Hamster is gray. Gray hamster (Cricetulus migratorius). Security measures taken and required

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(lat. Cricetulus migratorius) - a rodent from the genus of gray hamsters.

Description

A rodent the size of a mouse with a very short, inconspicuous tail and short legs. Has large cheek pouches. Body length 9.5-13 cm, tail 2-3.5 cm. The color of the fur is gray on top, the bottom and tail are light. The eyes are big. The ears are small and protrude slightly from the fur.

Spreading Distributed from of Eastern Europe through Russia and central Asia to Mongolia and to western China. The southern edge of its range passes through Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Northern India

. At first he lived in dry meadows, steppes and semi-deserts. Now it also lives on farmland and in gardens, and sometimes even in houses. Prefers arid areas with relatively sparse vegetation, avoids forests and wet habitats.

Lifestyle

Sedentary appearance. Leads a above-ground-underground lifestyle typical of most mouse-like rodents. The burrows, of a relatively simple structure, contain numerous barns in which the animal forms winter reserves. It can hibernate in the winter, although mainly in winter it is simply inactive. Leads a twilight lifestyle. Quite an omnivore. It eats seeds, green parts of plants, as well as various invertebrate animals (orthoptera, darkling beetles, ants, terrestrial mollusks). During the season, a female can bring 7-8 cubs 2-3 times a year. Pregnancy lasts 20 days. The cubs become sexually mature within a few months and manage to give birth to a new generation before the end of the year. The Hamyakov family is about three hundred species of different rodents. It includes not only well-known domestic animals, but also little-known wild animals. These include the Gray hamster - a rodent from the genus Gray hamsters. The habitat is wide - from Europe through Russia, Asia, Mongolia to the Western border of China. Found in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, India. Loves arid steppe and desert areas, avoids forests, humid climate

. Very often, the gray hamster builds its home in gardens and vegetable gardens, and does not disdain agricultural land.

The body length of the animal reaches 10-13 cm, the tail is 4 cm. Weight does not exceed 300 grams. It has small round ears protruding from the fur, an oblong muzzle, and a sharp nose. The eyes are small, black, shiny, and resemble beads. The color of the fur is gray on the sides, there is a dark gray stripe along the back, the abdomen and paws are almost white. Sometimes in nature there are individuals with red patches on their fur. The color of the rodent performs a protective function, because these small animals have many enemies and are completely unable to fight back. Very often, due to their external similarity, the hamster is confused with a field mouse. Their main difference is that the hamster has practically no tail, and its short legs are covered with thick gray hair, and the animal has large cheek pouches.

Lifestyle

As a rule, he leads a sedentary, solitary lifestyle. The growth of agricultural land led to the fact that the animal gradually began to move closer to humans. The rodent does not like to build its own home; it prefers to move into burrows abandoned by other relatives or mice. It also happens that a gray hamster kills and then gradually eats the owner of the home, if he is smaller. It begins to dig a hole only if there is nothing to choose from. It has a small depth, about 40 or 50 cm, is divided into compartments, and contains several exits. The animal is very economical and picky; each room in its home has its own purpose: for sleeping, storing supplies, a latrine.

This is a gloomy animal, it is most active at night: it is engaged in construction, hunting, searching for food, and storing supplies for the winter. He does not like to go far from his habitat; if this happens, then, having an excellent sense of smell, he easily finds his way home. In winter, it falls into a short hibernation and periodically wakes up to nourish its body. The sleep period lasts about 5 – 6 months, the duration depends on weather conditions.

In nature, an animal can live up to 4-5 years, but this does not happen often, because it has too many enemies: foxes, kites, falcons, owls.

Features of behavior

The gray hamster has poor eyesight, but excellent hearing, and navigates in space by smell. It has a mild character and shows aggression only towards mice, gophers or its relatives. In case of danger, he always runs away, because small size does not give him the opportunity to resist large predator. He tries not to contact people, although he settles near his homes. Due to its nocturnal lifestyle, it is almost impossible to see.

It is distinguished by great cleanliness: the toilet in the hole is made separately from the main place of residence and is cleaned regularly. Takes care of the fur, cleaning it with its hind paws.

