people willing to pay for shipping. Depending on where you are in the world, the legalities of shipping differ. You will need to call airport customs to find out the suitable process for getting the animals where they need to go. Specific shipping containers must be purchased. A veterinary health certificate or even a quaruntine period may be required. You may need a specific permit or licence to ship animals within or out of your country. The decision to ship should also take the species into consideration. Some species, such as African dormice, tend to ship well and not get too stressed out. Steppe lemmings on the other hand have been known to get over-stressed and die even during long car rides. Here are some tips on shipping rodents:
>use the largest possible shipping crate which is escape-proof for the size of rodent being shipped
>never purchase anything or cover any shipping costs until you have recieved payment for it and your animals by the customer
>put dry food in the crate and some carrot so they don't go hungry or dehydrate (carrot keeps longer than other fruits or vegetables)
>provide lots of bedding in crate as a cushion in case of turbulence or rough treatment
>only use same day/overnight flights
>always make sure the flight your animals are on has a heated cargo area
>have emergency contact numbers clearly labelled on crate (yours and the buyers)
>do not ship at the end of the week; if the crate ends up in the wrong place accidentally it may stay in a cargo hold all weekend
Written by LEX Exotics
