Chinese Striped Hamster - Profile | Traits | Facts | Pet | Diet

The Chinese striped hamster, scientific name Cricetulus barabensis, also called the striped dwarf hamster, is a species of hamster.

Chinese Striped Hamster Profile

The Chinese striped hamster, Cricetulus barabensis, is distributed throughout northern Asia, from southern Siberia by means of Mongolia and northeastern China to northern North Korea.

An adult Chinese striped hamster weighs 16.7-31.0g and has a body size of 74.2-103.6 mm with a tail of 21-36 mm. It is smaller and has a lot shorter tail than the better long-tailed hamster (Tscherskia triton), which inhabits a lot of the identical range.

The Chinese hamster also called the stripped-back or gray hamster is indigenous to Northern Asia. Its small size, polyestrous cycle, brief gestation interval, and low chromosome quantity are among the many organic attributes which have made it a useful laboratory animal for biomedical analysis.

The Chinese hamster first performed a task in infectious illness analysis to sort pneumococci strains. It was subsequently utilized in quite a lot of infectious illness and epidemiological research.

With early makes, an attempt at inbreeding, a hereditary type of diabetes mellitus was recognized within the species. The Chinese hamster subsequently turned into a helpful tool for characterizing the metabolic dysfunction and growing therapies for the human illness.

Due to its low chromosome quantity, Chinese hamster tissue cultures have been a popular analysis tool for mutagenicity and carcinogenicity research.

During the past 20 years, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells have been utilized to synthesize a wide selection of recombinant protein merchandise. Therapeutic proteins derived from CHO cells are presently used to deal with quite a few human ailments.

Chinese hamsters are nocturnal, which means they sleep by day and are awake at night.2 But they often would possibly get up throughout the day to eat and transfer round for a short while. Still, it’s greatest to not wake a sleeping hamster to deal with it. That doubtless will make it grouchy, and it’d attempt to chew you.

It is distributed throughout Northern Asia, from southern Siberia by means of Mongolia and northeastern China to northern North Korea.

An adult Chinese striped hamster weighs 20 to 35 g (0.7 to 1.2 oz), and has a body size of 72 to 116 mm (2.8 to 4.6 in) with a tail of 15 to 26 mm (0.6 to 1.0 in). It is smaller and has a lot shorter tail than the better long-tailed hamster, Tscherskia triton, which inhabits a lot of the identical range.

Appearance and Life Span

As could be anticipated from a small animal, striped hamsters, as with different breeds, stay solely as much as about three years. In phrases of their size, adult striped hamsters can attain roughly 4 inches long, which means they’re slender sufficient to maneuver between the bars of most hamster cages.

This means an aquarium is the higher choice for housing this small breed of hamsters for individuals who don’t have a dwarf hamster cage.

Also, it may be straightforward to lose sight of such a small animal whereas taking part in with one exterior its cage, so be cautious and by no means take your eyes off it.

In phrases of the remainder of a striped hamster’s typical look, this consists of an agouti natural coloration (darkish and light-colored banded hairs, like a wild rabbit’s), a black line alongside the backbone, and an ivory-colored stomach. This hamster’s tail is hairless and roughly one inch long, inflicting some to call striped hamsters mouse-like or rat-like.

Chinese Striped Hamster Description

The Chinese striped hamster has a head-and-body size of between 72 and 116 mm (2.8 and 4.6 in) and a tail size of 15 to 26 mm (0.6 to 1.0 in) and a weight of 20 to 35 g (0.7 to 1.2 oz).

The snout is brief, the eyes set huge aside and the ears are neat and rounded, blackish fringed with white. The dorsal floor is pale greyish-brown with a faint blackish dorsal stripe operating alongside the backbone. The underparts are gray, the hairs having white ideas. The tail is about thirty p.c of the mixed size of the top and body.

Distribution and habitat

The Chinese striped hamster is native to central and eastern Asia. Its range consists of Western Siberia, Tuva, the Trans-Baikal area, Mongolia, northeastern China, Primorsky Krai, and Korea.

Its typical habitat is arid and semiarid grasslands, steppe, and semi-desert. It additionally occupies farmland and typically strikes into buildings.

Chinese Striped Hamster Personality

Striped hamsters are largely nocturnal, however, they are often energetic within the daytime for brief durations as properly. They are additionally identified for being timid however typically well-natured, not often biting.

