Hamster Facts for Kids: One of the Most Adorable Pets

Have you ever seen an animal that is usually picturised running on a revolving wheel and gnawing hard seeds all day? This animal is called a hamster. It is a small soft-bodied animal that is usually kept as a pet by people around the world. These animals are quite energetic and love to play and exercise with toys and wheels, and hate being disturbed.

These animals are usually confused with mice or rats. However, they are different, yet belong to the same group of rodents. In this article, we will learn about this adorable animal and will try to make learning about hamsters fun for you!

Hamster on a Wheel

Learning About Hamsters

In this section of the article, we will look at what hamsters are and start learning about hamsters in detail. Hamsters are small animals that belong to the mouse or the rodent family. They are usually kept as active pets in various parts of the world. As hamsters belong to the mouse family just like mice they also have well-developed frontal teeth. Hamster babies are usually born with innately developed teeth that they use for eating or gnawing.  The most common type of hamster breed that is kept as a pet is the golden hamster.

Hamster

Hamster Breeds

There are about 16 various varieties of hamsters that are found all over the world but the thing about hamsters is that some of them are kept as pets. The best suited as pets are those hamsters that are easy to hold, adorable in appearance and easy to care for. The best hamster breeds are:

Syrian Hamster 

These are the most widely petted hamsters. These hamsters are golden in colour and about 7 inches in size. They can be antisocial and quite fierce sometimes. This breed of hamster is easy to pet and low maintenance and easy to care for.

Dwarf Hamster 

There are furthermore types of dwarf hamsters and these are usually small, easy to handle and inexpensive to buy. These are special kinds of hamsters. Unlike the Syrian hamsters, they can live in pairs and also be quite social. But they can also be easily annoyed and bite sometimes. This hamster breed can have a maximum size of 4 inches

Roborosvski Hamster 

These are the earliest and most vibrant addition to tamed hamsters. These hamsters are quite hard to handle, they only grow to a size of 2 inches. They are very active while playing, they are delicate and these hamsters are social from birth.

Chinese Hamster 

These hamsters are commonly called striped hamsters and are not usually domesticated or petted due to breeding complications. They are quiet, very fast and peaceful. These hamsters live in large spaces they have a very good nature towards humans and their take carers

Hamster Breeds

Difference Between Hamsters and Rats

The physical key difference between a hamster and a rat is their tail. Rats have comparatively long tails, whereas hamsters have short tails. This difference can be noticed at the first glance. Rats are usually in one solid colour. On the contrary, hamsters have different colours and marks on their bodies. Rats are social animals, whereas hamsters are not so social which means rats can be affectionate to humans and would not use their teeth, but hamsters are solitary, they are less affectionate and can use their teeth very often.

Hamster Facts for Kids 

With different characteristics, different hamsters are usually chosen as pets and before petting one, we should know these weird facts about hamsters :

• Hamsters sleep during day time while they are active and awake at night. 

• If hamsters are bothered, they get annoyed and bite very often.

• Hamsters might carry diseases that can make even humans sick.

• Hamsters were first located or identified in Syria.

• Hamsters love exercising and need wheels and slides to play.

Summary

In this article, we learnt some interesting things about hamsters like their habits and different breeds and we also learned some interesting hamster facts. These animals are usually antisocial and love to be alone and can also act aggressively if someone tries to invade their personal spaces. We saw what a hamster's biological clock is. How many breeds are there which can be used as pets and why? Hamsters are cute, plumpy, hairy rodents that are adorable and can be petted. With this, we would bring this article to closure and hope we were clear and fun to learn with.