Hamsters Life Span

Hamsters are rodents that belong to the subfamily Cricetinae. These are burrowing animals and in the wild, protect themselves from predators by digging burrows in the ground. Hamsters love to eat nuts and berries. They are also fond of fresh fruits and vegetables. There are primarily four types of hamsters, namely; the Russian dwarf hamster, the Syrian hamster, the Roborovski hamster and the Chinese hamster. Among these four, the Syrian hamster is most popular as a pet, and the least popular is the Roborovski hamster. Let us now concentrate on the life span of hamsters, which is relatively short.

Life Span of Hamsters

The average life span of hamsters is around 2-3 years. Many people believe that, hamsters live up to an age of four years or more. But, not all hamsters are fortunate to live this long. This is because, hamsters attain maturity in a very short time. In fact, some experts say that, a 2-year-old hamster is equal to a 70-year-old human being! So you can imagine, the pace at which changes take place in hamsters. The average life span of a dwarf hamster is even shorter! It is two years and in very rare cases a little above that.

Naturally, after knowing this fact about hamsters' life span, you may be worried about the care and welfare of your pet, and you'd obviously want to give the best lifestyle you could give it. So let us see how to take care of hamsters the right way.

Tips for Hamster Care

The good news is that you can increase a bit of your hamster's life span by caring properly for it. Here are some tips to take care of hamsters.

Choosing the Hamster
Be careful while choosing your hamster. Ensure that it is healthy and comes from a clean environment surrounded by clean and healthy hamsters. This is an important factor to be considered if you really want your hamster to live a little longer.

Size of the Cage
Make sure that your pet shelter which should be in the form of a cage, is large enough to accommodate the exercise wheel, food, water, a small bed and a few hamster toys, if you wish to add them for your pet's entertainment. A cage of about 20-25 square inches is enough for a single hamster to live in it.

Diet
Diet forms an important part of the lifestyle of hamsters. The life span of hamsters can increase if you feed clean, hygienic and nutritious food to them. Food such as fresh vegetables, fruits and pulses can also be given. Apart from clean and nutritious food, you should also give clean and pure water to your pet so that it does not contract any disease.

Exercises
Feeding the hamster all the time, with no exercises will make your pet fat and lethargic. To avoid this, you can place a small exercise wheel in the cage. This will keep your hamster active for the day and improve its overall health in general.

Now that you know about the life span of a hamster, follow the tips and suggestions given above about its care and diet, and I am sure you will definitely succeed in adding a bit to the life span of your cute little pet!