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" .
Hamsters
got their name from an old German word
"hamstern" associated with
storing
food.
Hamsters
were discovered in one of world’s
oldest inhabited
cities, Aleppo (Syria).
Domestication
of the hamster began
in 1930 when a zoologist
found one mother and twelve young hamsters in the
Syrian Desert (Aleppo,
Syria).
In
the wild, researchers have found as much as
38 pounds of grain stored
in a
single burrow.
In
the
wild, hamsters dig extensive tunnels beneath the ground - extending as
far as
three feet in depth.
Hamsters
are color blind.
Hamsters
can only see up to six inches in front
of them.
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.
Of
about 14 distinct species of hamsters, eight
are kept as pets.
During
winter hibernation, the golden hamster's
pulse rate drops from
about 400 to
4 beats per minute.
Hamsters
are nocturnal meaning they sleep during
the day and are active
during
the night.
Though
classified as nocturnal, most hamsters
divide their days with periods
of
sleeping and waking.
Food:
mainly seeds, grasses, root vegetables,
fruits, corn and pulse crops.
Common
hamster also eats insects, lizards, frogs
and small mammals.
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).
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.
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.
The
body fur of hamsters comes in a wide variety
of colors, depending on
the nature of the
species.
Hamsters
can remember their relatives.
Hamsters
can be taught how to come
by name.
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.
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.
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.
The
gestation period of a Syrian
hamster is about 16 days.
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.
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.
Dwarf
hamsters live about 1.5 to 2
years but can live to be 4.
Roborovski
hamsters are the smallest
species of hamster and the east likely kept as pets.
Black
Bear hamsters are a genetic
mutation of the Syrian hamster. It is not a different species.
Hamsters
can squeeze themselves into really
small places.
Hamsters
are escape artists.
One
of the hamster characteristics
is the ability to stuff its cheek pouches with
food….sometimes an amazing
amount for one little hamster!
Female: Sow
Male: Boar
Young: Pups
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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