Can inbreeding chinese hamsters affect their offspring?

Question

i have a female chinese hamster which would not hurt a fly she is so sweet. i am thinking of breeding her but with her brother will this affect their babies?

Answer 1

Do not breed them.

There is absolutely no reason for breeding them, even if they weren't related. There are plenty of hamsters out there, and there's really no need for anyone, especially the inexperienced, to bring any more into the world. Animals purchased from pet stores should never be bred, because you don't know their genetic history and you don't know what kind of diseases may be lurking in their genes. As for whether it will affect the babies, it's possible but not definite. A lot of mass-breeders have inbred hamsters. Are you willing to risk the life of your current hamster to breed her, because there is always a chance she or the babies will die during the birth. And do you have the money for the vet if an emergency should occur? If you can't take them to a vet if necessary, there's no excuse..

I don't mean to be harsh, but it's just a bad idea.

Answer 2

I suggest that you do not do this. This is too close of a relation and many birth defects can happen, even worse death. Just save yourself the heartache and don’t do it. It is not fair to you and the new babies. The good thing is that this is not an expensive pet, so you can always grab another one from the pet store to mate with your female. Afterwards you can keep the father or maybe see if one of your friends is interested in a new pet. There is no law saying you have to keep him, but at least this way you would not end up with a 2 headed, 3 legged hamsters. ;)