The Syrian hamster: care, housing and health

1. Classification
2. Biological and physiological features
3. Housing and husbandry
4. Common conditions
   

Classification

Biological and physiological features

• Adult weight: male 85–150 g, female 95–130 g.
• Body length: 15–17 cm
• Tail length: 1.2 cm
• 4 toes on the forelimbs and 5 toes on the hindlimbs
• Dental formula:

Biological parameters

• Way of life: the hamster is active at night. In the wild it digs deep burrows and builds up sometimes considerable food stores.
• Social system: it is a solitary animal; males and females each have their own burrow. As adults they can be aggressive towards one another, so they should be kept apart.
• Hamsters hibernate from November to March.
• They live 2 to 3 years

Reproductive physiology

• Hamsters are sexually mature between 60 and 65 days for males and between 40 and 45 days for females.
• The breeding season runs from May to September. The female hamster has a spontaneous ovulation and carries her babies for 15 to 16 days.
• The mother must be kept on her own during pregnancy and birth, as cannibalism is common in hamsters.
• At birth the young have their eyes closed and open them at 15 days. They weigh 1.5–2 g. The female can have on average 5 to 9, and can have 8 to 10 litters a year.
• The babies should be weaned at 20 to 25 days.

Living environment

• For the ideal setup, the cage would be 60×30×60 cm, ideally at least 0.5 to 1 m², with a height of up to 100 cm, with horizontal bars — a large enclosure with a deep litter tray, or a terrarium with a lid. The bedding should form a layer 40 cm deep, and should be renewed 1 to 2 times a week. Accessories to delight the hamster are an upright water bottle, a wheel, a ladder, tunnel systems, branches, hiding places, uncoloured kitchen paper to build a nest, and branches to gnaw (beech, hazel, untreated fruit trees).
• For the hamster to be at its best, the temperature should be between 21 and 25°C, the humidity between 30 and 70%, and the lighting period should be 12 hours.

Feeding

• The hamster is an omnivorous rodent.
• It needs a complete commercial mix or hamster pellets with 16% protein and 4–5% fat, or a home-made ration of: seeds, oat flakes, vegetables, fresh fruit, and animal protein (milk, hard-boiled egg, meat).
• Hamsters are prone to obesity, so give 10–15 g of food per adult animal and stick to it.

Handling

There are two situations you may face:

– The hamster is calm and often handled: the right move is to grasp the abdomen between thumb and forefinger and set the hamster on the flat of the other hand. You can also scoop it up in both hands cupped together.

– The hamster is aggressive: wrap it in a cloth or catch it using an empty box.

Avoid picking it up by the skin of the neck.

Common conditions

Parasitic skin diseases

• Demodicosis is the most common mite infestation in the hamster. Any diffuse or localised hair loss should always raise the suspicion of a parasitic cause. The vet confirms the diagnosis by examining skin scrapings under the microscope. This parasite is common in the elderly or immunocompromised hamster (one with Cushing’s disease or a lymphoma).
• Fleas are rare; the infestation is caused by the cat flea.
• Fungal infections are also rare.

Bacterial skin diseases

Bacterial skin diseases arise from bite wounds between males, from weeping dermatitis in cases of obesity or poor hygiene, from secondary infection of bites or of ectoparasites, or finally from an abscess, though that is rare.

Endocrine skin diseases

• Cushing’s syndrome develops in older individuals through an enlargement of the adrenal glands. The clinical signs are extensive hair loss, increased drinking and more frequent urination; the animal’s skin becomes darker (hyperpigmentation) and the abdomen hangs down. Sadly there is no treatment.

Other kinds of disorder are seen in the hamster:

• Blockage of the cheek pouches by foreign bodies or by too much food.
• Inflammation or adenoma of the flank gland.
• The Syrian hamster has a scent-marking gland on each flank, darker (hyperpigmented) in males.

Skin tumours

• Two types of tumour affect the hamster:
• Melanomas are the most common.
• Epitheliotropic T-cell lymphomas, whose clinical sign is scattered nodules that tend to ulcerate and itch.

Digestive disorders

• Incisor malocclusion of genetic origin.
• Proliferative ileitis (wet-tail disease), which is caused by Lawsonia intracellularis. It mainly affects young animals aged 3 to 10 weeks. The death rate from this disease is high.
• Other enteropathies of bacterial origin: Tyzzer’s disease, enterotoxaemia, salmonellosis and colibacillosis.
• Enteritis of parasitic origin.
• Enteritis of iatrogenic origin, mainly following antibiotics of the beta-lactam group, though all antibiotics are potentially toxic. They encourage the growth of Clostridium difficile.

Respiratory disorders

• Rhinitis: serous or purulent nasal discharge, together with an eye discharge.
• Pneumonia: the prognosis is poor.
• Infectious agents: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Pasteurella, Sendai virus

Reproductive disorders

• Metritis: in this infection there is a persistent, purulent vaginal discharge. It should not be confused with the viscous post-oestrous discharge, which lasts a day and recurs every four days.
• Abortions: these can have three causes — environmental stress, an over-large litter, or an infectious cause.