Hamsters are stout-bodied with short tails, they can have thick fur to quite thin fur and vary in size and shape and colour.
Hamsters originate from central Europe through to Siberia and Mongolia.
On this map, the red spots represent where hamsters live in the wild and are breed in captivity also, go ahead take a look!
To view the map click here.
It just goes to show how massively hamsters have populated our world, maybe humans will be taken over by hamsters someday!
Hamsters in their natural habitat like to forage for food, burying themselves and hordes of food underground in small tunnels called burrows much like rabbit holes but a lot smaller.
Hamsters in the wild can be hunted by eagles larger birds, so it is ideal for a hamster to hunt for food in the night and burrow down and rest in the daytime, when most predators are out and looking for prey.
There are still a lot of hamsters in the wild but the most are breed in MEDC (More economically developed countries) countries in captivity mostly for people to keep as family pets.
Hamsters are omnivorous and feed mostly on grains, fresh fruit, vegetables and other small animals.
Breeding season is from April to October, with two to five litters of 1 to 13 young being born after a gestation period of 16 to 22 days.
Hamsters become fertile at different ages dependent on their species, but this can be from one month to three months of age. Male hamsters remain fertile for the rest of their lives, though females do not. Females are in heat approximately every four days.
