Mary Allen
Hamsters are perceived very differently by people: for some they mean a nuisance, for others they are just test objects in the laboratory. But for most people, hamsters make the perfect pet. Thanks to their cute appearance, lively character and, above all, their trusting nature, hamsters are winning the hearts of young and old more and more. However, not every hamster is equally suitable for pet ownership. There are some differences in the around 20 subspecies, especially in terms of size, behavior and life expectancy. Which hamster breed is the right one should therefore be considered more carefully. The following portraits of different hamsters show what is important, what they have in common and why the hamster is simply a great pet.
Hamster overview
Cricetinae, the Latin name, refers to the hamster genus in general. Hamsters are burrowers and thus belong to the subfamily of mice or, in a broader sense, to rodents.
The little fellows are at home throughout Eurasia, preferring dry and semi-arid areas. Only the field hamster only feels at home in Central Europe. As pets, however, they have long since made it all over the world and find a new home almost everywhere with animal-loving families.
Due to their history, the enormous spread and last but not least due to the breeding lines determined by humans, different breeds have emerged, some of which have very specific differences, but also a lot in common.
Common features of the hamster breeds
All hamster species have their typical vole-like physique, with handy hamster cheeks, tiny gnawing teeth, and a comparatively short tail that’s basically useless. Although they can get a good grip thanks to their sharp claws, they are not necessarily enthusiastic climbers. Rather, their entire body is specialized for a burrowing and burrowing lifestyle. This means that they can move perfectly in subterranean tunnels, dig through solid earth and also cover amazingly long distances.
Their thick fur is also prepared for colder temperatures and also camouflages them perfectly for life on the ground, between leaves, grass and stones. Hamsters rely primarily on their excellent hearing and their optimally developed sense of smell. Spotting enemies is secondary. If hamsters are in danger, their instinct to flee takes them to the nearest hiding place. The whiskers on the nose help to locate even the smallest obstacles in good time, which is particularly useful in the dark. Because hamsters are active at dusk and at night.
Their “prey” consists mainly of plant food, especially seeds. Field crops, grain and soybeans are collected as well as peas, potatoes, carrots, turnips and even roots and sprouts. Animal proteins are rarely on the menu. Insects, lizards, even other small mammals such as mice and young birds are definitely part of the hamster’s prey pattern.
Hamsters can carry amazing amounts of food in their cheek pouches. This is carried to the building and stored for the winter. A behavior that they also like to practice in pet ownership. However, the question of hibernation hardly arises in well-heated interiors. The hamster can also be easily adapted to keeping pets in other respects, as long as they offer them conditions that are as species-appropriate as possible.
Which hamster species are suitable as pets?
With its domestication, the hamster has had to put up with many a change. These are also reasons why certain breeds have established themselves very well, but others less so. So not every hamster species is necessarily suitable as a tame pet, some even more so.
Special breeds, such as the piebald golden hamster, are considered to be relatively difficult to tame. The Syrian golden hamster is not particularly robust and prone to diseases when kept indoors. On the other hand, teddy hamsters are true classics in hamster keeping, mainly because they are very easy to care for and mostly become trusting.
Basically, hamsters only become active in the late afternoon and then until the early hours of the morning. They should not be disturbed during their sleep and rest phase. This applies even more strictly to the larger species than to the smaller representatives. Unnecessary stress would only increase aggressiveness and reduce life expectancy.
Their behavior towards other animal species must also be taken into account. Socialization attempts such as mice, degus or rabbits are definitely not recommended. The risk of the animals killing each other is too great.
However, tame hamsters get along quite well with children. However, golden hamsters are more likely to be entrusted to children’s hands than the delicate body of a dwarf hamster.
Differences between hamster breeds
If you don’t know much about hamsters, you won’t even notice most of the differences between the breeds. However, it is worth taking a closer look. In fact, every hamster breed has its own quirks that make them special to connoisseurs.
Basically, hamster species differ in terms of:
- The size: Normal-sized hamsters, also classified as medium-sized hamsters, are golden teddy hamsters, for example. They reach a head-body length of about 120 to 165 mm. Dwarf hamsters, like the Campbell, only grow to about 90 mm long, i.e. less than half that. With them, however, some can be compensated for by the length of their tails. There are short-tailed dwarf hamsters and long-tailed dwarf hamsters.
