Syrian Hamster Fact Sheet Mesocricetus Auratus

There are many rumours around about the discovery and the keeping of the Syrian hamster. We have tried here to give a few details about them which may be interesting and/or useful to those interested in the subject, and to answer some commonly held misconceptions about the species. These facts apply only to the Syrian or 'Golden' hamster, which is the most commonly kept species, and is widely available in pet shops across the UK.

• Are all hamsters descended from an original group of five animals?: A group of Syrian hamsters was found in Aleppo (Syria) by a Professor called Aharoni in 1930, and the first group of their descendants was smuggled into the UK in 1932 in the pocket of Adler, a zoologist, to whom they had been given. Since 1932, there have been several other groups of Syrian hamsters brought into the UK, and the stock has thus been mixed, although in some way it is true that all captive UK Syrian hamsters do share a common ancestry.
• Is the Syrian hamster extinct in the wild?: It is now thought that this may be the case, as none have been seen in Syria since two were captured by a rodent control officer there in 1980. A major reason for their dwindling numbers is the destruction of the natural habitat in areas which would previously have been left alone by people.
• Does the Syrian hamster have the shortest gestation period of all mammals?: The Virginian Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) actually produces young a mere 9-11 days after mating, as opposed to the Syrian hamster's 16 day pregnancy, which is still very short. Young are born blind, naked and helpless.
• Are Syrian hamsters good mothers?: Female Syrian hamsters which are mature enough to be bred from (aged between 4-6 months) are fiercely protective of their young, and even the most docile of pets may become less affectionate when suckling a litter. If a Syrian hamster mother feels threatened, and feels she can't rear her litter in safety, she will kill them and eat them, so that her body can re-absorb the goodness and protein from their bodies. This would be very important in a desert environment where it is difficult to find food, and every little must not be wasted, or the mother too will die. Cannibalism of litters is very rare, and practically unheard of in knowledgeable breeders' experience, however it is much more frequent amongst pet keepers, and is always a sign that the female is not being kept in the best possible conditions for breeding, most often when there is human interference with the litter in the first few weeks after the mother has given birth. With an improved level of education of the owners, such a situation is easily avoided.
• How many babies do Syrian hamsters have?: The average litter size for the Syrian hamster is around 6-8 pups, although litters can reach 20+. It is better for both mother and young if there are 14 or less, as she only has fourteen nipples from which to suckle, although larger litters do survive.
• How long do Syrian hamsters live?: Most Syrian hamsters can be expected to live between 18 months and 2 years of age, although the development of pedigree hamsters in the fancy seems to be extending this period, and there are of course some exceptions who live either much longer or much shorter lives.
• Do Syrian hamsters bite?: A hamster which has been handled from an early age, (as are most breeders' hamsters), is generally lively, healthy and docile. Some care should be taken when waking any hamster from its sleep, as any animal may react instinctively if startled, and as hamsters are very short sighted, they may not realise that it is just their owner trying to pick them up not something coming to eat them! Pedigree hamsters have been selectively bred over many generations for qualities of tameness and docility as well as for the different colours and fur types which exist, and animals which show a tendency to bite are not used for breeding.
• Why are they all called Golden Hamsters when there are many different colours?: The original wild coloured Syrian hamsters were what is now known as the Golden colouration, which is still kept today, and which is reflected in the Latin name for the species. Over many years, the careful breeding of Syrian hamsters has lead to the development of many naturally occurring genetic mutations. These mutations may cause Syrian hamsters to be a completely new colour, for example, the Silver Grey mutation occurred within the last ten years and produces a Syrian hamster with the same colouration as a (Grey) Chinchilla. Therefore, the term Syrian has been adopted for this species of hamsters, which now occur in all different colours and with different fur types.
• Do some Syrian hamsters have longer fur than others?: There are four different types of fur which a Syrian hamster may have; short haired, long haired, satin and rex (curly, frizzy). All wild Syrian hamsters were short haired, and the other variations have been developed within the hamster fancy in the last fifty years. All these hamsters are still the same species, regardless of their colour or fur type. Long haired male hamsters have longer fur than long haired female hamsters, and ideally should have a 'skirt' of longer fur (3-4 cm) around their bottoms, whilst long haired females have fluffy hair and no skirt.

If you would like to know anything else about hamsters in general or have a good hamster anecdote to tell us, then please email us at The South of England Hamster Club with details.

To the South Of England Hamster Club's home page