Hamster breeds and different types of hamster

Submitted by Admin on 03/04/2009

The Golden hamster is the most common breed of hamster. At the turn of the last century however, it was thought to be extinct. Fortunately, in 1930 by chance a female and her family were found in the Syrian desert. These were taken into captivity and were subsequently used for breeding. Thus, this family became the ancestors of generations of hamsters reared throughout the world. Many have of course, been kept for pets. However, huge numbers have been used in laboratories for testing these are the less fortunate ones.

Nowadays, there are three main species in captivity in the UK. They are the original Syrian, often called the Golden hamster, and the other two hamster breeds are the Russian and Chinese. The Chinese hamster is much smaller than the Syrian breed and has a limited variety of colours. It is found in much of Asia and Eastern Europe.

The Russian hamster breed is native to Mongolia and China as well as Russia and again, is smaller than the Syrian breed, only about half the size.

The Syrian or Golden hamster breed is the most commonly kept in the UK and now can be found in a variety of colours, ranging from white through silver, blue, honey colour, shades of grey, and chocolate brown. They can be a mixture of these colours and can also be marked and patterned. The Syrian hamster breed can also come with a long-haired coat or smooth satin coat.

Chinese and Russian hamster breeds are sociable and should be kept in pairs or either male or female. This should be done from an early age, preferably littermates, to avoid any friction. Golden hamsters are, however, loners and in their natural habitat would not form a social group. So a Golden hamster breed should always be kept on its own. Even breeding partners seem not to tolerate each other for longer than the minimum time for mating!