Stimulus requirements for pregnancy initiation in the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) change with age and...

Hamsters were mated repeatedly at 60, 180, 300 and 420 days of age or once during their lifetime at one of these ages. Copulatory stimulation was varied both for number of ejaculations (2 versus 14) and amount of vaginocervical stimulation (5 versus 50-60 intromissions). Two ejaculations provided sufficient spermatozoa to maximize litter size for all age and parity classes tested. Differences in fecundity depended on the amount of vaginocervical stimulation received. Higher levels of vaginocervical stimulation increased littering success at 300 and 420 days for nulliparous females and at 180, 300 and 420 days for multiparous females. Females which did not deliver litters did not show a cessation of oestrous cycles which characteristically follows the induction of a luteal phase. The decreased fecundity observed with increasing age or parity therefore resulted from a change in sensitivity to the stimulus conditions necessary to activate the neuroendocrine arc for establishment of pregnancy.