Member-only story
This article published on Medium contains Amazon affiliate links and links to other relevant affiliate partners. These links do not cost you anything to use and help us to get this information to you for free.
The golden hamster, or Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus), is a species of rodent in the subfamily Cricetinae. It was first described scientifically by Wilhelm Zimmermann in 1839, who named it “Cricetus auratus”. The species has two recognized subspecies: Mesocricetus auratus auratus and Mesocricetus auratus nivicolus. Both are commonly called golden hamsters, though the former is also known as the teddy bear hamster.
Golden hamsters are small rodents with short tails and somewhat flattened bodies. They have a head-and-body length of 6 to 8 cm (2.4 to 3.1 in) and a tail length of 2.5 to 4 cm (0.98 to 1.57 in). Females are generally smaller than males, weighing between 30 and 50 g (1.1 and 1.8 oz), compared with the male golden hamster’s 40–100 g (1.4–3.5 oz). The fur is very soft and thick; coat colours are mostly shades of brown, but golden, buff, black-based, agouti, satin, grey/silver mottled and in occasional instances white are known.
Golden hamsters are native to Syria, where they are found mainly around the cities of Aleppo, Damascus and Homs. They were introduced to the rest of Europe in the 19th century following the visits of British…
