HAMSTER

any of a number of stout, Old World rodents belonging to the family Cricetidae (order Rodentia). They are typically short-tailed, soft-furred animals with large cheek pouches for carrying food. In most cases, hamsters generally live in burrows, are nocturnal, and feed on fruits, grain, and vegetables; but some species also eat insects and other small animals. There are six genera, among them Cricetus, including only the common, or black-bellied, hamster (C. cricetus), and Mesocricetus, including only the golden, or Syrian, hamster (M. auratus). The common hamster inhabits the steppes and cultivated lands of Europe, ranging into western Asia. A fairly large rodent, it is 20 to 30 centimetres (8 to 12 inches) long without the 3- to 6-cm tail. Its coat is brown above and black below and has several white patches along each side. A solitary animal, the common hamster digs an elaborate burrow system with separate chambers for nesting and for storing the food that it gathers in great quantities. It sometimes damages crops and may thus become a pest. It has been used in laboratory research but is not so well suited to captivity as the golden hamster. The golden hamster is a popular pet as well as laboratory animal. A native of the steppe country of Asia Minor and the Balkans, it is reddish brown with white underparts and is 15 to 20 cm long, including the very short tail. It feeds on both plant and animal material and is essentially solitary. In captivity it is clean, easily cared for, and readily tamed. Like the common hamster, it is prolific; it produces as many as 18 young a year, in several litters. The gestation period is about two and a half weeks. All golden hamsters in captivity are apparently derived from a single litter captured in Syria in 1930.