Hamster Facts

All About Hamster Facts

• Learning hamster facts can help you take better care of your hamster.

• In the wild, hamsters burrow three feet deep to make their living space.

• Hamsters have a short lifespan of two to three years.

• Hamster babies are known as pups or puppies.

• Hamsters eat both plants and insects in the wild, but most hamster food is vegetarian.

• Female hamsters can get pregnant 24 hours after giving birth.

• Wild hamsters line their burrows with sheep’s wool and grass so the temperature is always in the 60s even if much colder outside.

• Hamsters made many entrances and exits in their burrow to escape predators.

• Hamster facts reveal that dwarf hamsters can be as little as 2-½ inches long.

• Hamsters can eat many kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables.

• Hamsters eat their own poops in order to get the bacteria necessary for vitamin B12.

• Hamsters use their cheek pouches to store food while transporting it. A research scientist discovered one burrow with thirty-eight pounds of food in it.

• Hamsters do not see very well. Their visual range is approximately six inches.

• Wild hamsters can travel anywhere from one to eight miles in a single night in search of food.

• Female hamsters will sometimes eat their own young.

• Hamsters are notorious chewers, so they need plenty of chew toys.

• Some hamsters are excellent swimmers.

• A female hamster has a gestation period of only 16 days.

• Hamsters can be taught to respond to their name.

• Hamsters like fruit tree sticks as a treat.

• A hamster’s teeth never stop growing so they must be ground down by use.

• Hamsters like dog biscuits and they are great for their teeth.

• Hamsters can be given milk as a food--this is especially good for pregnant and lactating females.

• Most of the hamsters in pet stores are Syrian hamsters.

• Hamsters must never have cedar or other softwood shavings for bedding. It will make them sick.

• Hamsters are the third most popular laboratory animal, next to mice and rats.

• Hamsters keep themselves very clean.

• According to hamster facts, the first hamsters were discovered in Aleppo, Syria.

• Because hamsters have very limited eyesight, they use their scent glands to mark themselves so they can leave a trail.

• Some wild hamsters hibernate in winter.

• In the wild, hamsters often eat lizards, frogs, and small mammals.

• Hamsters were once only golden but now come in around forty different colors.

• Hamsters learn to recognize their owner’s voice.

• Hamsters can have up to eighteen young at a time.

• Roborovdski hamsters are the smallest and the fastest pet hamster.

• Teddy Bear and Black Bear hamsters are both types of Syrian hamsters.

• Hamsters got their name from the German, “Hamstern,” meaning to hoard.

• Hamsters must never be given wet baths as they can become too chilled and get sick.

• Hamsters like to take dry baths in the sand instead.

• Hamsters are susceptible to very few diseases, which makes them popular for research.