Yesterday my daughter and I fed her treats and she was jumping around. Largely due to the dangers of life in the wild, including predators and fluctuations in climate, a wild hamster may have an even shorter lifespan than a pet hamster. Most hamsters have an average lifespan of about 2 to 3 years. Lets take a look at what happens when hamsters get old, why they are so short lived, and which breeds live the longest. How Long Do Hamsters Live A Complete Guide To Hamster Lifespan. Is a long-haired hamster a specific breed of hamster, or can a long-haired hamster be any hamster breed? A Guide To Hamster Hibernation. As tiny creatures, hamsters typically live around 2 to 3 years. Allow them to have different ways of exercising. Her latest first edition, What Your Dog Wants You To Know, is the ultimate guide to understanding your dogs body language. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. LafeberVet. The more space your hamster has to move around, the more they will exercise and play, which is good for longevity. There are a number of foods that are toxic to hamsters including chocolate, onions and garlic, potatoes and tomato leaves. Try to keep his environment quiet, and try not to surprise him when you go to handle him. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Hamsters are typically nocturnal animals that like to burrow and hoard food. What to look out for. The correct diet, a clean living space, plenty of room to move around and exercise in, and low stress, all help hamsters to live longer. Species Hamsters like to chew and escape, so cages made of wood or soft metals such as aluminum are not recommended. Neurobiology of Aging published a study that examined ways to prolong mammals lives. Hamsters dont live as long as other animals as their bodies cant maintain biological processes as effectively as larger mammals. What Makes Some Hamsters Live Longer Than Others? The ideal environment for long-haired hamsters: Hamsters kept at temperatures below 60 F, in low light conditions are more likely to start showing hibernation-type activity, although they will only hibernate at temperatures below 41 F. Hamsters not only need exercise to stay healthy, but happy too. Long-haired hamsters are a product of an autosomal recessive gene mutation that spontaneously occurred in pet hamsters. Theyre one of the most popular breeds. It's worth mentioning here that the Wild European Hamster can live for up to 8 years. Syrian hamsters can have short or long hair (known as the teddy bear variety). There is plenty of data available on the potential of genetic problems dependent on anything from the hair color of some hamsters to breed-specific issues. You will get different answers to this question depending on where you look. Some hamsters will live for this amount of time, some hamsters will live for longer, and some hamsters will, unfortunately, have shorter lives. Make things easier by placing food bowls and water near your hamster, in case their sight, smell, and vision are affected. Restricted food access has also helped hamsters live longer. The pups are born deaf, blind and hairless. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. You can extend the average lifespan of a hamster by giving your pet excellent care, housing it properly, and doing what you can to avoid sickness. As tiny creatures, hamsters typically live around 2 to 3 years. Before learning how to care for a long-haired Syrian hamster, it is essential to confirm that your hamster is a long-haired Syrian hamster and not an imposter! Again they have a relatively long life expectancy. Chinese dwarf hamster lifespan on average 2 3 years. WebThe ideal environment for long-haired hamsters: Temperature: 64 F to 79 F (17 C to 26 C) Humidity: 30% to 70% Zara is Editor on bookazines and covers a range of topics from cookery to travel and animals. Learn how your comment data is processed. Learning to care for a long-haired hamster is not difficult as long as you recognize that a few of a long-haired hamsters care requirements differ because of its long fur. Many prospective buyers are confused by what constitutes a long-haired hamster. How To Monitor My Long-Haired Hamsters Weight? Some long-haired hamsters are called teddy bear hamsters, though this is usually only used to describe long-haired Syrian hamsters. Any hamster that is a year and a half old is considered elderly. In a healthy hamster, you should not be able to feel any skeletal definition; if you can feel your hamsters bones, then theyre too thin! Quesenberry, K., Orcutt, C., Mans, C. and Carpenter, J. Elsevier. Copyright 2021 TheHamsterHouse.com, all rights reserved. Hope she was happy. Make sure your hamsters cage is secure and that theyre kept away from other pets, especially when theyre outside the cage. But there are a few ways to tell when he is aging. Males seem to outlive females on average, which is unusual in the animal world. However, the lifespan varies depending on the type of hamster and ranges from 1.5 to 3.5 years. Yes hes looking a bit older. 352 (1363). Poor baby was balled up in a corner this morning. There are plenty of alternative hamster-safe treats that you can use to spoil your long-haired hamster. Ran that wheel like no ones business. Hamsters typically live one to two years, but can live up to three years in captivity. There are usually 4-12 hamsters in a litter, depending on which breed they are. So, its important to find out: how long do hamsters live? Proliferative Ileitis causes inflammation in the small intestines, which in turn causes the hamster to have a watery diarrhea characterized by wet matted fur on the hamsters tail, rump, and belly. