The gray hamster is a small animal of the order of rodents. The habitat of the animal is very wide, but the number of individuals inside it is gradually decreasing. What does a gray hamster look like? Description of the appearance and lifestyle of this rodent read below.
Appearance of the animal
The gray hamster is a small rodent whose size does not exceed 13 centimeters. The weight of the animal is about three hundred grams. It fits freely in the palm of an adult.
At first glance, it is easy to confuse it with a vole because of its round ears and slightly pointed muzzle. A gray hamster differs from a mouse in a short tail (2-3 centimeters) and paws, which are densely covered with fluff. But his ears and cheek pouches are large.
This small animal cannot withstand predatory enemies, so its coloration serves as a camouflage function. Hamster fur is colored in shades of gray, sometimes red. A stripe along the ridge, from head to tail, there is a darkening. The belly, paws and tail are light, almost white.
Lifestyle
In its "habits" the gray hamster resembles an ordinary hamster. He loves to settle inforest thickets and along the edges of fields. With the increase in the lands developed by man, some representatives of the species began to settle in the dwellings of people.
A burrow the animal prefers not to build itself. If he finds an empty “room” left by a mole, mouse or other animals, he will definitely occupy it. When there is nothing to choose from, the hamster starts building.
He digs deep holes, the entrance to which is slightly inclined. The depth of the hole reaches 30-40 centimeters. As a rule, it has several compartments: one is used to store grass, the other is for grain, the third is for the animal itself.
The gray hamster is predominantly nocturnal. He does not like to move more than 300 meters from the dwelling. But if he has to go further, he finds his home without problems.
The period of active reproduction is in the spring. After the first appearance of offspring, as a rule, it is up to 10 individuals, a hamster can acquire a second brood, or even two. In winter, the animal falls into a shallow hibernation. However, if it gets into favorable conditions, it can multiply even in the cold period.
What does a hamster eat?
From plant food, the gray hamster prefers seeds of cereals, sedges, wormwood. Seeds and seeds of cultivated plants are also suitable for him, for example, cherries, sunflowers, cherries, watermelons, etc. Unlike other members of the family, he often uses soft green parts of plants. Rough food, such as wild grass, he does not tolerate.
Does not disdain the animal and animal food. It freely consumes worms, snails, larvae, caterpillars, beetles and even small mammals. While searching for food, he can be overly aggressive and attack mice and ground squirrels. Sometimes the animal climbs into their holes, kills the owners and gradually eats them.
There are several pantries in his dwelling, which he tries to fill up well for the winter. Before the arrival of cold weather, the hamster manages to collect food three to four times its own weight.
Grey Hamster: Red Book
Typical habitats of the animal are steppes, forest-steppes, fields, deserts and semi-deserts. He avoids wet areas. The species is distributed from Eastern Europe to Western China. Its range includes the area from the northern forest-steppe to Northern India, Iran, Pakistan, Jordan.
Despite the wide distribution area, there are relatively few individuals of hamsters. According to the observations of zoologists, half a century ago, the animal was one of the main inhabitants of the steppe. Now the animal is rarely seen. There is no exact data on its numbers.
In the regional Red Books of Russia, the hamster is mainly assigned the third category. It belongs to rare species with a small number, which are sporadically distributed over a wide area. The animal is listed in the Book of Tula, Lipetsk, Chelyabinsk, Samara, Ryazan and other regions.
In the Red Book of Ukraine, there is also a gray hamster. The cause of extinction is the same as that of many other inhabitants of the steppe and fields: a changenatural landscapes due to human activities. The use of pesticides and fertilizers in the fields is negatively affected, as well as the fact that the animal lives close to the boundaries of its range.
