Like Deborah, I usually wait until they are about 8 to 10 weeks of age to introduce them to the male. I think if you go any earlier than that, you might cause the female more grief than she can take...which in turn could cause her to eat her young. Then again, most new mothers end up eating at least some of their first offspring, or so has been my experience. It took me a few months to get a good, solid colony going, but now they're doing great. I always retire mine after their fifth or sixth litter, which is easy to do as their offspring work great in taking their place.
Forgot to mention that I breed the male as early as 6 weeks, so long as he's capable of doing the job. If it's a smaller male, I might wait another couple of weeks, but usually by that age, they are ready to go.
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