How many different breeds of hamster are there?

Question

I sadly only know five, Syrian, Teddy Bear, Panda Bear, Chinese, and Dwarf. Can list a few other than those ones?

Answer 1

There are many species of hamsters in the wild but only 5 species are widely kept in captivity as pets and those are -

Syrian hamsters

Dwarf Campbells Russian Hamsters

Dwarf Winter White Russian Hamsters

Chinese Hamsters

Roborovski Hamsters

The five that you have mentioned are not the different breeds. Teddy Bear and Panda Bear are fancy names given for Syrian Hamsters in the pet shops and Chinese is also a Dwarf hamsters. Out of the five I have mentioned above, the last four are all dwarf hamsters only.

There are many more species of hamsters in the wild. Some of them are -

1.European Hamster also called as Common Hamster or Black Bellied Hamster

2.Romanian Hamster

3.Turkish Hamster also called as Brandts' Hamster

4.Ciscaucasian Hamster also called as Georgian Hamster

5.Ladak Hamster

6.Chinese Striped Hamster

7.Mongolian Hamster

8.Eversmann's Hamster

9.Tibetan Hamster

10.Lesser Longtailed Hamster

11.Armenian Hamster

12. Greater Longtailed Hamster also called as Korean Hamster

13. Mouse-Like Hamster

There are also other rodents that are sometimes referred to as 'hamsters' although they are not true hamsters, such as the South African Hamster (Mystromys albicaudatus) which is also known as the White Tailed Mouse and the Maned Rat which used to be referred to as the Maned Hamster or the Crested Hamster.

Thatz a lot of hamsters, isn't it? :-)

Answer 2

Ok, actually, teddybears, pandas are bot types of syrinian.

theres:

Syrinnian (AKA: teddy, panda, Fancy, Common, LArge)

and theyres several dwarves:  

Chinese

campell dwarves

winter white dwarves

campell russian dwarves =]

thats the hamybreeds as far as i kw, but i may have missed a few =/

Answer 3

I'm not sure anyone knows exactly how many breeds there are ouf hamsters but this is a good start. I know you know some of these...but there is a couple other, and I provided you with discriptions on them too!!

The Syrian hamster is the most common type of pet hamster.

Identifying characteristics of the Syrian hamster: Between six and seven inches long Short tail Hairless feet with four toes on the front feet and five toes on the back feet Expandable cheek pouches If you are planning to keep a Syrian hamster for a pet, plan to keep it alone. These hamsters will not tolerate the presence of another hamster much past the age of eight weeks. More than one Syrian hamster caged together will fight, often to the death. However, these hamsters are gentle with humans and can be handled by young children under adult supervision.

Dwarf Campbells Russian Hamster

This type of dwarf hamster comes from the steppes and semi-desert areas of central Asia. You may also see it incorrectly called the “Siberian” hamster in pet shops. This type of hamster is also called the Furry Footed or Hairy Footed hamster.

Identifying characteristics of the Dwarf Campbells Russian Hamster: Approximately four inches in length Plump, rounded body Expandable cheek pouches Furry feet

Like other dwarf hamsters, the Campbells Russian Hamster is sociable and will live with others of the same breed in single s*x or mixed s*x groups -- as long as the hamsters are introduced to each other at a young age.

This breed of hamster may be difficult for small children to handle because of its smaller size. Dwarf Campbells Russian hamsters may also be less tolerant of clumsy handling, and may nip when annoyed. Beware -- this hamster is known as an escape artist, squeezing between the bars of a cage to wander. You may want to use a glass or plastic aquarium for housing instead.

Dwarf Winter White Russian Hamster

This type of hamster comes from the grassy steppes of Siberia. It has a very similar appearance to a Dwarf Campbells Russian hamster, and the two species can interbreed. Winter White Russian Hamsters are seen more rarely in pet shops, and are less common than Dwarf Campbells Russian hamsters.