Nutrition

The main type of food for a rodent is grain crops: barley, millet, oats, wheat. Eats some types of legumes: beans, peas. Closer to autumn, he feasts on melons and their seeds: melons, watermelons, pumpkin, zucchini. Having climbed into the garden, it eats beets, carrots, sunflower seeds, and corn. Loves fruits and berries. Unlike other wild rodents, the gray hamster does not eat perennial grasses grown in pastures for livestock. Except plant food, its diet includes mollusks, worms, crustaceans, small mice, beetles and ants.

Gray animals are very economical, for summer period They are able to store amounts of food several times their own weight.

Reproduction

Hamsters of this species are fertile. During the summer, females can give birth to up to two litters. The gestation period lasts 20-25 days. One litter can have about 10 cubs. Babies are born blind, deaf and bald. But by the end of the second week of life they can feed on their own. Mothers take care of small hamsters for twenty days, then the young go into adulthood. At the same time, puberty begins, so by the end of the season, young females can bring their own litter.

Despite their good fertility, rodents are listed in the Red Book as an endangered species. This is due to several factors:

• Changing natural landscapes. There are no areas where a person does not engage economic activity. Constant cohabitation with people leads to the displacement of rodents from their usual habitat.
• Poisoning from chemical fertilizers. Agricultural fields are constantly treated with nitrates and pesticides, which leads to intoxication of the animals’ bodies and their slow and certain extinction.
• A large number of predators. Usually, a large number of rodents are destroyed by their enemies even during puberty. Stupid young animals are hunted by rats, herons, ferrets, and badgers.

Hamsters of this type do not cause damage agriculture unlike other wild rodents. They are cute and harmless animals of the steppes and semi-deserts.

(Cricetulus migratorius) are densely built rodents about the size of a mouse, but with a very short, fur-covered tail and short legs.

They differ from lemmings and pieds by having longer ears (the length of the ear is almost equal to the distance between the ear and the eye). They have large cheek pouches.

Gray hamster: size and color

The body length of a gray hamster is 9.5-13 cm, the tail is 2-3.5 cm. The color is gray, the bottom and tail are light. The tail is slightly pubescent or almost hairless. The soles of the hind legs are bare or covered with sparse fur; the pads on them are well developed. Paws are white. The ears are small and protrude slightly from the fur.

Gray hamster: habitat

A rodent the size of a mouse with a very short, inconspicuous tail and short legs. Has large cheek pouches. Body length 9.5-13 cm, tail 2-3.5 cm. The color of the fur is gray on top, the bottom and tail are light. The eyes are big. The ears are small and protrude slightly from the fur. . Lives gray hamster in the European part of Russia north to the Moscow region and the mouth of the Kama, in the Caucasus and south Western Siberia to the foothills of Altai in the east, in forest-steppes, steppes and populated areas. Brought to Moscow, where it took root in some areas of the city (for example, near the Belorussky railway station). It adheres to dry places, desert depressions, rocks and screes in the mountains, steppe ravines, wastelands and pastures.

They are active mainly at night and at dusk, but sometimes appear during the day.

Gray hamsters have to move a lot in search of food. But their short legs do not allow them to run quickly, like mice and rats. Therefore, in case of danger, they do not run away, but hide or try to hide in a hole.

IN middle lane, probably falls into winter sleep, but sometimes appears on the surface even at twenty-degree frosts.

It prefers to use the burrows of other rodents, but it also builds its own simple ones, a meter or two long, with 2-3 entrances, with a nesting chamber at a depth of 30-40 cm (up to half a meter in winter) and several dead ends. Natural voids are often used. For food it goes 100-200 m (up to 500) from the hole. In experiments, ringed animals returned to their burrow from a distance of up to 700 m.

The tracks of gray hamsters are similar to those of voles, but almost always without a tail imprint. It feeds on cereals, legumes, quinoa and other plants (mainly immature seeds and inflorescences). For the winter it collects small reserves of seeds (up to 800 g). Despite the harmless appearance, these furry babies sometimes behave like bloodthirsty predators: there is a known case when a hamster got to the bottom of a gopher sleeping in a hole, bit it to death and dragged the meat and fat piece by piece into its pantry. More often, seeds and plant bulbs are stored in pantries for the winter.

