Chinese Hamster

Coat and looks how to spot one

Short, dense fur; slim body with a noticeable tail

A slender, mouse-like hamster with a longer body than the round dwarf hamsters and a tail of about 2-3.3 cm, which is long by hamster standards. Wild-coloured animals are brown with dark and grey ticking, a black stripe along the spine and a pale belly.1

Personality what they are like

May be a little nippy at first but usually tames quickly and becomes calm, gentle and easy to handle. Held in the hand, it likes to wrap all four feet around a finger. Mostly active at night, with short spells awake during the day.1

Daily activity how busy a day looks

Active at night and agile, so it benefits from a solid-surface wheel, things to climb and tunnel through, and deep bedding for digging.12

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Self-grooming; no routine brushing needed. Keep bedding clean and dry and check food and water daily.34

Home where they are happiest

Give a roomy enclosure with a solid floor and deep, dust-free bedding for burrowing (MSD suggests a base at least 15 cm high, ideally 20 cm or more), plain paper or hay for nesting, and hiding places. Avoid fluffy cotton-wool bedding. Keep it indoors, dry and draught-free at about 18-26 C with a steady day-night light pattern. Wikipedia notes they can become defensive in cramped enclosures, so space matters. Some US states, including California and New Jersey, require a special permit to keep, breed or sell Chinese hamsters.132

Food basics what goes in the bowl

A seed-eater that also takes insects in the wild. Feed a balanced hamster pellet or seed mix as the base (MSD suggests a pellet with 15-20% protein), small portions of greens and vegetables, and occasional insect treats. Keep treats to about a tenth of the diet, always provide fresh water, and avoid grapes and rhubarb.42

Company who they like around

Naturally solitary and usually kept on its own, as adults sharing a small space can become quarrelsome.12

The story where it all began

Chinese hamsters were first taken up by scientists in China in the early 1900s. In 1948 twenty animals were sent from Dr Hu Zhengxiang to Dr Robert Briggs Watson, who carried them from Nanjing to Shanghai and on to the United States by air. Researchers valued the species because it has only 22 fairly large chromosomes, which are easy to count and study. In 1957 Theodore Puck derived the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line from one female, and CHO cells went on to become a workhorse for producing modern medicines. Alongside its lab career the Chinese hamster has also been kept as a pet, especially among hobby breeders in the UK, where the rare black-eyed white variety is found. Its classification is still debated, with some authorities treating it as a subspecies of the Chinese striped hamster.15