One of the 4 hamsters on WAnimals
Mammals · Rodentia · Cricetidae
Golden Hamster
Mesocricetus auratus
Vulnerable
At high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term.
The golden hamster, or Syrian hamster, is one of the most widely kept pets in the world and, at the same time, a threatened species in the wild. In the wild it is known only from a small strip of northern Syria and southern Turkey, where it occupies farmland and steppe with soft soil. It is strictly solitary and territorial: adults attack one another if forced to live together. It digs burrows with separate chambers for sleeping, storing seeds and defecating.
Weight
100 g – 200 g
Size
13 cm – 18 cm
Life expectancy
3 years
