Eurasian Hamster

The European hamster is the largest living hamster, reaching up to 20 to 30 centimetres (7.9 to 11.8 in) in length, with a relatively short tail around 4–6 cm (1.6–2.4 in) long, with a body mass typically around 200 to 650 grams (7.1 to 22.9 oz), though exceptionally body masses of over 1 kg (2.2 lb) have been recorded. Males are generally somewhat larger and heavier than females. The colour of the body fur varies from being black on the belly, brown on the back, as well as white and cream on the nose, paws, cheeks, neck, and behind the forelimbs, with some rare colour variation being known. The fur is moulted once per year.The upper lip has numerous whiskers each 3.2–6.5 centimetres (1.3–2.6 in) long, around 30 on each side in 4-5 rows, with additional whiskers including two above each eye, and a number of others on the upper forelimb (antebrachium). The snout is blunt, with the skull including the zygomatic arches being robustly constructed, while the lower jaw is slender, with the mandibular symphysis (the connection between the two halves of the lower jaws) being unossified, allowing each half of the lower jaw to move separately. The face has a pair of expandable cheek pouches. There is one pair of incisors and three pairs of molar teeth in both the upper and lower jaws. The lower incisors are longer than the upper incisors. …

It is typically found in lowland areas with loam or loess-like soil and permeable bedrock below 500 metres (1,600 ft) altitude, naturally in relatively dry steppe or forest steppe like habitats though it also inhabits similar human-modified habitat such as crop fields, with some tolerance for boreal forest and semi-desert. It favours a continental climate. It is found from Belgium and Alsace in eastern France in the west, to Russia and northwest Xinjiang, in China in the east, and Bulgaria in the south, between 44°-59° N and the 5°-95° E. A significant population is found in Vienna Central Cemetery in Austria.

The common hamster is often described as a nocturnal or crepuscular species, but it is also known to sometimes be active during the daytime. It lives in a complex burrow system, with a main chamber generally being connected to the surface by both a diagonal and vertical tunnel, with offshoot tunnels being used to store food or to defecate, with a single European hamster utilizing multiple burrows over the course of an active season, with males using more (up to 10) burrows. The vast majority of its diet is herbivorous, comprising various vegetable matter including seeds, legumes, root vegetables and grasses, with a small part (10-13%) of its diet being from animal sources like earthworms, snails and insects. European hamsters sometimes engage in cannibalism, during stressed periods and/or times of high population density. European hamsters do not typically need to drink as they are generally capable of getting the necessary water from their diet alone. It transports its food in its elastic cheek pouches to the food storage chambers. The storage chambers may be quite large and on average contain 2–3 kg (4.4–6.6 lb) of food, but exceptionally can be up to 65 kg (143 lb). It hibernates between October and March. During this time, it wakes every five to seven days to feed from the storage chambers. They are usually solitary animals. …