In 1930, a zoologist from Jerusalem found a female wild hamster with twelve cubs in a hole. He sent several of them to London, where they subsequently began breeding them. It is from these animals that millions of domestic hamsters originated.

I have two hamsters: Djungarian and Siberian. “Dzungarik” is a female named Kuzyozya, Siberian is a male named Zyuzyuka. I also have a cat named Katya, she turned six years old in December. Its body length is 40 centimeters, its tail is 24 centimeters. Katya has three coats (red, ash and white), and her eyes are green.

Kuzyoza is grayish, with a dark stripe along the ridge, with brown eyes. Its body length is seven centimeters, its tail is one centimeter. "Dzhungariki" in natural conditions (in the steppe and semi-desert zones of Western Siberia and Central Asia) communicate with their neighbors, therefore in captivity they must be kept in pairs.

Zyuzuka is an albino with red eyes. Its body length is sixteen centimeters, its tail is one and a half centimeters. Keeping him in captivity is not very convenient, because indeed, as A.E. Brem writes, his mental qualities are dominated by “extreme irritability: at the slightest provocation he angrily prepares for defense, growls dully, grinds his teeth and clicks them violently.” Many naturalists noted that young hamsters, who seemed to live peacefully with each other and were trainable, by the age of one and a half to two months became uncontrollable and aggressive both towards each other and towards the “educator” - a person. Characteristics of hamsters given by A.E. Brem, completely coincides and seems to have been written from our Zyuzyuki. This is how Brem wrote: “Quite handsome in appearance, but ugly in character - grumpy and irritable, and at the same time brave...”

My hamsters run tirelessly in a wheel at night, apparently imagining the desert, sometimes they do this during the day. I can conclude that hamsters are very active and need to move, which means their cages should have a lot of space for movement and a wheel installed.

Surprisingly, cats and hamsters are friends. When Katya lies on the sofa, and we take the hamsters out of the cage, they run around her and rummage through her fur, Katya licks Kuzyozya and Zyuzyuka in turn and does not pay any attention to them.

According to the newspaper “Between a Cat and a Dog,” a hamster who lived in one of the villages in the Tver region calmly walked into a hut he liked and ate from a cat’s bowl. And the mousecatcher cat was afraid of him.

The main advantage of a hamster is his teeth, he has 16 of them, half as many as a human, so he himself is tiny! His jaws are designed very interestingly: when he chews, his lips retract into his mouth, preventing “production” waste from clogging his throat. And the cheek pouches are very convenient for carrying provisions. At home, hamsters are practically omnivores. They eat various cereals, grains, and grain waste. They do not give up cereals, bread and root vegetables. In addition to grain food, hamsters must be given various vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, turnips, pumpkin, etc.) and fruits (apples, peaches, pears, bananas). You can also use canned corn. It is not recommended to include cabbage, onions, garlic, citrus fruits, and kiwi in your diet. Animal feed includes cottage cheese, boiled eggs, and pieces of lean meat. Hamsters need a variety of vitamin and mineral supplements. An overdose of vitamins can lead to the death of hamsters, so be careful and follow the recommendations given by the vitamin manufacturers.

Hamsters should have drinking water at all times: fresh, clean, settled and without chlorine. You cannot use distilled or mineral water.

Hamsters are clean animals. They go to the toilet in a specially selected place.

The hamster is the most common pet among rodents. It belongs to the genus of mice. The best way to tame an animal is to feed it. Give him his favorite treat regularly. If you see that the animal is afraid of you or treats you with distrust, offer a treat on a special wooden stick, and not with your hands. Remove any leftover food from the cage. You need to wash the bowls every day. Spoiled food and wilted greens can cause the animal to become ill. Each type of rodent needs a specific food. In specialized literature you can read exactly what to feed your pet. Only in this case can you be sure that the animal will not have any health problems.

All hamsters live in the wild for 2-3 years. At home, with good care, they can please you much longer. Hamsters easily comply with human daily routines and will sleep while you are at school and entertain with their games in the morning and evening. Hamsters, like most other animals that live on the plains, do not have a “sense of heights” and can fall and break. Therefore, it is better to keep the cage on the floor. Since hamsters are crepuscular and nocturnal animals, there is no need to install additional lighting in their cages.

In the wild, common hamsters are characterized by winter sleep, during which the animals fall into complete stupor with a significant decrease in body temperature, but when it warms up, they awaken and are awake. This does not happen at home - except perhaps in case of a heating system failure!

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