- Behaviour: The typical hamster is a loner and, except for mating, very aggressive towards conspecifics. Accordingly, he is kept alone. Campbells can also sometimes be kept in groups, which may not always work, but is often simply not desirable simply because of the reproduction rate.
- Life expectancy: Even with perfect husbandry, a balanced diet and impeccable health, the average age of hamsters is around 2 years. However, Djungarian and Chinese dwarf hamsters are even said to live up to 3 years and more.
In addition, the different hamster breeds differ primarily in their coloring, the individual requirements and their effect on experienced hamster lovers.
Golden hamster in portrait
If the question arises whether and if so which hamster should move in as a pet, gold hamsters and teddy hamsters are usually the first keywords, although teddies are ultimately a subspecies of goldies. They have attained true fame over the past decades. This may also be due to the fact that their wild form, the Syrian golden hamster, is well known, although not always very popular. It is now on the IUCN list of endangered species.
However, there are numerous breeding variants of it, which ensure that the classic hamsters survive safely in pet keeping. They all belong to the so-called middle hamsters.
Golden hamsters are classified as wild-colored or tri-colored in pet ownership. Wild-colored golden hamsters (Syrian golden hamsters) have the typical golden fur, they are only white on the belly. The three-colored relatives, on the other hand, produce a wide variety of colors, but always in combination with white. Black, grey, brown and beige are permitted as coat colors. Some breeding lines have distanced themselves from this and instead specifically favor albinos and half-albinos. The eyes of such hamsters are then usually red instead of black.
The piebald golden hamster
This basically means the domesticated form of the golden Syrian hamster. Here, too, the hamster-typical coloring occurs. However, through targeted breeding, many other colors could be produced. According to the motto “The main thing is colourful” (and therefore more profitable), unfortunately, external characteristics were often preferred at the expense of health in breeding.
The shy creature from the wild species is still in the piebald golden hamster.
Characteristics piebald golden hamster:
- Size: 12-16cm
- Behaviour: nervous to frightened, not very trusting
- Life expectancy: 1.5 to 2 years
- Special features: react extremely sensitively to drafts and are very susceptible to diseases, known for their mottled color varieties.
The white-banded golden hamster
White-banded golden hamsters are a special form of piebald golden hamsters. Instead of randomly colored pigmentation, the breed was deliberately bred for the white belly band to which the breed owes its name.
Characteristics white-banded golden hamster:
- Size: 12-16cm
- Behavior: peaceful
- Life expectancy: 1.5 to 2 years
- Special features: react extremely sensitively to drafts and are very susceptible to diseases, the fur in the middle of the body is white, the head and rump are colored.
The golden teddy hamster
These animals are called “Teddies” because they actually look like one. Their long fur gives them a cuddly appearance, although of course they are just as sensitive as all other hamsters and should by no means be treated as non-toys.
Teddy hamsters are probably the most popular hamster breed. They quickly become tame and like to be close to people, for example to have their unruly hair groomed a little.
Profile of golden hamsters, also called teddies, teddy hamsters, and long-haired hamsters:
- Size: 12-16cm
- Behavior: become tame quickly
- Life expectancy: 1.5 to 2 years
- Special features: not a wild breed, but a purely cultivated form with the aim of long hair, which in turn needs help with grooming.
The Golden Angora Hamster
Angora hamsters are a variant of the golden teddy hamster. With them one speaks of the so-called Rex fur. The hair curls slightly instead of lying flat. This makes for a sometimes quite shaggy appearance. If they are also crossed with teddy hamsters, the offspring will look really fluffy. In many breeding attempts, however, the fur became thinner and thinner. In contrast to teddies, Angoras don’t like being groomed as much, but in principle need it even more so that the fur doesn’t stick together, for example from food residues.
Profile of Angora golden hamsters, also called Rex hamsters:
- Size: 12-16cm
- Behavior: not always easy to tame
- Life expectancy: 1.5 to 2 years
- Special features: piebald coloring, frizzy fall, some long-haired variants, require additional grooming.
The satin golden hamster
These hamsters look particularly classy. Their silky shiny fur earns them the title satin hamster. Because the genetic material responsible for this is inherited in a dominant manner, it can be crossed into almost all other hamster species. Some even dwarf hamsters are bred with the satin factor, but mainly medium-sized hamsters.
