A small rodent of the sub family Cricetinae (24 species); short tail, large ears; food can be stored in internal cheek pouches; lives in burrows; communicates using very high frequency sound. One species, the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus), is a popular pet. It is thought that all domestic golden hamsters are descended from a family of 13 (mother plus 12 young), dug from their burrow in 1930 at Aleppo, Syria.
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iHamsters Fossil range: Middle Miocene - Recent |
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A dwarf hamster |
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Mesocricetus |
A hamster is a rodent belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. Because they are easy to keep and breed in captivity, hamsters are often used as lab animals and pets.
Species of hamsters
The best known species of hamster is the Syrian Hamster, also known as the Golden Hamster, Mesocricetus auratus, which is commonly kept as a pet. It is also sometimes mistakenly called a "Fancy," or "Teddy Bear" hamster.
All other pet hamsters are four distinct kinds of dwarf hamster. The Chinese Hamster (Cricetulus griseus), although not technically a true dwarf hamster, is unique among hamsters because it has a prehensile tail about four centimeters long, while most hamsters have very short, non-prehensile tails. The Roborovski Hamster (Phodopus roborovskii), the last of the four dwarf hamsters, is extremely small and fast.
Hamsters as pets
The care of all pet hamsters is fundamentally similar, but there are differences in feeding and housing needs. Dwarf hamsters can be kept with a cagemate of the same gender to prevent loneliness, but Syrians are extremely territorial and will kill other hamsters in their cage.
In the United States, the Campbell's hamsters are more popular than the winter white, while the reverse holds in Europe. Roborovski and Chinese hamsters are somewhat more difficult to breed and keep, and are usually only available from breeders and large chain stores. They are the least common type of hamster to be kept as pets. Hamsters are popular pets all over the world, with the exception of Australia and New Zealand where their importation has been banned lest escaped pets form ferral communities, interfere with the local ecology and become agricultural pests.
Housing
Hamsters can be kept both in cages and in terrania, both of which are available in pet stores. On the other hand, glass boxes keep hamsters from throwing litter out of their cages, provide a better view into the hamster's home, and create a quieter and more sheltered interior. In general, terrariums are more appropriate for dwarf hamsters, which are more sensitive to a disquieting environment and which would otherwise need very narrow-grid bars to keep them from slipping through. Middle-sized hamsters, such as the Syrian Hamster, especially enjoy climbing the cage walls. Climbing can pose a hazard as the hamster can get its leg caught in the bars and fracture its leg.
Despite the hamster's small size, appropriate housings should always have a floor space of at least two square feet and a strong top because hamsters are surprisingly good climbers. Although smaller in size, dwarf hamsters should have bigger housings than their larger relatives, at least 80 cm by 40 cm (2 feet by 4 feet). Using standard water-soluble white wood glue to join pieces of solid wood, such as birch or beech wood, creates a safe environment for the hamster, although you must frequently check that the hamster is not gnawing through the wood.
The perfect place for the hamster's home is a well-lit room of constant, moderate temperature (18 to 26�C, 64 to 80�F), in a place out of strong sunlight that could cause dangerous heating.
The floors of the hamster's residence should be covered, including all intermediate levels, with a sufficiently thick layer of litter for rodents. Cedar, pine, and any other softwood-based litters or beddings contain aromatic oils (phenols), which can irritate a hamster's respiratory system, liver, and skin.
Hamsters are nest builders and a steady supply of fresh strips of tissue or newspaper (with soy-based ink) allows them to build a secure and comfortable spot in a corner of their enclosure or in their hiding house. Hay, from shops or even fresh from the garden, is also a valuable building material for cozy hamster nests, but is discouraged unless guaranteed to be pesticide-free. Hay also poses a risk of having some sharp pieces that could cut or scratch your hamster, causing an abcess.
Hamster bedding materials made of fluffy cotton cloth are extremely dangerous, as they can tangle around the hamster's neck and limbs as well as pose a choking hazard. If swallowed, they cannot be broken down by the hamster's digestive system.
A sand bath can provide hamsters with entertainment and help them groom. Chinchilla sand is often available in pet stores and can be used for hamsters, but sand that is powdery or dusty should be avoided as it will pose a hazard to a hamster's respiratory system.
Regular cleaning of a hamster's home is crucial for the hamster's health. The cages of dwarf hamsters may require slightly less-frequent cleaning (perhaps once every two weeks), and may have many (usually hidden) places used as toilets. It is important therefore when cleaning the cage to leave some of the old bedding/nesting material so when the hamster is returned to the cage he recognises he is "home". Failure to do this will disorent the hamster and cause unnecessary distress. Harsh disinfectants need never be used to clean hamster homes, except in cases of illness (especially "wet tail" diarrhoea).
Another important component of a hamster's home is a hiding place where the animal can rest during the day.
