Hamster facts
                            
hamster-on-the-edge-of-bungalow 
Hamster facts

Do you want to amaze your friends with your hamster wisdom? Here are some funny and also interesting facts. I can bet my hamster's food supply for the week that your friends will crown you "King Hammy the 1st" .

hamster-icon-for-bullet      Hamsters got their name from an old German word "hamstern" associated with storing food.
syrian-hamster-storing-food

hamster-icon-for-bullet     Hamsters were discovered in one of world’s oldest inhabited
cities, Aleppo (Syria).

hamster-icon-for-bullet Domestication of the hamster began in 1930 when a zoologist
found one mother and twelve young hamsters in the Syrian Desert (Aleppo, Syria).

hamster-icon-for-bullet      In the wild, researchers have found as much as 38 pounds of grain stored in a single burrow.
hamster-icon-for-bullet       In the wild, hamsters dig extensive tunnels beneath the ground - extending as far as three feet in depth.
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hamster-icon-for-bullet      Hamsters are color blind.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Hamsters can only see up to six inches in front of them.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Hamsters typically have poor eyesight and depth perception.
To compensate for their poor sight when in unfamiliar territory, hamsters have scent glands on their flanks (and abdomens in Chinese and dwarf hamsters). A hamster rubs these areas of his body against various objects, and leaves a trail of smells the hamster can follow to return to his home den.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Of about 14 distinct species of hamsters, eight are kept as pets.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      During winter hibernation, the golden hamster's pulse rate drops from about 400 to 4 beats per minute.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Hamsters are nocturnal meaning they sleep during the day and are active during the night.
hamster-icon-for-bulletThough classified as nocturnal, most hamsters divide their days with periods of sleeping and waking.
hamster-icon-for-bulletFood: mainly seeds, grasses, root vegetables, fruits, corn and pulse crops. Common hamster also eats insects, lizards, frogs and small mammals.
hamster-food-bowl

hamster-icon-for-bullet      Largest: about 34 cm (13 in) long, weighing about 900 g (32 oz).
       Smallest: about 5.3 cm (2 in) long, weighing about 100 g (3.5 oz).
hamster-icon-for-bullet       In the wild, hamsters will line their tunnels with grasses and wool or hair shed from other animals to help maintain a fairly constant temperature in their burrow (often around 60°F), no matter the outside temperature.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      In the cool of the evening and during the night hamsters will search for food - and can travel up to 8 miles in one night.
hamster-icon-for-bullet  The body fur of hamsters comes in a wide variety of colors, depending on the nature of the species.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Hamsters can remember their relatives.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Hamsters can be taught how to come by name.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Like other rodents, a hamster's teeth grow continuously throughout their lifetime. To help keep their teeth worn and clean, offer suitable chew toys on a regular basis.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Does your hamster avoid his chew sticks and chew on his cage bars?  Then try giving him dog biscuits.  They're hard, tasty, and wear down his teeth.  He will want to chew on the biscuit rather than the cage. 
hamster-icon-for-bullet      If your hamster's toe nails are getting long, it is possible to clip their nails at home.  Use baby nail clippers and clip off the very ends of the nails.  Don't clip too short!  Or, try lining the hamster's running wheel with fine grain sandpaper, and the ends of his nails will be worn down while he runs.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      The gestation period of a Syrian hamster is about 16 days.
syrian-mom-with-babies


hamster-icon-for-bullet      Regulation of temperature helps to determine the sex of dwarf hamster babies.  Keeping the mother in warmer temperatures will lead to birth of more males, whereas keeping her in cooler temperatures will lead to the birth of more females.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Normally, the breeding season of dwarf hamsters' is from April to September. However, if kept in light for eight hoursor more a day, they will breed throughout the year.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Female dwarf hamsters can give birth as young as five weeks. This is not recommended though. You should wait until she is at least 3 months old.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Hamsters usually have from 4-12 young at one time.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Hamsters cannot be spayed or neutered.  In order to stop pregnancy, you must separate the male and female.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      A human year is 25 hamster years.
hamster-icon-for-bullet       A hamster's average life span is about 2-3 years. They have been known to live 3-4 years.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      The Djungarian Hamsters, also known as Cambells Dwarfs, are found on the steppes of Russia.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Syrians run slower than dwarves, while Roborovski dwarves are the fastest.            
  © Janes Pockele
hamster-running
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Syrian (also known as Golden, Fancy, or Teddy Bear) hamsters are solitary animals and will not live peacefully with other hamsters past 8-10 weeks of age. They should always be housed separately. He will be a great companion for you though.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Russian Dwarf hamsters can often be kept in pairs or groups, as long as they are introduced to each other at a very young age.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Dwarf hamsters live about 1.5 to 2 years but can live to be 4.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Roborovski hamsters are the smallest species of hamster and the east likely kept as pets.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Black Bear hamsters are a genetic mutation of the Syrian hamster. It is not a different species.
black-bear-hamster
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Hamsters can squeeze themselves into really small places.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Hamsters are escape artists.
hamster-icon-for-bullet      One of the hamster characteristics is the ability to stuff its cheek pouches with food….sometimes an amazing amount for one little hamster!
hamster-icon-for-bullet  Female: Sow
       Male: Boar
       Young: Pups
hamster-icon-for-bullet      Hamsters are now used for scientific research. Because hamsters are so disease-free and breed so rapidly (they can have a new litter every month!) and because they are so friendly and easy to handle, they are a popular choice among scientists. They are often used for cardio-vascular research, as their cardio-vascular system is remarkably similar to that of the human.






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