Characteristics of the Satin golden hamster:
- Size: 12-16cm
- Behaviour: considered balanced and trusting
- Life expectancy: 1.5 to 2 years
- Special features: the fur is particularly shiny and soft, can also occur as a long-haired variant (satin teddy hamster) or as a half-albino with gray ears (Russian hamster, also called Siam hamster).
Dwarf hamster in portrait
Since dwarf hamsters only reach a minimum size compared to their fellow hamsters, they need a special attitude. Commercial hamster cages are usually equipped with bars. However, the small dwarf hamsters would simply slip through these. Glass walls are therefore more suitable.
But anyone who thinks that the body length also means that less space is required is wrong. Dwarf hamsters are not particularly suitable for free-roaming and therefore spend most of their lives in cages. This should offer a corresponding amount of space and employment opportunities so that the urge to move can be lived out in a species-appropriate manner.
In addition, the tiny hamster species have other special features in their repertoire.
The Djungarian hamster
It is probably the oldest, scientifically proven hamster breed: the Dsunagrian dwarf hamster, also called the Russian dwarf hamster. He is also one of the short-tailed dwarf hamsters and can be found in almost all pet shops. He is so popular because of his robust, trusting nature and cute appearance.
Characteristics of Djungarian dwarf hamsters, also called Djungarians:
- Size: 9-11cm
- Behaviour: curious, friendly, quickly tamed, sometimes also diurnal
- Life expectancy: 1.5 to 2.5 years
- Special features: distinctive dorsal line on the back, the fur of wild animals turns white in winter (extremely rare in pet keeping).
The Campbell’s dwarf hamster
Campbells are often confused with Djungarians as they are very similar in appearance. Only their origin differs – Campbell’s dwarf hamsters come from northern Mongolia and northern China – and that their dorsal stripe is less black and more dark brown. In addition, albinos (white fur) and argents (fallow, yellowish fur) are now also appearing among the Campbells.
Characteristics of Campbell’s dwarf hamster:
- Size: 7-9cm
- Behavior: rather lively, very active, females tend to bite
- Life expectancy: 1.5 to 2.5 years
- Special features: can even be kept in groups if the animals get along well with each other and have enough space available; the fur has a dark brown dorsal stripe on the back.
The Roborovsky dwarf hamster
They are the smallest representatives of their kind and are sometimes described as downright hyperactive, which they sometimes live out during the day. In addition, they are short-tailed hamsters and perfectly prepared for a life between sand dunes. Therefore, the normal hamster cage is not necessarily the best choice for keeping pets, but a hamster terrarium (circetarium) with species-appropriate equipment. Roborovsky dwarf asters are not exactly easy to breed as they are quite picky when it comes to choosing a mate. The young animals also need the mother’s care for one or two weeks longer.
Profile Roborowski dwarf hamster, also called “Robos”:
- Size: 4.5 – 7 cm, not suitable for stroking
- Behaviour: Very active, but does not like climbing, choosy and demanding, sometimes hectic and nervous
- Life expectancy: 1.5 to 2 years
- Special features: the smallest hamster breed, but also the fastest; mostly sandy colored fur; can be kept in groups if the animals get along well with each other and have enough space available.
The Chinese striped hamster
The Chinese striped hamster, also known as the giant among the dwarfs, had been forgotten for a long time and had to be rediscovered as an independent hamster breed. Since then, however, it has enjoyed increasing popularity. It is one of the long-tailed dwarf hamsters and actually looks very similar to a small mouse: Because of the comparatively long body shape, the ratio of small bodies to long tails and its predominantly grey-brown colouring.
Chinese striped hamster/ Chinese dwarf hamster:
- Size: 8-13cm
- Behaviour: likes to climb, becomes trusting
- Life expectancy: 2 to 4 years
- Special features: distinctive dorsal line, slightly longer tail and slim body shape compared to other hamsters.
With all these differences and similarities between the hamster species, the decision for the right hamster is not always easy. Newcomers to the field may want to get a trusting breed first, especially children one of the larger hamsters. Each species can be exciting for advanced users and true hamster lovers, especially since it is a lot of fun just to watch and marvel at the animals.