Facts You Need to Know Before Considering a 'Pets' Hamster

Facts You Need to Know Before Considering a 'Pets' Hamster

How to create a hamster :

The hamster is a small rodent animal. The hamster has a long, thick fur covering its color according to its type. The hamster ranges between grayish-brown and reddish browns, while the lower parts of it are white or gray and black hues. Hamsters are characterized by small ears covered with fur, pouch It is internal to the cheek, has a solid body, a tail that is much shorter than the length of the body, broad feet, short legs full, hamsters from animals that love isolation, and it is often nocturnal, but it may be active early in the morning, the hamster lives in burrows that he digs by himself and makes them More than one entrance, it is divided into rooms for storage, nesting, and other activities, and it may live in burrows dug by other mammals.

Types of hamsters :

There are 24 types of hamsters The most famous of them are hamsters that can be kept as pets, such as :

Syrian hamster, or golden hamster : scientifically known as Mesocricetus auratus, it is the most famous type of hamster. The Syrian hamster has a length of between (12.5 - 17.5) centimeters, the Syrian hamster lives from (2-3) years, has a curious and isolationist nature, known by several names according to the difference Colors, including golden hamster, hazel, and others.

Russian dwarf hamster : Also known as Campbell dwarf hamster, it is scientifically known as Phodopus campbelli, Russian dwarf hamster is between 10-12 cm long, and lives (1.5-3 years), Russian dwarf hamster is native to semi-arid regions in Asia Central, Altai Mountains, and northeastern China, this type of hamster can coexist with other individuals of the same type, which is fast-moving and active at dawn, and dusk.

Russian dwarf winter hamster : Also known as Siberian hamster, its scientific name is Phodopus sungorus, its length ranges between (8-10) centimeters. The Russian red winter hamster lives between (1.5-2) years and can be found in Siberia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia , Called winter whites; Because it replaces its grayish-brown summer fur, or grayish-blue fur with bright white fur during the winter.

Chinese hamster : scientifically known as Cricetulus griseus, and its length ranges between (10-12) centimeters, and it lives from (2-3) years, and it is a quiet-tempered hamster. The Chinese hamster has a dark strip along the spine, and the lower part of the body is faded, or the color of its fur is white to gray, and it has a dark strip on the back. Compared to other types of hamsters, the Chinese hamster's body is long, thin, and its tail long.

Desert hamster : Scientifically known as Phodopus roborovskii, it is a small animal no more than (4.5) centimeters long. The desert hamster lives for no more than (3.5) years. Or, golden, and the lower parts of the body are white, the desert hamster is characterized by white marks over the eyes, which is the smallest type of pet hamster, and the longest-lived type of hamster, and has an active, and fast nature.

Hamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 19 species classified in seven genera. They have become established as popular small house pets. The best-known species of hamster is the golden or Syrian hamster, which is the type most commonly kept as pets.

Breeding of hamsters :

Female hamsters are usually aggressive with males, but they accept the presence of males during their fertility period, and after mating, the pregnant female becomes fatter than usual two or three times, becomes less active, and tends to eat more food, and the female hamster can carry two or three times in One year, and the gestation period varies from one type to another, and ranges between (18-22) days and gives birth at one time between (3-12) puppies depending on the type of hamster, but the mother does not necessarily breastfeed all the young, and can eat Some of them. When the birth date approaches, the mother’s activity increases, and she starts building a nest to receive the puppies, gives birth while she is standing, and cuts the umbilical cord, and all puppies take between 10-30 minutes to give birth. Then she starts cleaning the puppies that are blind, and remains so during the first two weeks of birth.

Puppies start drinking water after a period ranging between (13-15) days after birth, and begin eating food between today (16-21). Puppies are weaned when they reach the age of 3 weeks and become sexually mature between the sixth and seventh weeks of age.

But why hamsters eat their young :

There is more than one theory to explain the mother’s hamster’s eating of her young, including that she eats some puppies, to provide her body with enough protein to breastfeed the remaining pups, or because the place where she lives does not accommodate all the young, and she may eat her young if she estimates that there is not enough food for everyone Another theory says that the mother may suffer from trauma during childbirth, and looks at the young as a threat to them and eats them, or it may only do so to reduce the burden of caring for them, as it eats weak and abnormal puppies.

One tip that anyone wishing to keep a hamster as a pet should stick to is not to touch and carry the hamster early. Because it will capture the smell of people, which leads to being treated by the mother as a source of food, because the smell of a person is linked to food.

Hamster feed :

The name hamster is derived from the German word “hamstern” and its true meaning is the treasure, because the hamster collects food in a special pod in each cheek to transport it to the burrows and ate it and stores it to be able to eat it later. The hamster feeds on fruits and vegetables, seeds, grains, Nuts, corn, insects, lizards, frogs, and other small animals. . And when buying a hamster as a pet, be sure that its food contains (19%) of protein and (7%) of fat at least.