Unlike their closest relatives - voles - gray hamsters are not able to feed on rough plant foods.

Gray hamster: reproduction

Reproduces gray hamster from April to September, up to 3 broods of 2-9 cubs per year. The young begin to disperse at about three weeks of age. They usually live alone, although the male and female sometimes remain in the same burrow for some time. During the breeding season, they are sometimes active during the day, but stay close to shelters.

In nature, gray hamsters are infected with various infections: plague, tularemia, leptospirosis, pseudotuberculosis.

The gray hamster belongs to the hamster family. This mammal of a number of rodents has six species in its genus, which have spread throughout the planet. In a number of countries, the gray hamster is listed in the Red Book with protective status“threatened”, but not particularly dangerous for extinction. Wild rodent is considered the distant ancestor of the Syrian breed and decorative Dzungarians.

External data

In the description, small rodents reach a length of up to 12-13 cm. In nature, more than large individuals from the family of gray hamsters, the descriptive characteristics of which indicate their size up to 25 cm in length. The average weight of an animal is up to 300 grams.

A distinctive feature is the color of their fluffy fur:

• the upper part of the rodent's body is covered with uniform fur, the shades of which vary from light tones of gray to darker tones - brown with ocher, some individuals have a coat color with shades of red,
• in the summer, some individuals have a dark stripe running along the spine in the center of the dorsal region,
• The fur on the bottom of the body is also monochromatic, but lighter in shade.

The color of the animal acts as a kind of camouflage for the animal against predators.

Bred in nature ornamental breeds- Syrian and Djungarian hamsters. In appearance, the Syrian breed of rodent and the Dzungarian breed are very similar to their wild representative. Moreover, the Syrian species is the largest of the ornamental hamsters.

The gray hamster is similar in appearance to the hairy-legged representative of rodents, but differs from it in having a more elongated muzzle and smaller eyes. His ears are small and hidden in coat. Due to the rounded shape of the ears, the rodent is sometimes mistaken for a vole. It has large cheek pouches, which is another distinctive feature.

A rodent with a dense build is very similar to an ordinary mouse.

The gray hamster has a small tail, almost imperceptible in length, up to 2.0 - 3.5 cm, but in some members of the family it can be longer than the body itself. Sometimes he is completely bald or covered with a small amount of sparse wool fibers. The soles of the rodent's paws are covered with thin hair.

Geography of habitat

The gray hamster has become widespread throughout the eastern European territory, crossing Russia's Central Asian regions, passing as far as Mongolia and western China. Its southern geographical range is located on Israeli territory, passing through the Iraqi and Iranian borders, Northern India and Pakistan.

In the 50-70s of the last century, the gray hamster was considered one of the many species among all mouse-like rodents.

Initially, the habitat of the gray hamster was exclusively dry areas of meadows, steppes and semi-deserts. Later, colonies of rodents began to settle closer to the place of human residence, including in household and industrial agricultural plots. Gray hamsters prefer to select areas with arid areas as their habitat. climatic conditions where sparse vegetation is observed. Animals avoid forest areas and do not settle in places where there is high humidity. They love thickets and the edges of fields.

Every year, more and more cases of rodents settling into human housing have been recorded.

Regardless of the large geographical distribution, the number of animals is insignificant. He is one of the few rare species. Biologists associate the reduction in the number of rodents with changes natural landscape due to human activity, as well as the active use of chemicals in agriculture.

Lifestyle

The mouse-like representative is classified as a sedentary animal that leads a lifestyle characteristic of this family. It is possible to meet a rodent at the onset of twilight or at night. They do not go more than 300 m from their place of residence.

Accommodation

Small rodents prefer to stay on the surface of the earth and alternate between being underground. Animals build burrows with a simple structure and numerous storerooms, which the rodent fills with food supplies for the winter. Their places of residence are up to 30 cm - half a meter deep and have an entrance located at an angle. In the burrow, animals build compartments where the brought grass and grains are stored. Most animals lead an inactive lifestyle in winter, although there are also those individuals that hide in their burrows during the cold season, hibernating.

