Syrian Hamsters
A.k.a The Golden Hamster
- Full grown size- 5-7 inches.
- Life Span- 2-3 years.
- Females are often larger than males.
- They are fiercely territorial and therefore should be housed alone as they will attack another hamster if it comes into their area.
- As bedding they need shredded paper, but do not use cotton wool type bedding as it can cause many complications.
- Syrian hamsters love attention and will need lots of things to do to stop them from getting bored.
- They are omnivores so therefore eat meat and vegetables in their diet. (For more info see Feeding Page)
- Sexing is quite easy with Syrian hamsters as they are a large breed of hamsters so you can see their genitalia easily, plus the females have a pointed shape bum compared to the males rounded bum.
- Syrians are prone to a condition called 'wet tail' which is stress induced and can give them diarrhea and a wet bottom area. This condition is highly contagious.
- This breed of hamster can also catch colds so should always be kept in a warm room and given plenty of bedding.