Their numbers have been declining in the wild due to a loss of habitat from agriculture and deliberate elimination by humans.

[3] However, captive breeding programs are well established, and captive-bred golden hamsters are often kept as small house pets.

Golden hamsters and other species in the genus Mesocricetus have the shortest gestation period in any known placental mammal at around 16 days.

[7]In 1930, Israel Aharoni, a zoologist and professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, captured a mother hamster and her litter of pups in Aleppo, Syria.

Descendants of the captive hamsters were shipped to Britain in 1931, where they came under the care of the Wellcome Bureau of Scientific Research.

In captivity, they may kill and eat healthy young as a result of the pups interacting with humans, as any foreign scent is treated as a threat.

Male hamsters in particular lick their bodies near the glands, creating damp spots on the fur, then drag their sides along objects to mark their territory.

Finally, to confirm the current existence of the wild golden hamster in northern Syria and southern Turkey, two expeditions were carried out in September 1997 and March 1999.

All these 19 caught golden hamsters, together with three wild individuals from the University of Aleppo, were shipped to Germany to form a new breeding stock.

[15]Golden hamsters are popular as house pets due to their docile, inquisitive nature, cuteness, and small size.

The recommended size for a hamster cage is 1 square metre (1,600 sq in), of continuous floor space or larger.

TVT recommends wheels should be at least 30 cm for Syrian hamsters, since smaller diameters lead to permanent spinal curvatures, especially in young animals.

A variety of toys and cardboard tubes and boxes can help to provide enrichment, as they are energetic and need space to exercise.

Originally, Syrian hamsters occurred in just one color – the natural wild agouti – but they have since developed a variety of color and pattern mutations, including cream, white, blonde, cinnamon, tortoiseshell, black, three different shades of gray, dominant spot, banded, and dilute.

They are identical to short-haired Syrians except for the hair length and can be found in any color, pattern, or other coat type available in the species.