Hamsters in the Wild article

[Maz]

This is a very interesting article from the British Hamster Organisation, about how all the various species of hamsters live in the wild. I found the part about females being able to control the size of the litters they give birth to particularly interesting.

Welcome to the British Hamster Association website

 

[RainbowBrite]

I liked the bit that said robos have shallow tunnels near the surface. That explains why I can see some of Orko's tunnels.

 

[Banned Member 1]

Campbell's hamsters seem to have a lot of adaptations for living in a particularly sparse and cold environment. I assumed that Winter White's were more adapted to cold weather but that's not actually the case. Campbell's deal better with cold weather and worse with hot weather. Their harsh environment is also why they tend to cohabit and coparent in the wild, they need to spend much more time out of their burrows than Winter Whites to get enough food and as the mother is busy looking after offspring it's very helpful for the male to be gathering food (male Campbell's are particularly fast and cover huge distances).

 

[RainbowBrite]

Campbell's hamsters seem to have a lot of adaptations for living in a particularly sparse and cold environment. I assumed that Winter White's were more adapted to cold weather but that's not actually the case. Campbell's deal better with cold weather and worse with hot weather. Their harsh environment is also why they tend to cohabit and coparent in the wild, they need to spend much more time out of their burrows than Winter Whites to get enough food and as the mother is busy looking after offspring it's very helpful for the male to be gathering food (male Campbell's are particularly fast and cover huge distances).

I also noticed how very different they are from each other yet are often thought of as the same.

 

[Maz]

Campbell's hamsters seem to have a lot of adaptations for living in a particularly sparse and cold environment. I assumed that Winter White's were more adapted to cold weather but that's not actually the case. Campbell's deal better with cold weather and worse with hot weather. Their harsh environment is also why they tend to cohabit and coparent in the wild, they need to spend much more time out of their burrows than Winter Whites to get enough food and as the mother is busy looking after offspring it's very helpful for the male to be gathering food (male Campbell's are particularly fast and cover huge distances).

It's fascinating isn't it?! Especially the difference in Campbells and Winter Whites who tend to get lumped together as similar species (they may look similar but appear to be hardwired differently).

 

[Maz]

I'm guessing some behaviours will change in domesticity, but others can be quite hardwired.

 

[Member ID2]

Going by that, hamsters should be ok with cooler temperatures as long as they have enough substrate to burrow or nest.

 

[Maz]

Yes that does suggest that. Unless they're different in domestication somehow, but all their other instincts seem to have survived.