1. Rodents Continued: Hamster and Gerbil Managment
Dr. N. Matthew Ellinwood, D.V.M., Ph.D.
February 29, 2012
Iowa State University
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

2. HAMSTER & GERBIL MANAGEMENT

3. Hamsters Mesocricetus auratus – golden Cricetulus griseus – Chinese
Cricetus cricetus – European
Cricetulus migratorius – Armenian
Phodopus sungorus – Russian or Siberian, or Dzungarian

4. Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Suborder: Myomorpha Superfamily: Muroidea Family: Cricetidae Subfamily: Cricetinae

5. Cricetinae (hamsters; subfamily of Cricetidae)
Cricetidae (True hamsters, voles, lemmings, and New World rats and mice; 600 species and second largest family)
Cricetinae (hamsters; subfamily of Cricetidae)
25 species in 6-7 genera
Cricetulus
Cricetulus griseus (Chinese hamster)
Cricetulus migratorius (Armenian hamster)
Cricetus
Cricetus cricetus (black-bellied or European hamster)
Mesocricetus
Mesocricetus auratus (golden hamster)
Phodopus
Phodopus sungorus (striped hairy-footed, Russian, Siberian, or Dzungarian hamster)

6. Habitat and Natural History
First described in 1839 (Golden Hamster)
Hamster (German for “hoarder”)
First domesticated in 1930 (Syrian Hamster)
Expandible cheek pouches
Polyestrous
4 day cycle

7. Golden Hamster Mesocricetus auratus
Syria (now considered a vulnerable species)
Circadian
Active after dusk, late night, and dawn; wild vs lab
Adult size and life span
5-7 inches, 2-3 years
Expandable cheek pouches (common to hamsters)
Anecdotal accounts
25 kg in burrows
Arabic dialect “Mr. Saddlebags”

8. 16 day pregnancy (shortest of all placentals) 8-10 young “Foal” heat
Can be stressed to abandonment or cannibalism
“Foal” heat
Territorial (housing issues)
Separate by gender at weaning (3 wks)
Sexually mature by 4-5 weeks

9. Natural habitat
Dry desert climate
Mitochondrial evidence supports only one maternal line in domestic golden hamsters
Sought as an alternative to Chinese hamster
Domesticated in Mandatory Palestine by Israel Aharoni, 1930, Hebrew University, Jerusalem; Mother and litter
Invasive species in Israel
1931 to Britain’s Wellcome Bureau of Scientific Research

10. Lab Animal 4th most used lab species of rodent Circadian research
Consistent behaviors of marking and grooming make good ethology models
All lab golden hamsters
Descended from 3 animals
Highly inbred
Inbred lines

11. Cardiomyopathy Dialated cardiomyopathy Cause of sudden death
Strain BIO14.6
Delta-sarcoglycan mutation

12. Housing and welfare concerns
Large diameter wheels
Bedding that allows nesting materials
Not recommended for children younger than 7 years of age
Require adult supervision
Large enclosures which allow sufficeint room for exercise

13. Wide Variety of Colors and Patterns and Hair Lengths
Short haired
Teddy Bear (Angora)

14. Self versus Agouti colors Self colors
Cream (UK 1951)
Black (UK 1991)

15. Whites
Black eyed white
Dark eared white
Flesh eared white

16. Agouti colors
Sable (1975)
Wild Type

17. Patterning and Orange
Banding, pie balding, spotting and X linked orange all seen

18. Chinese Hamster Longer bodied More mouse/rat like
Grouped as a “rat like hamster”, ie genus Cricetulus
Longer tail
Males have prominent scrotum
Females usually kept in pet trade
Shown dominant white mutation

19. Wild type coloration of a Chinese hamster

20. Campbell's dwarf hamster
Phodopus campbelli
AKA
Russian dwarf hamster
Djungarian (or Dzungarian) dwarf hamster
Social hamsters

21. Winter White Russian Dwarf Hamster
Phodopus sungorus
Social hamsters
Can hybridize with Cambells

22. Anatomy Cheek pouches Flank marking glands
Sexual dimorphism (females larger)

23. Handling Easily startled Can be inclined to bite Handle by cupping
Scuffing if necessary

24. Housing management Houdini’s Solid surface enclosure Stainless steel
Polycarbonate plastic
Something that cannot be chewed through

