Syrian hamsters: classification, description and care

Syrian hamsters were bred from wild relatives found in Syria. They are noticeably larger than the Dzungar kids and the size of their bodies rather resemble large guinea pigs.

Many amateurs of rodents plant the houses of these animals. This is due to their unpretentiousness, cleanliness and good health.

Classification

The Syrian golden hamster (as they are sometimes called these animals) belongs to the class of mammals, the chord type, the subtype of vertebrates. These are rodents from the family of hamsters, a kind of medium hamsters.

Habitat

As a separate species, these rodents originated from wild relatives who live in the vicinity of the city of Aleppo, in the desert of Syria. The first breeders of these kids were the British. Thanks to their work today in our homes live a variety of color Syriac hamsters.

In the United States, they first started breeding these cute animals at the beginning of the 20th century. Kids have become great pets. American breeders continued the work of their English colleagues and brought out new varieties of these animals. Thus there was a breed classification of these rodents.

Habitat

Syrian hamsters live in natural conditions on grain fields, in meadows and steppes, in foothill steppe landscapes on the territory of:

• Asia.
• Iran.
• Balkans.
• Turkey.

Description

The Syrian hamster, whose photo you can see in this article, received another name - gold (or sandy) because of the golden color of his fur. These charming creatures are unpretentious in care and maintenance, rather hardy and clean. All these qualities have allowed them to become the favorite pets of many people all over the world.

Even those people who previously did not have any animals could take care of them. This hamster will not give its owner much trouble. It is important to remember that these are very fast creatures. They are running fast and at the slightest opportunity will try to escape if they disappear for some time from your field of vision (for example, during a walk around the apartment).

Sometimes in the pet store from customers you can hear the question: "Do the Syrian hamsters bite?" The answer can be one - for no reason they do not bite. And the cause for a bite can be your smelling of something delicious hands. Another animal can thus defend himself when he wants to free himself from your increased attention.

In the first case, the bite can be prevented quite simply - take the hamster only with cleanly washed hands. The second case assumes that you will not torture the animal (and do not allow it to the children), and therefore, from pain and anger your pet will not bite you.

External Features

Syrian hamsters have a stocky torso, the length of which does not exceed 13.5 cm. They have short paws, rounded, middle-sized ears. The muzzle is short, small eye-beads and a small tail that is not very noticeable under the thick coat.

The abdomen of this baby is light, and the back is ocher gray. There are five fingers on the hind legs, and four fingers on the front legs (plus the fifth rudiment). In natural conditions a hamster lives in shallow burrows. Active at night. During the collection and transportation of materials to create a nest, he uses cheek pouches. The most popular and widespread color of fur is golden (natural color). And we will answer one more frequently asked question: "How much does a Syrian hamster live?" The life span of a Syrian hamster is three years.

Content

If you decide to take responsibility for this tiny living being and have settled in your house a Syrian hamster, then you need to know some features of its content. Despite its small size, the animal requires care and attention. Regardless of the size of the pet you have settled in the house, you are responsible for its welfare. On how correctly you will look after him, depends on the length of his life and how much its content in captivity will be comfortable.

Choose a cage

Cages for the Syrian hamster should be selected with a deep pallet of plastic and metal rods. In addition, you will need an aquarium made of ordinary or organic glass. The cell size should be at least 30x40 cm with a minimum height of the aquarium of 30 centimeters.

For litter, you can use large sawdust (dry). They should be spread in a uniform layer, the thickness of which is usually about 4 cm. It should be noted that for long-haired varieties from sawdust it is better to refuse, since they can confuse the wool. In this case, it is better to use a special wood natural filler in combination with paper napkins. To build the nests your pet will be suitable for hay, straw, slices of paper.

Syrian hamsters (domestic) need a house that is placed inside the cage. In it, the kid will rest. It is equally important to take care of the active life of the hamster to avoid problems with excess weight and general well-being. To this end, a large wheel is placed in the cage for regular runs of the animal and various obstacles.

Do not forget to put a bowl for food and a drinker. Every 4-5 days in a cage it is necessary to clean. The bowl and the drinking bowl are washed with running water. Once a month, a spring cleaning is carried out - the entire contents of the cell are washed with a chlorine-containing solution. As you can see, these are unpretentious creatures - Syrian hamsters. Care for them is not particularly complicated. And the nature of their health rewarded excellent. Nevertheless, like any living creature, they can suffer some kind of disease. Therefore, the owners should be aware that the illnesses of their pets are most often a consequence of the transferred stress. It can be caused by:

• The appearance of a neighbor in a cage;
• Long trip;
• sleep disturbance;
• Change in the position of the cell.

