Golden syrian Rodent
HAMSTER
Hamsters are rodents (order Rodentia) belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 18 species classified in seven genera. They have become established as popular small house pets. The best-known species of hamster is the golden or Syrian hamster, which is the type most commonly kept as pets. Other hamster species commonly kept as pets are the three species of dwarf hamster, Campbell's dwarf hamster, the winter white dwarf hamster and the Roborovski hamster.
The golden or Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) is a small house pet. Their natural geographical range is limited to arid areas of northern Syria and southern Turkey.
Their numbers have been declining in the wild due to a loss of habitat from
agriculture and deliberate elimination by humans.Thus, wild golden hamsters are nowconsidered vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The size of adult animals ranges from 5 to 7 in (13 to 18 cm) long, with a lifespan of two to three years (3–4 years in domestic homes, 2–3 years in the wild).[4] Body mass is in the range of 120-125 g.[5]
Like most members of the subfamily, the golden hamster has expandable cheek pouches, which extend from its cheeks to its shoulders. In the wild, hamsters are larder hoarders; they use their cheek pouches to transport food to their burrows. Their name in the local Arabic dialect where they were found roughly translates to "mister saddlebags" (Arabic: أبو جراب) due to the amount of storage space in their cheek pouches.[6] If food is plentiful, the hamster stores it in large amounts
Sexually mature female hamsters come into season (estrus) every four days. Golden hamsters and other species in the genus Mesocricetus have the shortest gestation period in any known placental mammal at around 16 days. Gestation has been known to last up to 21 days, but this is rare and almost always includes complications. They can produce large litters of 20 or more young, although the average litter size is between eight and 10 pups. If a mother hamster is inexperienced or feels threatened, she may abandon or eat her pups. A female hamster enters estrus almost immediately after giving birth, and can become pregnant despite already having a litter. This act puts stress on the mother's body and often results in very weak and undernourished young
Golden hamsters originate from Syria and were first described and officially named in 1839 by British zoologist George Robert Waterhouse. Waterhouse's original specimen was a female hamster; he named it Cricetus auratus or the "golden hamster". The skin of the specimen is kept at the Natural History Museum in London.[7]
Comments
Post a Comment