European Hamster - Profile | Facts | Traits | Size | Pet

(Last Updated On: April 15, 2021)

The European hamster, the scientific name Cricetus cricetus, also called the Eurasian hamster, black-bellied hamster or common hamster is the one species of the genus Cricetus.

European Hamster profile

It is native to grassland and comparable habitats in a big part of Eurasia, extending from Belgium to the Altai mountains and Yenisey River in Russia.

Where considerable the animal is taken into account a farmland pest, and traditionally it has additionally been trapped for its fur. It has declined drastically in recent times and is taken into account critically endangered.

The solely wild hamster in Europe, the Great Hamster of Alsace (also called the European Hamster), grows to be about 10 inches long and has cute black and white markings. But being cute, as has been confirmed repeatedly, does not save a species from extinction.

The European hamster has a life span of about eight years in lab circumstances and so is named the hamster with the longest general life span.

The European hamster can be distinctive due to it is size, it occurs to be the biggest hamster species at eight to eleven inches (20-28 cm) in size and weighing about 16-21 ounces (712-906g).

The fur of this hamster is red-brown on the back and shoulders, white on the perimeters, and black on the stomach and chest – the place as most rodents have lighter colors on their underside.

The European hamster was first present in a West Germany industrial space. Its natural habitat is the lowlands of Central and Eastern Europe. The European hamster is a really aggressive animal, and within the wild, every adult lives in its personal burrow.

It has a white face and feet, and our bodies are dorsally reddish-brown and ventrally black with white patches laterally. They are in regards to the size of a guinea pig, averaging 27–32 and 22–25 cm in size and weighing 450 and 350 g for men and women, respectively.

Males attain sexual maturity at 60 days of age, whereas females achieve this at 80–90 days of age. The European hamster is especially a seed eater.

In the wild, it hibernates within the winter months. In their natural habitat, European hamsters can stay as many as 8 years, whereas, underneath laboratory circumstances, the average life span is 5 years. This discount is believed to be because of the lack of hibernation afforded a laboratory-raised European hamster.

European Hamster Description

The European hamster has brown dorsal fur with white patches. The chest and stomach are black. The tail is brief and furred. It is way bigger than the Syrian or dwarf hamsters, which are generally stored as pets.

It weighs 220–460 g (7.8–16.2 oz) and may develop to 20–35 cm (8–14 in) long with a tail of 4–6 cm (1.6–2.4 in). Its dental formulation is 1.0.0.31.0.0.3.

European Hamster Behavior

The frequent hamster is a nocturnal or crepuscular species. It lives in a posh burrow system. It eats seeds, legumes, root greens, grasses, and bugs. It transports its meals in its elastic cheek pouches to the meal storage chambers.

The storage chambers could also be fairly giant and on average include, 2–3 kg (4.4–6.6 lb) of meals, however, exceptionally could be as much as 65 kg (143 lb). It hibernates between October and March.

During this time, it wakes each 5 to seven days to feed on the storage chambers. The adults attain sexual maturity when they’re about 43 days old and breed from early April to August.

The gestation interval is 18–20 days and the size of the litter ranges from three to 15 younger, that are weaned when aged three weeks. They are normally solitary animals.

Distribution

It is often present in low-lying farmland with delicate loam or loess soils, though it could additionally inhabit meadows, gardens, or hedges. It is discovered from Belgium and Alsace within the west, to Russia within the east, and Bulgaria within the south.

In captivity, the European hamster has an unusually long lifespan, dwelling as much as eight years.

European Hamster Habitat

In the wild the European hamster lives on it is personal besides to mate and for the feminine to lift their litters very similar to syrians. Both genders have their very own territories, although males have bigger territories that always overlap with one or more territories belonging to females.

A feminine’ s territory tends to be smaller in range as they have to keep shut with a view to elevate their younger. Their burrows can range in depth from 30-60 cm in the summertime and a pair of meters within the winter.

In the wild breeding is from April to August and females have about two litters every breeding season. In lab settings, females can have a litter every month. The gestation interval is 16-20 days (20 days within the wild) and the litter size roughly consists of 4-18 pups.

The male doesn’t keep to assist elevate the younger, that’s up the feminine. These hamsters favor dry, sandy soil to construct their burrows in and are sometimes present in grassy steppes, cultivated fields, and riverbanks (They are additionally famous for being higher swimmers than most different species of hamsters).

European hamsters can retail about 180lbs(90kg) of meals of their burrow. They come out at night -being nocturnal- and scavenge and seek for meals, they may eat grains, greens, bugs, and even frogs. From about mid-October to early March the burrows are sealed and the hamster hibernate.

Conservation

IUCN says international warming, industrial improvement, light air pollution, and plantations could also be possible causes.

European hamster numbers have dropped by as much as 75% in numbers throughout the French area of Alsace, in Germany, and throughout Eastern Europe as a result of feminine hamsters now give delivery to fewer infants than they as soon as did.

European Hamster – Profile | Facts | Traits | Size | Pet | Baby