Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes ProCon History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
hamster
Table of Contents
References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
golden hamster Dzhungarian (or Siberian) hamster Golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus).
Quizzes
Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.
Ultimate Animals Quiz
Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters
Animal Group Names
Lion (panthera leo)
Deadliest Animals Quiz
Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)
Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz
Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)
Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz
Read Next
animal. Amphibian. Frog. Anura. Ranidae. Frog in grass.
Abundant Animals: The Most Numerous Organisms in the World
Spider monkey swinging in a tree. (primate, jungle animal)
Why Do Animals Have Tails?
cat. orange and white persian cat with long hair, snarl, growl, teeth
7 Questions About Mammals Answered
Collage of different cats. Made for the cat quiz on Mendel
16 Questions About Pets Answered
Discover
Diverse elementary school children wearing school uniforms running outside of school. Boys girls
Pro and Con: School Uniforms
Super Typhoon Noru over the western tropical Pacific Ocean as observed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA Aqua satellite July 31 2017
What Is the Difference Between a Typhoon and a Super Typhoon?
Thumbnail for flags that look alike quiz Russia, Slovenia, Iceland, Norway
Flags That Look Alike
An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.
11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1855), founder of the house of Rothschild; lithograph by Friedrich Lieder, c. 1830.
Where Do Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories About the Rothschild Family Come From?
The Cheshire Cat is a fictional cat from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. (Alice in Wonderland)
11 Banned Books Through Time
Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society
12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”

hamster: Facts & Related Content

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/facts/hamster
Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As Cricetinae

Photos

golden hamster
Dzhungarian (or Siberian) hamster
Golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus).
See All Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)
Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz
Giraffe standing in grass, Kenya.
Know Your Mammals Quiz
Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)
Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz
Dogs of different breeds - two border terriers, dachsund, hybrid dog, border collie (mammals, mutts, pets, purebreds, Canis lupus familiaris).
All About Pets Quiz
Lion (panthera leo)
Deadliest Animals Quiz
vulture. An adult bearded vulture at a raptor recovery center. The Gypaetus barbatus also known as the Lammergeier or Lammergeyer, is a bird of prey and considered an Old World vulture.
Animal Factoids
Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters
Animal Group Names
Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.
Ultimate Animals Quiz
Encyclopaedia Britannica thistle graphic to be used with a Mendel/Consumer quiz in place of a photograph.
36 Questions from Britannica’s Most Popular Science Quizzes
List
Collage of different cats. Made for the cat quiz on Mendel
16 Questions About Pets Answered
animal. Amphibian. Frog. Anura. Ranidae. Frog in grass.
Abundant Animals: The Most Numerous Organisms in the World
cat. orange and white persian cat with long hair, snarl, growl, teeth
7 Questions About Mammals Answered