Hamster

Hamsters are small rodents that belong to a group called Cricetinae, which includes 19 different species. They have become very popular as pets, especially the golden or Syrian hamster, which is the most common type people keep as a pet. Other hamster species that are also kept as pets include Campbell's dwarf hamster, the winter white dwarf hamster, the Roborovski hamster, and the Chinese hamster.

Hamsters eat mainly seeds, fruits, plants, and sometimes insects they find while digging. In the wild, they are most active during the twilight hours—just before sunset or after sunrise. But when they live with people, they usually stay awake at night, eating and playing after the sun goes down.

These little animals have some special features, like long cheek pouches that reach up to their shoulders. They use these pouches to carry food back to their burrows or underground homes. Hamsters also have short tails and feet covered in fur, which helps them move around easily.

Classification

Further information: List of cricetines

Hamsters are small rodents that belong to the subfamily Cricetinae. There are 19 species of hamsters grouped into seven different genera. The most well-known type is the golden or Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus), which is the one most often kept as a pet.

The subfamily Cricetinae can be grouped in different ways by scientists. Some place it in the family Cricetidae, which also includes voles, lemmings, and New World rats and mice, while others put all of these animals into a larger family called Muridae. Hamsters have a long history, with fossil records dating back millions of years. Today, there are several genera and species, including the Mongolian hamster (A. curtatus), the Chinese hamster (C. griseus), and Campbell's dwarf hamster (P. campbelli), among others.

History

The Syrian hamster, also called the golden hamster, was first described by a scientist in 1839. But it wasn’t until 1939 that people learned how to keep them as pets. All Syrian hamsters we have today come from one brother and sister that were caught in Syria in 1930. They were brought to Jerusalem, where they had many babies. Later, some of these hamsters traveled to the United States, where they became popular pets and lab animals.

Etymology

The word "hamster" comes from German. It started in an older form of German called Middle High German, where it was hamastra. This word might be connected to words from Russian, like khomyak, or even older Persian words. When we talk about a group of hamsters, we call it a "horde". In German, the word hamstern comes from Hamster and means "to hoard", which is like saving up lots of things.

Description

Hamsters are small, stout-bodied rodents with short tails, tiny furry ears, and strong legs. Their fur can be many colors, such as black, grey, honey, white, brown, yellow, red, or a mix of these. Some hamsters, like Campbell's dwarf hamster and the Djungarian hamster, have a dark stripe running from their heads to their tails. The smallest hamsters are about 5.5 to 10.5 cm long, while the largest, the European hamster, can be up to 34 cm long.

Hamsters have poor eyesight and cannot see colors well, but they can sense movement and hear sounds clearly, including high-pitched noises. They use their sense of smell to find food, recognize their owners, and mark their territory with special scent glands. Their teeth, called incisors, grow continuously and need regular wear to stay healthy. Hamsters enjoy eating a mix of commercial pet food, fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts. In the wild, they sometimes hunt insects together in groups.

Behavior

Hamsters are known for their habit of food hoarding. They carry food in their large cheek pouches to special storage chambers underground. When their cheeks are full, they can look twice or even three times bigger than usual!

Most hamsters prefer to live alone. If kept together, they may get stressed or even fight. However, some smaller hamster types might accept siblings or others of the same gender if introduced early enough. Hamsters talk to each other and even to their owners using smells from special scent glands and by showing body language.

Hamsters are mostly active at dawn and dusk, which means they are awake when the day is beginning or ending. In the wild, Syrian hamsters can hibernate, letting their body temperature drop to save energy during winter. This helps them need less food. But when kept as pets, Syrian hamsters usually do not hibernate.

All hamsters are great diggers, creating burrows with many rooms for sleeping, storing food, and more. They dig deep tunnels to stay safe from danger and weather. Even hamsters in labs love to dig if given the chance!

Reproduction

Hamsters become fertile at different ages depending on their species. Syrian and Russian hamsters can start reproducing at just 4–5 weeks old, while Chinese hamsters begin at two to three months, and Roborovskis at three to four months. Female hamsters are in estrus, or ready to mate, about every four days.

Syrian hamsters have several litters a year with one to 13 pups each, while dwarf hamsters breed year-round. Gestation ranges from 16 to 30 days depending on the species. Syrian hamsters usually have litters of about seven pups, while Campbell's dwarf hamsters have four to eight pups per litter.

Hamsters are born hairless and blind. After one week, they start exploring outside the nest. They are considered mature at three weeks old and can be bred after this time. Syrian hamsters typically live two to three years in captivity, while other species may live a bit longer.

Society and culture

Hamsters as pets

The most well-known hamster is the golden or Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus), which is the type most commonly kept as pets. There are many different types of Syrian hamsters, including long-haired varieties and hamsters of different colors. In the United Kingdom, most hamsters come from a group that was brought in for medical research during World War II by a British zoologist named Leonard Goodwin. Hamsters became popular pets in the United States as early as 1942.

Other popular pet hamsters belong to the genus Phodopus. The Campbell's dwarf hamster (Phodopus campbelli) is the most common type. The coat of the winter white dwarf hamster (Phodopus sungorus) turns almost white during winter. The Roborovski hamster (Phodopus roborovskii) is very small and moves quickly, which can make it harder to keep as a pet.

Hamster shows

A hamster show is a fun event where people bring their hamsters to be judged. These shows are also a great way for hamster lovers to meet and share their passion. During the shows, hamsters are judged to see which ones best match the usual types of hamsters, encouraging careful breeding.

Hamsters as lab animals

Further information: Laboratory Syrian hamster

Scientists sometimes use hamster cells in their research. For example, they study cells from baby hamsters' kidneys and adult hamsters' ovaries to learn more about how the body makes cholesterol.

Similar animals

Some rodents that people sometimes call "hamsters" are not actually hamsters. For example, the maned hamster, also known as the crested hamster, is really a type of maned rat (Lophiomys imhausi). There are also animals called mouse-like hamsters (Calomyscus spp.) and the white-tailed rat (Mystromys albicaudatus), which are not true hamsters either.