Hamsters

There are over 50 species and sub-species of hamster in the world. The Syrian or Golden hamster has some close cousins that you may also see in the pet shop. These are Dwarf hamsters, most commonly the Russian and Roborovski species. However, there is a major difference between them. While dwarf ham- sters enjoy each other’s company, Syrian hamsters are purely solitary animals, true loners. This means they must be kept on their own. Keeping two Syrian hamsters together, even if they are from the same litter, or the opposite sex, will most certainly cause a lot of stress and fighting. They will fight mostly at night, and can cause serious injury to each other and even death. Syrian hamsters, as their name suggests come from a small part of Northwest Syria, in the Middle East. Unfortunately there are very few left in the wild. This sad state of affairs is also the case for their much larger European cousin. The European hamster (Cri- cetus cricetus) is the size of a Guinea pig and is native to Western Europe, where it used to be regarded as an agricultural pest. Due to extensive pest control measures and changes in the crops we grow, there is little habitat left that is suitable for these impressive creatures. They are now so rare in the wild that the

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Hamsters