Syrian hamsters are solitary animals and have to be kept alone once they are mature (around 7 weeks and above). In their natural habitat, there is substantially more empty space so that each hamster can have its own large territory. If more than one hamster is to live in a cage, then the cage must be larger (at least 40cm x 40cm per hamster) and there must be separate hiding houses for each animal. Note also that, if a male and female hamster live together without fighting, they will usually reproduce rapidly and cause more space problems.
Hamsters (Syrians especially) are expert escape artists. If a hamster does escape, the rule is not to panic. If the hamster doesn't show up, leave the cage open and accessible.
Gnawing
Despite their cuddly appearance, hamsters have long, thin, sharp teeth that can pierce a finger that is mistaken for a carrot or for a predator. When the hamster is kept in or near a bedroom, their nocturnal nature combined with their gnawing habit can become distracting.
Exercise and Entertainment
Like all pets, hamsters need exercise and entertainment to maintain their physical and mental health. An exercise wheel allows hamsters to run full speed to their hearts' content, and is a must, but it should be appropriate for your hamster's small size. Many commercial exercise wheels marketed for hamsters are made with wire rungs that can allow your hamster to slip and fall. In addition to a wheel, tubes and toys can provide your hamster opportunities to explore and play. (Be sure that whatever you place in the hamsters cage is either bite proof or safe for the hamster to chew on.) Plastic "maze" tubes are popular, but if you choose to purchase some you should choose a brand that has air holes at frequent intervals to allow moisture and air to escape.
Clear plastic hamster balls or cars are available, into which the hamster is placed and then, by its own action, explores an entire house or yard. Hamster cars are not recommended because the hamsters movement is restricted by the shape of the car and this may cause stress or confuse them. In addition, make sure the ball is large enough - while a 5" ball may be large enough for dwarf hamsters, Syrians need a 9" or 10" diameter ball in order to feel comfortable. Many experts advise against these toys due to the high danger of the hamster getting injured or frightened. Toys should always invite the hamster to explore and use them at its own will, without forcing or violence. They should only be left in a hamster ball for 10-15 minutes at the most or they can dehydrate.
If they are handled frequently, hamsters enjoy being out of their enclosures and having the opportunity to explore.
Finally, some books recommend providing a sand bath for your hamster, but not all hamsters seem to enjoy this.
Food
Pet stores can provide basic food for hamsters that provides their nutritional needs, but they also enjoy fresh vegetables and fruits, bird seed, and even living insects like grasshoppers, which make up an important part of their natural diet. However, not all foods are suitable for hamsters and some , such as sweets made for humans or poisonous plants like the leaves of the tomato, may be most dangerous for the hamster's health. Lettuce is also harmful because it can cause wet tail (diarrhoea) - this is extremely bad for the hamster and can kill them. Campbells dwarf hamsters are susceptible to diabetes, and should not have high sugar foods, such as fruits and corn.
Hamsters should also always have fresh water available. However, providing water is usually more convenient and can be an easy way to add medication or vitamins to the hamster's diet, although vitamin drops on food or in water tend to be ineffective.
In detail, the solid food components can be divided into three categories: dry, fresh, and animal food. Dry food makes up the bulk of a hamster's diet. All kinds of grain, rice, noodles (dry), dry peas and lentils on the other hand can be provided more readily: about 120 g for a medium hamster and, depending on size, half the amount for a dwarf hamster is sufficient. yeast) that can trouble the hamster's digestion system. Especially small hamsters often cannot cope well with large seeds, even if they are sold under the label "hamster food".
Hay, although a popular choice as it is cheap and easy to find, should not be fed to hamsters as it can cause damage to their sensitive cheek pouches, although sometimes people use a certain type of hay called "Timothy hay" which is still not very good for a hamster.
Fresh food is also an important part of the hamster's diet. All kinds of cabbage should be avoided, since they may cause flatulence, which is quite dangerous for the hamster's sensitive digestion system. It is also dangerous to feed your hamster citrus fruit of any kind.
All hamsters should be given a more conservative diet. If accepted, herbs can also help to strengthen the hamster's health, though they cannot replace a veterinarian in case of a disease. Plants used for hamster foods should never be placed near open windows because hamsters are more sensitive to chemical pollutions, due to their small body weight. While some people like to provide living insects from pet stores to their hamsters (mealworms are very suitable), others will prefer to give them dry dog biscuits. Furthermore, it must not contain molasses, which would harm the hamster.
It might be noted that many hamsters tend to carry away food from their food source (by carrying it in their cheek pouches) and hoard it away in a cache hidden somewhere inside their container. These caches, when combined with hamster urine or a leaky water source and poor airflow, can grow mold or start to rot, creating a hazardous environment for the hamster. To keep this from happening, clean hamster cages frequently.
There are also many foods that a hamster should never eat. Furthermore, poisonous plants (also check indoor plants if the hamster is taken outside its housing) constitute a considerable danger.
Campbells dwarf hamsters are especially sensitive to Diabetes mellitus, and other dwarf hamster species may be somewhat sensitive too. Therefore it is essential to avoid hamster food and snacks containing molasses, honey, sugar, fruit sugar or other sweet stuff.
