The Syrian hamster is one of the most common breeds, but that doesn’t make it any less interesting. This golden creature is friendly to people, which makes caring for and keeping this hamster at home a favorite activity for both children and adults.
This cute rodent differs from other breeds with four toes on its front paws and five on its hind ones. It is larger than other members of the family. The primary fur color is golden, but there are also other color variations.
Before choosing a hamster, pay attention to its behavior. These lovely animals have different personalities, and each one is unique. If a hamster behaves aggressively, which is rare, it might just be a trait of its character. Females are more prone to mood swings and are slightly larger than males.
However, the Syrian hamster generally has a good temperament, quickly adapts to people, and is eager to interact with them.

Care tips for Syrian Hamsters

Proper care for a Syrian hamster includes protecting the pet from stress. You can’t immediately expose it to a crowd. Noise and too many new impressions can cause illness. Out of fear, the little one may faint or bite its new owners.
The hamster should be gradually accustomed to human contact.
Carefully place the animal in its new home and give it time to settle in. A creature that feels unsure will press itself to the floor of the cage and move slowly, looking around. If the hamster feels comfortable, it will explore the habitat quickly, run on the wheel, and “dive” into its house.

How to take care

To ensure a decent life for your rodent, you will need a cage or terrarium no smaller than 60×40 cm. It should be equipped with a house, wheel, hiding spots, a feeder, a water bottle, a toilet, a sand bath, and a mineral stone. The floor should be covered with sawdust about 2 cm high so the animal can burrow.
Hamsters enjoy solitude. They cannot tolerate the presence of their relatives.
The food list includes a dry mix, greens, and protein products. Don’t feed the little one leftovers from your table. You can find the list of allowed and forbidden foods on the page dedicated to feeding Syrian hamsters.
Syrians are nocturnal animals. Their activity is most noticeable in the evening and at night. Keep this in mind when choosing a place for the cage. Don’t place it in the bedroom, as it will be noisy at night. Don’t wake them during the day – this is a major stress for them.
Odors in the cage appear when the animal is improperly cared for or if the cage is cleaned too rarely. Depending on the size of the hamster’s habitat, cleaning should be done from once every three days to once a week. During cleaning, remove any spoiled food from the hamster’s stash. Change the water in the bottle daily.

Don’t leave the Hamster unsupervised during free walks

The Syrian hamster is a ground-dwelling animal. Changes in height are dangerous for them. A hamster can easily step into empty space and injure itself by falling off a table or out of a window.

Bathing Hamsters is unacceptable

Proper care for Syrian hamsters does not include water procedures. This desert animal takes care of its fur hygiene on its own. For cleaning its fur, provide a sand bath. Some animals enjoy rolling in the sand.

How far can Hamsters run?

An experiment was conducted to determine how far hamsters run at night. It was discovered that the little one covers a distance of 6-7 km at an average speed of 2 km/h. In the wild, this fluffy creature can cover distances of up to 12 km. Another experiment related to running in a wheel showed that the animal ran between 6 and 10 km per night, with a maximum speed of 3.6 km/h. Given the animal’s high activity level, it is essential to buy a running wheel or a walking ball.

Pregnancy and birth

The pregnancy of Syrian hamsters lasts 16-19 days, with 6 to 18 babies born at a time. A large litter comes with additional challenges in feeding the offspring. It is difficult for the mother hamster to nurse such a large number of babies, so you must closely monitor the situation.
The Syrian hamster is the main competitor of the Dzungarian hamster for the role of a pet. With the right diet and optimal living conditions, the hamster will be active, run a lot, and enjoy interacting with people.