What is a Hamster?
A hamster is a nocturnal mammal belonging to the rodent family; the rodent family is made up of all mammals that have one set of long, continually growing incisor teeth, such as the squirrel or the mouse.  "Rodent" comes from the latin word 'rodere', meaning 'to gnaw': since a hamster's long incisor teeth grow constantly throughout it's life, gnawing is exactly what it has to do to keep its teeth trim.

Hamsters eat a variety of food including grain, plants and insects.  Their long incisors are very strong, and can crack open seeds and acorns easily.  Hamsters have specially developped cheek pouches used to transport food or bedding material; hamsters simply stroke their cheeks to remove the pouch's contents.  Hamsters are hoarders, meaning they store stashes of food in their burrow; the word "hamster" comes from the German word 'hamstern', which means 'to hoard'.


Physical Description
Hamsters grow to be 4 - 20 cm long, and weigh between 20 and 150g, depending on their
breed.  They have relatively short legs compared to their body size, but they can still run fast and jump up to 15 cm when necessary.  A hamster can be easily differentiated from a mouse because its tail is short and stubby, only about 1-2 cm long, and also from it's hoarding habit.  Hamsters tend to be plumper and sturdier than mice.

Hamsters have very poor eyesight, but have very sensitive hearing and a keen sense of smell.  It's long whiskers are used, like the cat, to help the hamster judge whether it can fit through a tight spot without getting stuck.

Hamsters have relatively short fur, although certain varieties are bred to have different
coat types (such as long fur) like the angora or "teddy bear" hamster.  Hamsters are bred to be a variety of colours and have different markings on their fur.  A hamster's fur is soft and silky, certain breeds also have shiny fur.


Habitat and Lifestyle
Hamsters, in the wild, live in burrows in semi-desert areas.  Their burrows consist of different and separate chambers for food, sleeping, and toilet, connected by a series of intricate tunnels.  Hamsters always build a vertical escape tunnel to the surface in case they ever need to escape quickly.

Hamsters love to burrow.  When they dig, they scoop the dirt with their front paws and flick it underneath them.  Then, with their back legs, they kick the dirt behind them.  Every so often they clear the tunnel by pushing all the loose dirt to the surface.

Syrian or Golden hamsters are solitary, and will defend their burrow fiercely against other hamsters.  Most species of Dwarf hamsters, however, live in small families or communities; this is why several Dwarf hamsters can be kept in the same cage, and Syrian hamsters must be housed separately.


About Hamsters





Buying a Hamster
Hamster Care
Homemade Toys
Photo Album
Links
What is a Hamster?
Breeds
Body Language
Colours and Markings
History of the Syrian
 
Hamster
Physical Description
Habitat and Lifestyle