Larger than dwarf hamsters, the Syrian hamster is also Known as the Golden or Teddy Teddy Bear Hamster. Syrian hamster – This is a small rodent belonging to the hamster family. These hamsters quickly gained popularity as pets in the west since when in 1930 professor Aharoni caught a female Syrian hamster and her 12 cubs in Aleppo, Syria.
Indeed, all Syrian hamsters bred in as pets, have a pedigree originating from this females. The breed was domesticated in North America and in 1936 first spread as a pet. Syrian hamsters, as the name implies, mainly live in Syria and parts of Israel.
What does a Syrian hamster look like?
Syrian hamsters are small rodents comparable in size to palm of an adult. Their length is from 13 to 15 cm. Their usual weight is about 110-125 grams. They have satisfied a thick, stocky body with a small tail that is barely visible under their hair.
They have small furry ears and short, stocky paws with wide feet. Hamsters have relatively large eyes. The original color of the Syrian hamster is golden brown, hence it the second name is “golden hamster”. Most noteworthy Syrian hamster’s specialty is its ability to store food in large cheek pouches.
Syrian hamsters are great pets on many sides for people of all ages, especially for children. They are from nature obedient and easily tamed. They are light and easy to handle, since they are quite slow compared to other hamsters, and are optimal for rodents – not too small and not too big.
Unlike dwarf species, Syrians are strictly solitary animals and must be kept separately. If you keep Syrian hamsters together, there are high risks that they can harm or even kill each other.
Even if they show no signs of aggression towards each other to a friend, they will in any case be stressed by the need to live with another adult hamster. By this because they are not recommended to be kept in one even large cage. Syrians can live with their brothers and sisters until about age 5 weeks, and then they should be divided and placed by to different places or cells.
Syrian hamster is a nocturnal animal, so it holds a large part of the daytime in the nest and sleeps. Activity comes only in the evening and at night, which means that they will ideal animals for those who are at school or at work in daytime.
Syrian Hamster Life Span
Before buying any pet, you should find out about his life expectancy. You can expect average healthy a Syrian hamster will have a life expectancy of 2 to 3 years. In the wild, they tend to have a shorter life. Most The old Syrian hamster officially lived until the age of six with half years old.
The life expectancy of Syrians is influenced by many factors:
- Quality of life and care
- Diet
- Genetics
- Environment
- Physical activity
- Disease
Caring for a Syrian Hamster
Syrian hamsters are relatively easy to care for and with daily care and responsible handling, they can become absolutely tame. Syrians, though solitary animals, but they sociable and obedient towards people.
To avoid the disorder of the hamster, be sure to spend with him time every day and give him a large selection of toys for entertainment. Ordinary cardboard boxes can be great toys. boxes, toilet rolls and cereal boxes. The Syrian hamster rarely bites its owner, and they usually respond well to frequent contact.
Do not wake your hamster, as this can scare him and he will be already so kind to you. Hamsters are pure animals and they choose the corner farthest from their nest for the toilet, therefore their cage does not need to be cleaned often.
How to feed a Syrian hamster?
When it comes to feeding your Syrian hamster, you must base his diet on high quality feed. Good the hamster mix should contain a suitable combination of seeds, grains and nuts with a nutritional balance of approximately 12-15% protein and 3-6% fat. Pregnant females should receive an extra amount protein and fat while they bear and feed offspring.
You can supplement your hamster’s diet with fresh fruit and vegetables. Carrots, apples, broccoli, pears and cabbage. Avoid citrus fruits as they too sour. You have to make sure they eat fresh food. every day because hamsters love to keep food in their nests. Excess fruits and vegetables can also cause indigestion and diarrhea.
Any food should be washed thoroughly to remove any pesticides harmful to your pet. Be sure to clean unused food after 24 hours to protect animals from eating spoiled foods.
All types of hamsters have cheek pouches that are in the wild nature used to carry food in their hole. The owners hamsters often mistakenly evaluate the food intake of their pets, because that they do not take into account the products that were hidden in these bags.
Delicacy
You can give your hamster a treat once or twice a week to provide them with extra protein. Hamsters love such goodies, but you should not overfeed them. Honey large quantities of crackers or sticks purchased at the store harmful to hamsters. Healthier goodies are:
- Cottage cheese
- Hard boiled egg – once a week
- A small amount of hay timothy
- Sunflower seeds or peanuts – a small amount, since contain a lot of fat
Housing is the best cage for a Syrian hamster
Syrians should start living on their own by the age of 4-5 weeks. There are several options for accommodating your pet, and the cell is the most popular. All hamsters should have spacious enough environment with plenty of litter so that they can dig, because in the wild they dig holes.
Big cage is always better!
Studies have shown that close surroundings affect mood hamster and can cause chronic stress in him, so it’s important provide them with the highest possible habitat. To the Syrians at least 1 sq. m is recommended. m, or 10,000 square meters. centimeters. Their cell should be high enough – at least 30-35 cm. Hamsters living in small cages are much more likely exhibit signs of stress and gnaw bars.
In addition, it is important for the hamster to provide:
- Substrate or litter – required for absorption of urine and as a material for digging and digging. Excellent wood litter can be litter materials or paper litter or filler.
- Material for nesting – hamsters need bedding and if you provide them with paper filler, they will also be able to use it as litter for the nest. Another option available is shredded Toilet paper is also a great material. You should not use cotton wool and other similar materials as they can restrict movement and even strangle the hamster if he will try to swallow them.
- Running Wheel – Adult Syrian Hamsters sufficiently large wheels with a diameter of at least 20 cm are required. Smaller wheels can cause back problems in animal. Many hamster cages come with a built-in the wheel.
- A drinking bowl is much preferable to a bowl with water, as it is protected against tipping over and pollution.
- Bowl for food – your pet should have a large bowl so that he could not overturn it.
- Toys, chewing wood – hamsters, like other rodents have continuously growing teeth, so it is important to give essential items that will allow them to keep their teeth in in good shape.
- Goodies – Hamsters love treats from time to time times that make them happier.
- Toys – hamsters need toys so they don’t missed you. It is vital to give them the necessary mental and physical stimulation to distract them from the feeling that they were in trapped.
Types of hair in Syrian hamsters
The first domesticated hamsters had short hair, but since then breeders managed to breed individuals with 4 main types of wool: Shorthair, Longhair, Rex and Satin.
Longhair – have a longer coat, than usual. The longest hair grows only in male hamsters – its length reaches up to 8-10 cm.
Satin Syrian Hamsters – Beautiful Animals with a glossy sheen of wool. Some hamsters have ultra-shiny view. However, breeding two satin hamsters is not recommended, as this will lead to ugly, oily and fine hair in their offspring.
Rex is a relatively new type of coat. Main The peculiarity of these hamsters is in their curly and wavy coat. Them the fur is usually very short and dense.
Syrian Hamster Colors
Many breeders and breeders were able to breed hamsters with a variety of colors, patterns and markings on the wool. Syrian hamsters have several basic colors, including gray, black, yellow, brown, or a mixture of several different colors:
- Golden
- Yellow
- Brown
- Beige
- The black
- Cream
- Dark grey
- Light gray
- Sable
- White
- Red
- Smoky
Differences between Syrian and Dwarf Hamsters
Both dwarf and Syrian hamsters are excellent pets. The main differences between them are:
- Syrians are larger than dwarf hamsters;
- Syrian hamsters are solitary animals, while dwarfs can live together;
- Syrians have many colors, patterns and types of wool;
- Syrians remain tame even if ignored for a few days. Dwarf hamsters need constant attention to stay tame.
