Average Lifespan Of A Syrian Hamster In Captivity
Aging is often caused by the failure of of biological processes in an animal.
Average lifespan of a syrian hamster in captivity. Although they live together as babies and syrian hamsters are often seen caged together in pet shops or at the breeders as the hamsters mature their solitary instinct develops. The lifespan of campbell dwarf hamsters and chinese dwarf hamsters is a little bit lower with an average of 2 2 5 years. In smaller mammals maintenance of these biological processes is less effective than. The current guinness record for world s oldest hamster stands at 4 5 years and is held by a uk owned hamster of unknown species 6 though it s probably safe to assume it was a dwarf hamster rather than a syrian.
In captivity the syrian hamster s behaviour is very similar. Like all other animals there is no fixed amount of time that a hamster will live for. They have large cheek pouches which they use to move food and then deposit in dedicated food caches and in their nest. To understand the answer to the question how long do hamsters live we need to look at the ageing process.
It appreciates a sheltered nest and its solitary instinct prevails and once mature it will not normally accept the company of another hamster. Cells tissues and organisms inside the body become less efficient with time. Either these hamsters start getting bore and rude. Even smelling another adult hamster in the same house can cause some upset so it s always best to stick to just the one.
Generally speaking they tend to live longer as pets than they do in the wild. How long do syrian hamsters live in captivity. They are one of the larger and more docile breeds of hamster and are generally considered a good choice for children. When you have a hamster as a pet then you need to be extra cautious and careful about them.
The average hamster lifespan. Scent glands tend to be more visible on males than on females. Syrian hamsters must live on their own as they are territorial mammals and will start to fight with each other once they have reached maturity which is between 8 and 12 weeks syrian hamsters should never be kept in pairs or groups once mature. Syrian hamsters can live in captivity for 32 to 34 months.
Syrian hamsters do not find themselves comfortable in this kind of caging or living. Syrian hamsters have scent glands located on their hips which they will rub on objects in their enclosure to mark their territory. The average lifespan of a syrian hamster is between 18 months and 2 years. A single hamster of this subspecies was discovered in the country of syria in the 1800s and was not seen again for nearly a century.
Syrian hamsters also known as teddy bear or golden hamsters are the most commonly sold variety of pet hamster in the united states. That said it is possible to give a rough idea of how long your hamster is likely to live based on the average hamster lifespan. How long do hamsters live. Mainly due to increased parasite load predation pressure and extremely cold winters.
All hamsters wild and domestic have relatively short lifespan only a couple of years. The roborovski hamster lives the longest with an average lifespan in captivity of 26 months and a typical lifespan of 19 to 40 months according to adw. Lack of food drought diseases extreme temperatures and the risk of being killed by predators are reasons for the shorter lifespan in their natural habitat.