25. Bedding Corn cob Paper Hardwood AVOID
Cedar
Pine
Nesting material (especially females)
Housing/hutches/enclosures

26. Feeding
Granivorous
Food hoarders (hoards are discretely located far from latrines)
Commercial chow
17-23% Crude Protein
6-8% Crude Fiber
4.5% Crude Fat
Blunt noses and feeders
Coprophagous
Vit E deficiency (muscle weekness – White Muscle Disease
Fresh milled within last 6 months

27. Breeding and Housing Mgmt
Sex by anogenital distance
Separte at 3 weeks (weaning) by sex
Solitary in wild
Estrus every 4 days (24 hours)
Female to male cage (short periods – never unattended)
Fighting or lordosis
Mating within 30 min to 4 hours

28. Gestation and Parturition
16 day gestation (15-18 days)
Longer gestations increase complications
Clean cage before parturition so as not to disturb young
Birth usually at night
Non-prococial young (altricial)
1 delivered/10 min
Avoid disturbance for 2 weeks (haired and visual)
Cannibalism
First time dams but also experienced dams

29. Diseases Viral induced lymphoma Hamster polyoma virus
DNA virus stable in enviornment and easily transmissible
Bacterial disease
Hamster enteritis complex
Proliferative ileitis
Wet tail (Lawsonia intracellularis)
Tyzzer’s Disease
Clostirdium piliforme
Clostridiosis
Cl. perfirngens, and difficile (antibiotics)

30. Diseases Parasites No significant risk Kindey failure Zoonoses
Common age related cause of death
Atrial Thromosis
Associated with sudden death (older females)
Cancer (rare)
Zoonoses
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM)
Salmonellosis
Allergies rare

31. Gerbils
Mongolian gerbil
Meriones unguiculatus

32. Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Family: Muridae Subfamily: Gerbillinae Genus: Meriones Subgenus: Pallasiomys Species: M. unguiculatus

33. Gerbillinae Subfamily of rodents 14 genera 110 species
Old world rodents
Often adapted to harsh desert enviorns

34. Domestication First described in 1867
Gerbil from Jerboa, a semitic name of a local type of near eastern unrelated desert rodent
19th Century pet in France
US stock to US in 1954 By Dr Vicotr Schwetker

35. Habitat and Natural History
Desert of Mongolia and North China
Large burrow complex
Large family structure
Single breeding pair
Wide temperature fluctuations
Crepuscular and diurnal

36. Social and Clannish Best kept in same sex pairs
Will fight unknown/new animals
Pair up littermates early (before 12 weeks)
Pair up breeding pairs early (at or before 12 weeks)
Breeding pairs cannot be reestablished as adults
Fighting can be a problem in even established pairings

37. Housing Solid floored cage (burrowing)
Maloclusion (chewing substrate – avoid plastic)
Low humidity (30%)
Higher humidity can be a problem
Tolerate fulx in temperatures well
Paper/wood shaving bedding
Sand (sore nose)

38. Feeding Produce little urine and drink little water Not coprophagic
Should be supplied nonetheless
Not coprophagic
Feed commercial rodent chow.
Not a hoarding speices
Store calories as fat
Will self select for high fat grains/seeds
Ex: sunflowers – limit as a treat item only

39. Handling Do not grasp by tail Base of tail Scruffing when necessary
Degloving injury
Causes tail to necrose and slough
May require amputation
Base of tail
Scruffing when necessary

40. Common Diseases Seizure Black Gerbils most susceptible
Sore nose (nasal dermatitis)
Degloving
High humidity
Rough hair coat
Tyzzer disease
Cl. piliforme
Usually fatal

41. Research
Stroke model
Incomplete circle of Willis

42. Colors and Patterns
Over 30 different patters and colors observed in the Gerbil fancy

43. Golden Agouti (Wild Type)

44. Schimmels

45. Light Red Fox

46. Nutmeg

47. Silver Nutmeg

48. Lilac

49. Dove

50. Fat Tailed Gerbils
Pachyuromys duprasi
North African gerbil