Hamsters

Hamsters are very active animals and can run at

speeds of 5 miles (8 km) per hour. They can travel

long distances in their search for food, climbing over

rocks and wandering through the scrub.They are

not sociable animals and will be aggressive to each

other when they meet. There are two exceptions

to this: when a male and female come together to

mate, and when a female is rearing her babies. She

can have as many as 11 in a litter. Baby hamsters

are born hairless and their eyes and ears are closed,

so they do not see or hear. They do, however, have

a sharp set of teeth when they are born. Their ears

open when they are about 4 days old and the eyes

at about 2 weeks and the hair begins to grow about

a week after birth. At this stage they are totally

dependent on their mother to keep them fed, warm,

and protected. They start to eat solid food and drink

water when they are about 10 days old and are

weaned around three weeks of age, when the mother

starts to leave them to look after themselves for

periods of time by making a separate nest to sleep

in. Around two weeks of age the babies start to play

fight. However, this sociable period of their life is

short lived and, two weeks later, when they are one

month old they are sexually mature and the fighting

is no longer play but serious. At this time they

disperse, going off to make their own burrows and

fend for themselves.

Hamsters