Several species of Hamsters are kept as pets.. The Syrian hamster originates from hamsters bred in the 1930’s. They are also known as the “Golden hamster” as this tended to be the original coat colour. There are a number of coat colour and coat length variants that have been subsequently developed. Hamsters are nocturnal solitary animals and will tend to hibernate if the ambient temperature drops too low. The russian dwarf hamster is also nocturnal and tends to be housed in pairs or groups Hamsters are characterised by having two large cheek pouches, short tails and solid compact bodies. Cheek pouches are used for food transport and storage |