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Buy a high quality hamster food to make sure that they have a complete diet. On average, different types of hamster live for the following amounts of time Roborovski Hamster: 3 to 3.5 years Syrian Hamster: 2 to 2.5 years Campbells Dwarf Hamster: 2 years Chinese Hamster: 1.5 to 2 years Winter White Russian Dwarf Hamster: 1.5 to 2 years Your hamsters weight can be monitored using a simple kitchen scale that measures in increments of 0.1 oz with a minimum weight range of 2 to 16 oz. You will receive a verification email shortly. (Image credit: Frenjamin Benklin/Unsplash), Seven signs your cat isn't getting what it needs, Five signs of dog allergies you really need to know, hamsters need a mix of both protein and veg, Can dogs get sick from humans? You therefore need toknow how long you are committing to looking after your pet and be absolutely sure that youre happy to take on that responsibility. Once hamsters are sexually mature, you can tell which is which by looking at their rear ends while the hamsters are vertically held with head facing up. A Hamsters Lifespan is dependent on many factors. Make sure their enclosures are clean. However, data scientifically gathered from zoo collections puts the maximum lifespan of a striped dwarf hamster at 5.3 years. (Related article: The life cycle of a hamster). Hamsters in safe enclosures that give adequate scope for exercise tend to be healthy, busy little creatures. Learning what normal behavior for your long-haired hamster is will allow you to notice subtle differences in your hamster behavior. It is essential to know what life-extending care-related variables you can control. To prevent these problematic tangles and matts, it is better to avoid using these fruit treats. Like many other animals, domesticated hamsters live longer than their wild cousins. Some of these factors are out of your control. Some long-haired hamsters are called teddy bear hamsters, though this is usually only used to describe long-haired Syrian hamsters. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Djungarian hamsters are also more prone to glaucoma. In captivity, the average lifespan for a long-haired Syrian hamster is approximately 2yrs, with a few exceptionally long-lived individuals making it to 4yrs old. Long-haired hamsters require a bit more special care than short haired hamsters, though many people prefer the appearance of long haired hamsters. These are the average lifespans of pet hamsters by breed: If you want to know how to care for a hamster and ways to help your hamster live longer these are the factors you need to consider: As omnivores hamsters need a mix of both protein and veg. Although not officially a Dwarf hamsters, Chinese Dwarf hamsters are often categorized with their smaller cousins due to their size and appearance. Hamster species have varying lifespan averages again, there are no hard and fast rules to apply, but theyre useful as baseline figures. Your hamster will become less active. The bigger the better! However, the lifespan varies depending on the type of hamster and ranges from 1.5 to 3.5 years. Weigl, R. (2015), Longevity of mammals in captivity, E. Schweizerbartsche. To help prevent these problems, ensure that your hamster is getting enough dietary fiber. Still want to know more? Provide plenty of stimulus for exercise and natural behaviors add tunnels and sufficient space to burrow and hide, as well as the iconic hamster wheel. Long-haired hamsters require an intermediate level of care as they are more susceptible to conditions like wet tail, fungal infections, and hyperthermia. Hamsters do not tend to have very long life cycles. The most common hamster species is the Syrian, also known as the golden hamster. Diets made of primarily seeds may cause nutritional deficiencies in vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Have you had a hamster live for a particularly long time? Hamsters make wonderful pets, especially for children, but the downside to having these furry friends as playmates is that they have quite a short life expectancy. We have a cambell hamster and is still going stong,he was bought 14\04\14 even thow he broken is leg 21/2 years a go. There is no mention of what kind of hamster it is. However, diarrhea can occur at any age. If you do an Internet search, you will find anecdotes from many people claiming their hamsters are living longer than the research shows. Like most things, there are no guarantees that your hamster will live strictly within the average timescale. If you are unfamiliar with these kinds of Any hamster that is a year and a half old is considered elderly. Hamsters are mostly crepuscular or nocturnal in captivity. Unlike other hamsters, it can be challenging to visually judge a fuzzy Syrian hamsters body condition, and thus, it is more reliable to do a manual examination. Dwarf hamsters have an even shorter lifespan than some other breeds. Avoid plastic toys. Basic Information Sheet: Hamster. Males have a pointed outline due to the descended testes, which you can see in the upright position. 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