Is it possible to release a pet hamster into the wild? Djungarian hamster

V. TRETYAKOV, biologist

Science and life // Illustrations

An indispensable attribute of a hamster's home is a running wheel.

Dear editors!
This is my first year subscribing to your magazine. I find a lot of interesting things in it. I especially love the pages about animals. Several years ago I was given a two month old golden hamster. But, not having lived even a year, he died, apparently from some kind of illness. Maybe I didn't take good care of him? Please tell me how to properly keep these cute animals, since I’m still thinking of getting a couple of hamsters soon.

T. Polyakova (Volgograd).

SIMILAR AND DIFFERENT

Of all the types of hamsters, only two have become widespread in domestic living areas: the Djungarian, or dwarf, and the Syrian.

The Djungarian hamster is a smart, charming baby with a gray top and a light, almost white, belly. There is a thin black “strap” along the back. The feet of the paws are completely covered with thick and short white fur, for which these hamsters are also called hairy-footed. An adult “jungarik” is the size of a large mouse, but thicker and has a more rounded outline. The weight of the animal is 20, sometimes 30-40 grams. The Syrian hamster is larger. It is approximately half the size of an adult rat, weighing 130-180 grams. It is also called golden: wild individuals and many domestic specimens are colored red on top. Various color variations were bred in the cages: black, fawn, brown, motley... Funny long-haired hamsters are not a separate species - they are just a mutation of the domestic Syrian hamster. Similar “shaggy” mutants are found in rabbits, cats, and goats. It just so happened that they are all called “Angora”. Angora hamsters have the same range of coat colors as smooth-haired hamsters.

Very often, hamsters are bought as gifts for children. A fluffy, cute creature with a plump body, small paws and a short tail looks like it’s alive soft toy. But buying a hamster for fun, with a vague idea of ​​its characteristics and needs, is selfish. Provide the animal with a prosperous existence, then life in your house will not become a painful bondage for it.

A hamster's home can be a cage or an aquarium. The literature often gives the dimensions of spacious cages, the length of which (80-90 centimeters) is not very convenient in a small city apartment. In fact, a golden hamster or a pair of dwarfs will live quite comfortably in a cage 30-45 centimeters long and 25 centimeters wide. Hamsters can only be kept temporarily in plexiglass containers with a lattice plastic lid, which are sold in pet stores.

Hamsters are prone to obesity, so a metal running wheel must be placed in the cage. Special cages for rodents are very good: with horizontal bars (golden hamsters, unlike Djungarian hamsters, like to climb on them), with two floors and a ladder. Plastic ladders, houses, running wheels and rings for physical exercise- meaningless acquisitions: very soon the hamsters will gnaw on all this “soft” equipment.

Housing for the animal should be well ventilated. A small clay pot turned on its side is sufficient as a mink. A layer of fine wood shavings or large sawdust is poured onto the bottom of the cage. Among the Djungarians, the bedding is changed once a week. For the Syrian hamster, the sawdust in the corner, which the animal has chosen as a toilet, is removed at least twice a week, and all the bedding in the cage is changed as it gets dirty. In general, the signal for cleaning should be the appearance of a smell.

Food should be given in heavy bowls (clay, ceramic, glass); the hamster knocks over light feeders during waking hours.

You should not put cotton wool or woolen threads in the cage, in which the animal’s paw can become entangled, as well as straw - it can scratch the insides of the cheek pouches.

In nature, golden hamsters lead a solitary lifestyle, fiercely defending their territory and burrow from their fellows. Only young ones do not fight, but starting from 5-6 weeks of age their character quickly deteriorates. In captivity, adult “Syrians” are kept one at a time, periodically mating a male and a female if breeding is planned. Moreover, the female must be allowed into the male’s territory, since in someone else’s living space she is not as aggressive as in her own. And, of course, at these moments, attacks by the female on the male and fights should be prevented.

Djungarian hamsters in the wild live in family groups, which means they can be kept in one cage with several individuals. Ideally, dzhungarikas are kept in pairs, with grown-up babies separated
into separate cells. We must remember that the gaps between the bars of the cage must be quite narrow, otherwise the babies will soon run away. Unlike the Syrian hamster, which, once accustomed to its owner, remains tame and docile for the rest of its life, the Djungarian hamster must be picked up and fed by hand every day, otherwise the animal will again become wild and nervous.

When selecting food, you should take into account the nutritional characteristics of hamsters in nature. They mainly eat plant foods rich in carbohydrates and fiber and low in fat, and on occasion they willingly catch insects and other small animals. The basis of the diet of an indoor hamster is grain mixtures. Vitally necessary " building material"for the body is protein. Vegetables and fruits are both sources of vitamins and drink.

You should not feed hamsters chocolate, sweets, sticky sweets (they get stuck in the cheek pouches of rodents), as well as food containing salt, spices, fats, in particular pasta, salted nuts, fried potatoes. All this is harmful for them, although they eat it with pleasure.

