Dwarf Hamster Lifespan In The Wild
This is largely due to the diet of wild dwarf hamsters in comparison with domestic dwarf hamsters.
Dwarf hamster lifespan in the wild. For the sake of comparison hamsters reach puberty after around 8 weeks of age. 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 though it s probably safe to assume it was a dwarf hamster rather than a syrian. Russian chinese and roborovski. Tips for hamster care.
Many different factors affect hamster lifespan and how long your own pet hamster lives will depend on these factors. The face changes to grey or brown. The lifespan of campbell dwarf hamsters and chinese dwarf hamsters is a little bit lower with an average of 2 2 5 years. The average lifespan of the winter white hamster is one to three years in captivity though they can live longer.
Chinese dwarf hamsters can live up to three years while russian and roborovski tend to live only two. In the wild they are known to live as little as one year. When hamsters in captivity are fed properly their lifespans can be elongated. It is distinguished from the closely related djungarian hamster as it has smaller ears and no dark fur on its crown.
However each species and individual hamster is unique. The average lifespan of a dwarf hamster is one to two years. The best known species of hamster is the golden or syrian hamster mesocricetus auratus which is the type most commonly kept as pets other hamster species commonly kept as pets are the three species of. In summer the fur of the winter white hamster on the back changes from ash grey to dark brown or sometimes pale brown with a tint.
The gestation period for hamsters is less than 3 weeks. Dwarf hamsters in captivity do not live as long as their wild cousins. The roborovski hamster phodopus roborovskii also known as the desert hamster or robo dwarf hamster is the smallest of three species of hamster in the genus phodopus it lives in the deserts of central asia averaging under 2 centimetres 0 8 in at birth and 4 5 5 centimetres 1 8 2 0 in and 20 25 grams 0 71 0 88 oz during adulthood. The winter white dwarf hamster phodopus sungorus.
Hamsters are rodents order rodentia belonging to the subfamily cricetinae which contains 19 species classified in seven genera. Campbell s dwarf hamster phodopus campbelli is a species of hamster in the genus phodopus it was given its common name by oldfield thomas in honor of charles william campbell who collected the first specimen in mongolia on july 1 1902. Wild hamsters tend to live longer. The average life span of a dwarf hamster is even shorter at 2 years and in very rare cases a little above that.
Of course this is just an average. 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. If fed a properly balanced diet you can really expand the. Growing up to 2 to 3 inches and tipping the scales at up to 2 ounces dwarf hamsters come in three different species.
On average a hamster will live for around 2 to 2 5 years. It s odd to write this as most wild animals don t outlive household animals however this isn t true of hamsters. Another way to increase the lifespan of a dwarf hamster in captivity is to give the hamster ample space for digging and running around. They have become established as popular small house pets.
Hamsters attain maturity in a very short time.