Usually, the symptoms are manifested by the following symptoms:

• Manifestation of aggression;
• Slightly damp fur;
• The appearance of fleas or lice;
• The formation of sores on the skin;
• Liquid and frequent stools;
• Lack of mobility with closed eyes;
• Significant loss of fur at the slightest touch;
• hard breath.

Syrian hamster: care

To bathe these rodents is not recommended, they manage their personal hygiene independently. Hamsters often wash, brush their fur several times a day. Longhaired varieties need a container with sand. In it they will clean their fur. You should help them in caring for the fur, combing it with a small brush or a thick comb. Shorthair individuals will be quite happy with combing with a massage or toothbrush.

Releasing the baby from the cage for a walk around the house (which they need), the owners should be very careful and careful, because your little pet is extremely vulnerable at this moment - at every step it is trapped by danger (a sharply closed door, careless movement of a person, etc. .)

Food

To make the Syrian hamsters not sick and feel great, the owners must provide them with a varied and high-quality diet. The lack of minerals and vitamins in the daily feed of the animal will immediately affect the state of his health, and very soon he may begin to get sick.

Take care that in his diet there is always a special grain mixture (oats, flax, millet), vegetables (carrots, lettuce leaves), from plants, there is a need for Tradescantia. All products that consume hamsters should be fresh. And one more rule, which should be followed strictly: these rodents should not be overfed in any case.

Syrian hamsters gladly cottage cheese - lean and non-acidic. Your pet is strictly contraindicated cabbage and nuts, salt and sugar, any spices, sour-milk drinks. In order to keep the balance of moisture in the body of this cute baby, it should be given milk (preferably, if it is a diluted dry one), as well as water. Syrian hamsters drink little water, but it should always be in a clean watering bowl.

Reproduction

These are very prolific animals, who need conditions suitable for reproduction. At an air temperature of +25 degrees the female of the Syrian hamster is fertile all year round - three to four times, bringing six cubs. Males reach sexual maturity one month after birth, females cross in two months. After fertilization, the male is ejected from the cage, because pregnant individuals are characterized by increased aggression, which can lead to animal traumas.

Most often, the labor of the females takes place at night. During feeding the offspring the female needs a strengthened diet.

Health problems

For Syrian hamsters, such a health problem as obesity is particularly characteristic. In order to avoid it, the wheels are installed in the cages for running. If the owners prefer to let the kids out for walks around the apartment, this is not always justified - after all, the hamster can be injured and may even die.

Many diseases of Syrian hamsters are provoked by not very good content at home, unbalanced nutrition and stress, which we already mentioned. Therefore, try to change the location of the cage without acute need, do not disturb the baby's sleep, do not take your pet for long trips, do not perform other actions that can cause stress.

But, unfortunately, even those animals that are taken care of very well suffer. The recovery of a baby depends on the type of disease and on how quickly it will be diagnosed. Do not try to treat the hamster on your own. In some cases, this can lead to irreparable consequences.

More correctly, noticing the unusual behavior of the hamster, go to the veterinary clinic.

Kennels

If you liked these lovely pets, you probably have a question: "Where can I buy them?" Of course, you can go to the bird market or the nearest store. But the best nursery for Syrian hamsters is best for this. Today there are quite a lot of them all over the country. You can apply to the newly opened in Moscow nursery of Syrian hamsters "Flower Elf." However, there are no reviews about his work yet.

Therefore, we recommend that you turn to the well-established Moscow nursery of the Syrian hamsters "Sunny House". He offers buyers of long-haired individuals of various colors. The age of the kids is one month. They are all tame, cheerful and healthy. All the hamsters are given a pedigree, as well as memos for keeping, nursing and feeding.

Hamsters from this cattery can take part in various exhibitions, they are good for breeding or can simply become cute pets. Employees of nurseries ensure that hamsters from birth are provided with quality and varied nutrition, and this, of course, has a beneficial effect on their health and excellent appearance. A healthy animal is always beautiful.

His services are offered by another Moscow nursery of Syrian hamsters - "Hamster's Valley", which is part of the "Breed" - a tribal center. Breeder breeders are engaged in breeding short-haired and long-haired Syrian hamsters of various types of wool and colors. They are very attentive to the issue of breeding.

All matings are carried out according to the rules of genetics of these rodents, which guarantees the health of the animals purchased in this nursery. Buying a hamster, you will get a pedigree and a detailed description of the breed, the pattern, the color, the type of hamster's fur and its parents. If you want to get such a small fluffy friend, then in the kennel "Hamster Valley" you will choose your favorite animal. Address of the cattery in Moscow - ul. Pererva, house 10.