Sex and longevity
Hamsters typically live no more than two to three years in captivity, less than that in the wild. However, this is unhealthy for the female in the case of the Syrian hamster. Male and female hamsters are therefore usually kept in separate enclosures to prevent the addition of unwanted offspring.
After a female hamster mates, there is a gestation period of 16-18 days before it will give birth. If the mother-to-be is a dwarf hamster, she will drive the male away from the nest when the birth is about to occur. The mother hamster will gather all the pups into a nest which it built. Quite often the female hamster will hurt the male hamster, so they must be separated. Hamster owners must make sure that all food has been removed form the cage so the two do not fight over it.
When seen from above, a sexually mature female hamster has a trim tail line;
Classification of hamsters
Taxonomists currently disagree about the most appropriate placement of the subfamily Cricetinae within the superfamily Muroidea.
Subfamily Cricetinae Genus Mesocricetus - Golden hamsters Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus); also called the Golden hamster or Teddy Bear hamster. Turkish hamster (Mesocricetus brandti); also called Brandt's hamster, Azerbajaini hamster Georgian Hamster (Mesocricetus raddei); also Ciscaucasian Hamster Romanian Hamster (Mesocricetus newtoni) Genus Phodopus - Dwarf hamsters Dwarf Winter White Russian Hamster (Phodopus sungorus) Campbell's Dwarf Russian Hamster (Phodopus campbelli) Roborovski Hamster (Phodopus roborovskii); sometimes known as the Mongolian Hamster, although this causes confusion with Cricetulus curtatus Genus Cricetus European Hamster (Cricetus cricetus); also called the Common Hamster or Black-bellied Field Hamster Genus Cricetulus Ladak Hamster (Cricetulus alticola) Striped Dwarf Hamster (Cricetulus barabensis including "C. also Chinese striped hamster, Chinese hamster Chinese Hamster (Cricetulus griseus) Tibetan Hamster (Cricetulus kamensis) Long-tailed Hamster (Cricetulus longicaudatus) Armenian Hamster (Cricetulus migratorius); also called the Migratory Grey Hamster, Grey Hamster, Grey Dwarf Hamster, or Migratory Hamster Sokolov's Hamster (Cricetulus sokolovi) Genus Allocricetulus Mongolian Hamster (Allocricetulus curtatus) Kazakh Hamster (Allocricetulus eversmanni); also Eversmann's Hamster Genus Cansumys Gansu Hamster (Cansumys canus) Genus Tscherskia Greater Long-tailed Hamster (Tscherskia triton); also Korean HamsterRelationships among hamsters
Neumann et al. (2006) conducted a molecular phylogenetic analysis of 12 of the above 17 species of hamster using DNA sequence from three genes: 12S rRNA, cytochrome b, and von Willebrand factor. They uncovered the following relationships:
Phodopus group
The genus Phodopus was found to represent the earliest split among hamsters.
Remaining genera
The remaining genera of hamsters formed a third major clade.
Similar animals
Note that there are some rodents which are sometimes called "hamsters" that are not currently classified in the hamster subfamily Cricetinae. These include the Maned Hamster or Crested Hamster, which is really the Maned Rat (Lophiomys imhausi), although not nearly as marketable under that name.
Hamsters in popular culture
As the hamster is generally considered a cute animal, it is often anthropomorphized when found in popular culture.
Hammy Hamster is a long-running children's show in Canada. In the Calvin and Hobbes cartoons, the children's book Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie is Calvin's favorite bedtime book. Ebichu is an adult-oriented Japanese cartoon (Anime) that depicts a talking hamster as a house-keeper, living with a human female. In the Jhonen Vasquez cartoon Invader Zim, the school hamster is called Peepi, who in one episode, is shot by Zim with a raygun increasing his size; turning him into a giant hamster. The character Minsc in the RPG Baldur's Gate and its sequel Baldur's Gate II had a hamster animal companion named Boo. Inspired by his pet, the comic performer Weird Al Yankovic wrote the marching band song called "Harvey the Wonder Hamster". Hamster racing and related wagering has become a small but real pastime in the UK and elsewhere. In March 1986, the British tabloid newspaper The Sun published a famous story in which it claimed that the comedian Freddie Starr had eaten a hamster. In an episode of the BBC comedy series Fawlty Towers, first broadcast in 1979, Manuel the Spanish waiter insists that a rat that he has bought as a pet is really a "filigree Siberian hamster". Mayhem ensues when a public health inspector arrives at the hotel and the "hamster" escapes. Sir Doris is an endlessly hungry pet hamster in the animated program Big Knights. Melvin Sneedly from the Captain Underpants book series owned a hamster named Sulu, but after Sulu spanked Melvin, George and Harold adopted Sulu. Hamster is the nickname of Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond. The Golden Hamster Saga is a book series that tells the story of Freddy, a hamster that can read and write. A hamster named "S.P.G." One of the insults included in Monty Python and the Holy Grail is: "Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!" Penfold a hamster who is the side-kick of DangerMouse, in the British animated television series Dangermouse.
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