Hamster Facts

• 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.

      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, whereaskeeping her in cooler temperatures will lead to the birth of more females. 
      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. 
      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. 
      Hamsters usually have from 4-12 young at one time. 
      Hamsters cannot be spayed or neutered.  In order to stop pregnancy, you must separate the male and female. 
      A human year is 25 hamster years. 
       A hamster's average life span is about 2-3 years. They have been known to live 3-4 years. 
      The Djungarian Hamsters, also known as Cambells Dwarfs, are found on the steppes of Russia. 
      Syrians run slower than dwarves, while Roborovski dwarves are the fastest.             

      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.