Reproduction

Rodents become sexually mature a few months after birth, so they can bear offspring before the end of the year. The breeding season begins in early spring. Under favorable conditions, they continue to reproduce in cold weather. A female hamster produces 2-3 litters in one year, numbering up to 8 cubs. Duration of gestation of the future younger generation is three weeks.

The gray hamster (Cricetulus migratorius) belongs to the genus of gray hamsters of the hamster family, order of rodents.

The body length of the animal ranges from 9 to 13 cm. The tail is almost bare, short, up to 4 cm.
Descriptions of the color of the gray hamster vary depending on its habitat, this is explained by its camouflage function. The fluffy fur ranges from light to dark gray. The underparts are always light, fawn. The ears are small, rounded, and there is no light edge. The paws are covered with fur to the point of pronounced calluses. Black eyes and rodents are relatively large in size.

Habitats

The species most often settles in flat and mountain steppes, semi-deserts, but sometimes chooses a field-type agricultural landscape as its habitat. On the territory of Russia, the habitat includes the south of the European part of the country, the south of Western Siberia and the Caucasus.

. At first he lived in dry meadows, steppes and semi-deserts. Now it also lives on farmland and in gardens, and sometimes even in houses. Prefers arid areas with relatively sparse vegetation, avoids forests and wet habitats.

Gray hamster leads night look life, sometimes is active during the day. In search of food, he has to move a lot, but he rarely moves long distances from home. Usually it is 200-300 meters. However, we experimentally found out that even being at a distance of 700 meters from the home, a gray hamster can easily find its way home.

The rodent rarely digs a hole, preferring to occupy the abandoned homes of moles, mice, rats or gophers. Sometimes found in natural shelters (cavities in rocks or scatterings of stones). Otherwise, he makes a hole himself, going down at an angle of 30-40 cm. In addition to the nesting compartment in the hole, there is always also a storage for food - a barn.

During the cold season, the animal can fall into shallow hibernation (this is more typical for hamsters living in the north or in mountainous regions), but it is often noticed on the surface and at low temperatures.

Gray hamsters breed from April to September; during this period, the animals' daily activity increases. Pregnancy lasts from 15 to 20 days, and during the season the female can give birth to 3 litters of 5-10 cubs each. The young settle at the age of up to 4 weeks.

The number is affected by the amount of precipitation during the breeding season: it increases in dry years, but still remains relatively low. The gray hamster prefers solitude; large concentrations of individuals of this species are formed extremely rarely. Natural enemies are birds of prey (harrier, owl) and mammals (fox, ferret, stoat). The number can also be affected by the use of pesticides and inorganic fertilizers.

The animal is unpretentious in nutrition - it is omnivorous. Preference is given to grain feed, immature seeds and inflorescences of cereals.

Sometimes the animal can eat tender parts of green plants, but it does not consume rough food like wild grass, unlike its related vole. The gray hamster willingly eats beetles, worms, snails, caterpillars, ants, and insect larvae.

Species protection measures

The habitat of the animals is very wide, but the animal population is small. If half a century ago the animal was very common in the steppe, now it is extremely rare. There is no exact data on the number.

In many regions of Russia, the gray hamster is listed in the regional Red Book.
Regions that assigned the species category III (rare, not numerous, poorly studied species): Lipetsk, Samara, Tula, Ryazan, Chelyabinsk regions.

Conditions of detention

In captivity, the breed is unpretentious, the conditions of detention practically do not differ from the recommendations for. Despite the fact that in nature the gray hamster feeds on a variety of seeds and animal food, at home it is better to give preference to a ready-made food mixture for rodents. This will provide. The spacious cage should have a running wheel, a drinking bowl and a small house. Gradually the animal gets used to its owner and begins to recognize his face and hands. In rare cases, a gray hamster is even able to remember its name and come when called. This adorable big-eyed animal can become a family pet if its modest needs are met and a little attention and care is given.

Gray hamster

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