Identifying characteristics of the Dwarf Winter White Russian Hamster: Between three and four inches in length Prominent eyes A bullet shaped body Expandable cheek pouches Furry feet

This hamster gets its name from a tendency to turn white in the winter months, due to the lack of sunlight. Like other dwarf hamsters, the Winter White Russian Hamster is sociable and will live with others of the same breed in single s*x or mixed s*x groups -- as long as the hamsters are introduced to each other at a young age. This breed of hamster may be difficult for small children to handle because of its smaller size. Dwarf Winter White Russian hamsters may also be less tolerant of clumsy handling, but is not as likely to nip as the Campbells Russian hamster. Beware -- this hamster is known as an escape artist, squeezing between the bars of a cage to wander. You may want to use a glass or plastic aquarium for housing instead.

Chinese Hamster



The Chinese hamster is grouped with the dwarf hamsters because of its size, but it is technically a member of the group known as “rat-like” hamsters. It looks more like a mouse than other dwarf hamsters, and is not widely kept as a pet.

Identifying characteristics of the Chinese hamster: Approximately four inches long Noticeable tail Distinct scrotal sac in males Most often dark brown on the back and off-white on the belly

Although Chinese hamsters tend to be timid, they rarely nip and are generally good tempered. They may not be very active when handled, and may be a disappointment to a person who wants a pet they can play with. If you prefer to simply observe, a Chinese hamster may be a good pet for you! Give this type of hamster a large environment with lots of things to climb and explore for a good show.

Roborovski Hamster

This type of hamster comes from Mongolia and China and is the smallest of the domestic hamster species at approximately two inches in length. Roborovski hamsters are not widely kept as pets because they can be difficult to handle.

Identifying characteristics of Roborovski Hamsters: Approximately two inches long Sandy-gold in color with a white belly Distinctive white eyebrow markings

The size and speed of the Roborovski hamster makes them a poor choice for people who want pets they can handle and play with. However, if you want to observe a fascinating little creature, this may be the right hamster for you. Give your Roborovski hamster an interesting space to live in and you’ll have instant entertainment on your hands. You may need to go to a hamster breeder to obtain this type of hamster; they are not often seen in pet shops.

I hope this gives you a better understanding for some types of hamsters...and if you knew some of these already hopefully you learned something new about them!! Glad I could help,

-JoshLuver

Answer 4

Ones available as pets....

Syrian - also called teddy bear, panda bear, etc - those are marketing gimmicks for different colours and hair lengths of the Syrian hamsters (sometimes also called Golden) - these are your "normal" sized hamsters. (Normal sized because this used to be the only type available as a pet).

The four dwarf species:

Winter White

Campbells - you'll often see gimmicky names such as "blueberry" and "blackberry" for different colours of these

Robovorski's - these are the REALLY small ones - and way to fast for me, but they are cute!

Chinese - these are the "mouse-like" hamsters that have a little bit more of a tail

hamsteriffic.com will have good information about the differences of these species.

There ARE other species of hamsters that aren't available in the pet market. The 5 above are the only ones available as pets; you'll hear/see numerous names for them. Pet stores and breeders looking to make a buck love to create names that differentiate one from another so that they can charge you more for the cool hamster colour of the week.

Unfortunately, this results in many folks not having a clue what they really own. Many folks own a "russian hamster" - its probably a winter white or a campbells - they aren't the same creature and you should know what you have since different health issues are common in each and inadvertantly creating a hybrid cross can be disastrous.

Don't trust pet store labels any more than their gender identification. Learn what they look like before purchase, so you know what you're buying despite what the stores signs and staff say it is.

Answer 5

there are alot so the link shows most of them

Answer 6

Hey

FIRST OF ALL, buy a hamster book!

What you listed is half wrong and right. There are 24 species of hamsters. Only five are kept as pets.

Syrian (Mesocritetus aurarus is the scientific name or known as golden or teddy bear) These are the largest at 5 to 7 inches.

Cambell's Russian (Phodopus cambelli or known as djungarian, striped or hairy footed) These are 3 to 4 inches.

Winter White (Phodopus sungorus or known as siberian, striped, hairy footed or winter white russian.) These are about 4 inches.

NOTE: Winter white are thought of as one species BUT THEY ARE TWO SEPARATE SPECIES.

Chinese-Striped (Cricelus griseus or striped or rat like)

These are 4 to 5 inches.

Roborovskii's ( Phodopus roborovskii or desert hamster)

Smaller at 2 inches

DO SOME RESEARCH  IF YOU WANT ONE! HOPE I HELPED