What to Know About Hamsters? – All About Hamsters - Facts About Hamsters PetAddict
What to Know About Hamsters? It is one of the most popular pets today. Not only are they easy to raise and take care of, but they are also extremely adorable and close to children as well as adults. Let’s learn about this small pet with Pet addict.
Where Hamsters Come From?
There are currently about 26 species of hamsters, but the most well-known breed is the Syrian Hamster. They were first discovered in 1893 by an English zoologist named George Robert Waterhouse, who named this strange rat Mesocricetus auratus, which means “golden fur.”
In 1930, some other zoologists discovered more mother and baby hamsters in the Syra desert. They were sent to a laboratory in Jerusalem for further behavioral studies. Here they have successfully bred this golden mouse and brought it up for adoption. Since then, Hamsters have become domestic pets.
Hamsters were first brought to the US in 1938; by 1946, they had become extremely popular, after dogs, cats, fish, and rabbits here. In the UK in 1970, the Phodopus campbelli was introduced at a fair to help promote this lovely rat to the public.
Some Basic Information About Hamsters
Belongs to the family: Cricetidae
+ Syrian origin
+ Animal class: Mammal
+ Appearance: small, with soft fur covering the body with many different colors. Long teeth, extremely short tail, large incisors specialized for gnawing.
+ Length: from 5-20cm depending on the type.
+ Weight: 50-200g
+ Diet: omnivorous
+ Lifespan: 1-2 years
+ Care level: easy to raise, anyone can raise.
Hamster Behavior
Hamsters like to live in warm, dry areas like meadows,
dunes, or desert edges. If you have a mouse in the house, paying attention to the temperature issue is very important.
Hamsters are nocturnal, meaning they love to sleep during the day and hate being woken. In the wild, they dig burrows to hide and live and also store food reserves. Living in a cave helps them stay cool, no matter how harsh the outside environment is. Wild hamsters will often hoard food and hibernate.
Most hamsters live in harmony and in groups, but a few choose a solitary lifestyle, are highly territorial, and hate being invaded by others. Male hamsters often bite each other to death, so people never keep the males together.
How to Raise and Care for Hamsters?
What Hamsters Eat?
Like many other rodents, hamsters are omnivores. You should feed them the main diet of nuts and grains such as pumpkin seeds, chestnuts, millet, corn kernels, … In addition to nuts, you should also give them some vegetables to supplement: vitamins and fiber. Absolutely do not feed Hamsters fresh meat or meat products because it will make them become aggressive, cannibalize their own kind when starving.
Where do Hamsters Live?
You should keep your hamster in a cage with a metal frame, do not use a cage with a wooden frame because it is easy for them to gnaw away. Some types of cages you can refer to are:
+ Iron cage: This type is the most common, has the advantage of being compact and cool.
+ Mica glass cage: This type of cage is cheaper than an iron cage, the whole cage is made of transparent mica so you can observe yourself more easily your mouse. However, the mica cage is quite tight and causes a certain secret.
+ Plastic cage: A specialized cage for traveling or walking when you want to bring your pet.
Besides choosing a cage for hamsters, you should also line the nest for them. You can use compacted sawdust or sand as a compaction layer. However, replace them regularly to avoid causing mold and pollution to your pet’s habitat. In addition, you should also buy your mouse toys, running cages so they can exercise and reduce stress.
When hamsters reach 2 months old, they can already reproduce. The gestation period will last from 15-30 days, each litter will give birth to 3-8 young. The interval between calving each pup will be about 30 minutes. Newborn babies will be very weak and need to be kept warm and fully breastfed. In a life cycle, a hamster can give birth about 8 times.
Hamster Preventive Care
With good care, hamsters are very unlikely to get sick. The main diseases your pet can experience has a lot to do with their environment. If the food is not good, it can cause diarrhea and stomach pain. Hamsters can suffer from stress and colds if you don’t take good care of them. In addition, they can be infected with some diseases from other pets in the house.
Why Hamsters Die? Just like any other living creature, it can get sick and die. The cause can be a bacterial, viral, or fungal infection. When these are left untreated – and sometimes even with the best veterinarian care – they can sometimes be fatal.
How much does a hamster cost? As for the actual hamster, he will usually only cost $15 to $20.
How long do hamsters live? On average, a hamster will live for around 2 to 2.5 years.
Conclusion
Above is a summary of All About Hamsters. Hopefully, it can help you in raising and taking care of them. Do not forget to visit the petaddict.net website to find more helpful information about other pets.
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