Hamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 25 species, classified in six or seven genera. Hamsters are crepuscular and remain underground during the day to avoid being caught by predators. In the wild, they feed primarily on seeds, fruits, and vegetation, and will occasionally eat burrowing insects. They have elongated cheek pouches extending to their shoulders in which they carry food back to their burrows. Hamsters tend to sleep during the day and are wide awake at night, which may be irritating to some people because of their cage-biting and wheel-running. Hamster behavior varies depending on their environment, genetics, and interaction with people. Because they are easy to breed in captivity, hamsters are often used as laboratory animals. Hamsters have also become established as popular small house pets, and are sometimes accepted even in areas where other rodents are disliked, and their typically solitary nature can reduce the risk of excessive litters developing in households. Although the Syrian hamster or golden hamster was first described scientifically by George Robert Waterhouse in 1839, researchers were not able to successfully breed and domesticate hamsters until 1939. The entire laboratory and pet populations of Syrian hamsters appear to be descendants of a single brother-sister pairing. These littermates were captured and imported in 1930 from Aleppo [Syria] by Israel Aharoni, a zoologist of the University of Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, the hamsters bred very successfully. Years later, animals of this original breeding colony were exported to the USA, where Syrian hamsters became one of the most popular pets and laboratory animals. Comparative studies of domestic and wild Syrian hamsters have shown reduced genetic variability in the domestic strain. However, the differences in behavioral, chronobiological, morphometrical, hematological, and biochemical parameters are relatively small and fall into the expected range of interstrain variations in other laboratory animals. bred breed breeds breeding mates mating pregnant pregnancy litter baby babies hamster hamsters gerbil gerbils squirell squirells raccoon raccoons rat rats mice mouse rodent rodents pet pets shop shops diet diets wheel wheels spin spins spinning feed feeding feeds nibble nibbles eat eats eating nibbling teeth fan fangs tooth omnivore omnivores pest pests possum possums opossum opossums vegetable vegetables cute cutest adorable funny fun funniest home video videos animal animals health healthy rabid rabies cage caged cages feces Early literature Hamsters are typically stout-bodied, with tails shorter than body length, and have small, furry ears, short, stocky legs, and wide feet. They have thick, chipmunk chipmunks silky fur, which can be long or short, colored black, grey, honey, white, brown, yellow, red, or a mix, depending on the species. Two fail fails species of hamster belonging to the genus Phodopus, Campbell's dwarf hamster and the Djungarian hamster and two of the genus Cricetulus, the Chinese striped hamster and the Chinese hamster have a dark stripe down their heads to their tails. The species of genus Phodopus are the smallest, with bodies 5.5 to 10.5 cm long; the largest is the European hamster measuring up to 34 cm long, not including a short tail of up to 6 cm The Angora hamster, also known as the long-haired or teddy bear hamster, which is a type of the golden hamster is the second-largest hamster breed, measuring up to 18 cm long. A white Syrian hamster showing large incisors The hamster tail can be difficult to see, as it is usually not very long, with the exception of the Chinese dwarf hamster, which has a tail the same length as the body. One rodent characteristic that can be highly visible in hamsters is their sharp incisors; they have an upper pair and lower pair which grow continuously throughout life, so must be regularly worn down. Hamsters are very flexible, but their bones are somewhat fragile. They are extremely susceptible to rapid temperature changes and drafts, as well as extreme heat or cold. Senses Hamsters have poor eyesight; they are nearsighted and colorblind. Hamsters have scent glands on their flanks (and abdomens in Chinese and dwarf hamsters) which they rubs against the substrate leaveing a scent trail to follow to return to its home.[citation needed] Hamsters also use their sense of smell to identify pheromones and gender, and to locate food. They are also particularly sensitive to high-pitched noises and can hear and communicate in the ultrasonic range. Diet Hamsters are omnivores. Although pet hamsters can survive on a diet of exclusively commercial hamster food, other items, such as vegetables, fruits, seeds, and nuts, can be given. Hamsters in the Middle East have been known to hunt in packs to find insects for food. Hamsters are hindgut fermenters and eat their own feces to recover nutrients digested in the hindgut, but not absorbed

• published: 07 Feb 2014
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