Because of how energetic they’re, a bigger cage can be higher for stopping boredom, or else they might develop a suppressed immune system, get cranky, or chew on all the pieces they’ll sink their teeth in.

Some consultants say striped hamsters, particularly females, would possibly develop into aggressive with different hamsters as they age and must be separated.

Others, nevertheless, disagree, saying they are often stored in teams or pairs if launched very younger in a big sufficient cage. To be secure, plan to accommodate hamsters individually, retaining them collectively provided that there aren’t any indicators of aggression.

Chinese Striped Hamster Behavior

The Chinese striped hamster digs a burrow during which a number of people stay. This is as much as a meter long and as much as half a meter beneath the floor of the ground. There are often a number of entrances about 2.5 cm (1 in) in diameter and facet passages ending in storage chambers or nesting chambers.

This hamster is most energetic within the early hours of the night when it emerges from its burrow to forage for seeds of grains and legumes. It carries meals in its cheek pouches and extra meals are saved within the burrow. It hibernates throughout the winter, rising in February or March.

As pets, these hamsters are typically good-natured and comfy being held should you’ve persistently dealt with them from a younger age. But in the event that they’re not used to dealing with, some could be nervous and nippy.

Moreover, as a result of they’re very small and fast, they are often tough to deal with.3 It’s greatest to sit down on the ground when holding your hamster, as by accident dropping it from even just a few feet high may cause critical damage.

Chinese hamsters won’t bond with people as a dog or cat would. But as soon as they’re comfy around you, they may come to the facet of their enclosure should you’re close by.

Chinese hamsters can both be stored alone or in same-sex pairs or small teams. However, hamsters stored collectively would possibly display territorial aggression towards each other.

Your greatest wager to keep away from aggression is to amass littermates that may develop up collectively and develop into accustomed to one another’s presence. Avoid contact between your hamster and every other pet in the home, as they may injure this small, fragile rodent.

They are typically quiet pets, although they may preserve you awake at night with their exercise when you’ve got their cage in your bedroom. Expect to spend just a few hours every week on feedings and retaining the enclosure clear.

Also, deal with your pet and let it play in a small hamster train ball or different secure space exterior of its enclosure for no less than just a few hours per day (doubtless within the night as soon as it’s awake).

Reproductive exercise takes place by means of spring, summertime, and autumn, and there could also be as many as 5 litters on this interval. Breeding peaks in March and April, and there may be one other peak in autumn. The average litter size is six or seven, however, as many as ten offspring have been recorded.

Chinese Striped Hamster Diet

In the wild, hamsters eat a varied diet of seeds, grains, nuts, vegetation, and bugs. In captivity, you’ll be able to feed your animal commercial hamster meals that are supplemented with nutritional vitamins and minerals.1 Follow the package deal directions for a way a lot to feed every day.

Most homeowners put a day’s value of meals in a small ceramic bowl within the enclosure. You can do that at any level throughout the day, as hamsters wish to graze all through the day and night moderately than eat designated meals.

Supplement the industrial hamster meals with grains, recent vegetables and fruits, and timothy hay. Put these meals in a separate dish out of your hamster’s most important diet. Supplemental meals ought to make up no more than 10% of the hamster’s total diet.

Some choices embody items of apple, carrot, and oats. It’s greatest to feed recent meals solely when your hamster is awake (usually within the night), so it may eat them before they start to spoil.

Remove any recent meals from the enclosure within 24 hours, ensuring to search for items of meals that your hamster might need to be stashed within the bedding.

Finally, hamsters at all times need entry to wash water.1 It’s greatest to make use of a small animal water bottle connected to the facet of the enclosure, which stays more sanitary than a water dish. But make sure that your hamster is persistently consuming from the bottle before eradicating its water dish.

Care of a Striped Hamster

Caring for striped hamsters is very like caring for different hamsters although, as beforehand talked about, a big aquarium can be preferable to a standard wire cage.

For this cage, keep away from pine or cedar wooden shavings, and clear it often since unclean cages accumulate urine. This produces ammonia buildup as a result of airflow is lowered in solid-sided housing, which is why an aquarium must be cleaner than a wire cage.

Choose high-quality hamster meals that have supplemented with slight quantities of recent meals, comparable to greens. You can provide smaller treats – fruit, nuts, crackers, Manuka honey, and cereal – to assist your hand to tame your striped hamster.

Chinese Striped Hamster – Profile | Traits | Facts | Pet | Diet | Habitat