Hamsters
are
rodents
belonging to the
subfamily
Cricetinae
. The subfamily contains about 25
species
in six or seven
genera
.
[1]
They have become established as popular small house
pets
.
[2]
They are a bit like a
mouse
. Wild hamsters live in the
desert
, but people all over the world keep
domesticated
hamsters as pets.
In the wild, hamsters are
crepuscular
and stay underground during the day. They feed on
seeds
,
fruits
, and
vegetation
, and occasionally eat burrowing
insects
. Hamsters are distinguished by their large cheek pouches, and relatively short tail. They use their long cheek pouches extending to their shoulders to carry food back to their burrows.
[3]
Even though the Syrian hamster or
golden hamster
(
Mesocricetus auratus
) was first described scientifically by
George Robert Waterhouse
in 1839, researchers were not able to successfully breed and domesticate hamsters until 1939.
[2]
There are six main types of domestic hamsters: the
Syrian hamster
(the kind most people have as pets), winter whites, campbells, the
Russian dwarf hamster
(a hybrid of winter white and Campbell's dwarf hamsters), the
Chinese hamster
, and the
Roborovski hamster
. Unlike other species, the Chinese hamster has a long tail. All Syrian hamsters are the descendants of 12 baby hamsters found in
Syria
in 1930.
Pet hamsters should live in cages with wood shavings or recycled newspaper (pine or cedar shavings are toxic to hamsters).
[2]
Plain toilet paper is also a cheap, safe option, but straw should only be given in small amounts. Hamsters eat mostly hamster food sold at a
pet shop
, but they can also eat many
vegetables
and
fruits
in small portions. Hamsters store food in natural pouches in the sides of their mouths.
Because they are rodents, hamster
incisor
s grow constantly. They need wooden blocks and hard food to wear the teeth down and prevent them from getting too long. Most hamsters also have a
wheel
to run on for exercise. A 6-inch (15 cm) wheel is recommended for most dwarf hamsters, and at least an eight-inch (20 cm) wheel for Syrians. If the wheel is too small, the hamster's spine can become bent. Some people get other kinds of
exercise
equipment for their hamsters, like a "hamster ball" in which the hamster can roll around the floor (though these are not recommended by some animal welfare groups
[4]
), or a long network of tubes with air holes for hamsters to crawl through. They should live in a tank or cage. Hamsters are not recommended for young children.
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Cricetinae
.