There is no point in recommending a certain “ideal” diet in grams, since the animal’s need for food depends on age, size, individual properties of the body and the ambient temperature. Daily norm It's best to output it this way. So much grain and succulent food is given so that by the next morning there is a little left. In this case, you need to check whether the animal is creating reserves or refusing any food ingredient. It will soon become clear to you how much food the animal actually needs.

Like many animals, hamsters have their own individual preferences. The food sold in pet stores does not always satisfy them. Djungarians, for example, ignore large grains. It is much better (and cheaper) to create your pet’s diet yourself.

The main food of hamsters is seeds of plants that do not contain too much fat (millet, oats, wheat, corn). The grain mixture is also suitable for budgies. Hamsters are very fond of sunflower seeds, hemp seeds and various nuts, which is not very good for their “figure” and intestines, which are oriented towards food low in fat. Therefore, there should be little such food in the diet.

Part of the grain feed can be replaced with well-dried, moldy white bread or bread with bran. Some animals eat with pleasure cereals. Others prefer a variety of compressed foods, granules and hard “sausages” sold in pet stores: they are nutritious, provide necessary work teeth and also serve as entertainment for hamsters.

An important addition to the grain mixture is fruit (apples, durum varieties pears), vegetables (carrots, red beets, cucumbers, corn in the stage of milk ripeness, zucchini) and greens (cauliflower leaves, dandelion, clover). You should not treat your animal to fruits that contain a lot of acids, in particular citrus fruits and kiwi. Onions, garlic and White cabbage cause bloating. However, a little cabbage will not hurt in the diet of an animal that is 12 weeks old. It is not recommended to give frozen and boiled vegetables.

Djungarian hamsters readily eat high-quality (green and fresh) hay.

Biscuits for dogs and pieces of spongy bones are good protein foods, which also give hamsters the opportunity to sharpen their teeth. Pregnant and lactating females can be offered some lean ground beef and hard-boiled chicken egg. Mealworms and crickets, used as food for terrarium animals, are both a delicacy and a treat for rodents. great source squirrel.

It is necessary to ensure that insects, perishable foods, and pieces of vegetables neither in the hamster’s cage nor in its pantry remain uneaten for more than a day. Having tasted spoiled food, the animal may get sick.

For grinding teeth and simply as food, hamsters are regularly given fresh twigs of linden, birch, willow, aspen and fruit trees. This food must be clean, and it must be collected away from highways.

With a varied diet, any vitamin supplements in the diet are unnecessary. If there is a lack of vitamins, hamsters are offered dandelion leaves and sprouted grains of oats and wheat. It is completely unacceptable to give animals highly concentrated complex vitamins, intended for people.

In natural conditions, in the deserts and steppes of Asia, hamsters rarely have the opportunity to drink water; animals have adapted to satisfy this need at the expense of greenery and insects. In a cage, water can also be replaced by succulent food. Given their abundance, even pregnant and lactating females can easily feed their young without water. Hamsters need for drinking water difficult to determine. Only in the hot season do they need special hanging drinking bowls and droppers. The worst option is a bowl of water: the hamster will easily knock it over or bury it, and then the bedding in the cage will get wet.

If your pet suddenly becomes apathetic, sits ruffled, refuses food and loses weight - these are the first signs of the disease. Such an animal must be carefully monitored.

Drafts, humidity in the cage and sudden changes in temperature can cause colds. The hamster is breathing hoarsely and sneezing frequently, has mucous discharge from the nose and inflamed eyes. The animal is placed on dry bedding in warm place with a temperature of 23_25 o c. If he does not feel better within 24 hours, the services of an experienced veterinarian will be needed.

Discharge from the eyes and swelling of the cheek (while the animal does not eat), as a rule, indicate that the hamster has a clogged cheek pouch.

Signs of indigestion include shapeless and smeared droppings, as well as dirty and damp fur at the base of the tail. Diarrhea in most cases occurs when, due to poor living conditions, the animal’s immunity is weakened and at the same time infection with viruses, bacteria or protozoa occurs. The easiest way to treat a hamster is that it simply ate something inappropriate. Greens and succulent food are immediately excluded from the diet. They give only oats and dry bread, and weak tea without sugar or chamomile infusion is poured into the drinking bowl. If there is no improvement within the next two days, then most likely it is a severe infection.

It happens that a hamster accidentally falls to the floor and gets severely bruised. The animal, limp, lies motionless, as if dead. He's in shock. The cage is placed in a warm, quiet place. If the hamster is not injured, it will soon begin to run around as if nothing had happened. But unnatural movements will indicate some kind of internal damage or fractures. In this case, the animal should be shown to a veterinarian. Important good care and vitamin-rich food.

Hamsters that have fought easily heal small wounds on their own by licking them. Human treatment of a wound, on the contrary, rarely brings a quick recovery to the hamster.

In cases of tumors and abscesses, abnormal excessive growth of teeth that interfere with normal nutrition, it is very important to seek help from a veterinary hospital in a timely manner.

Hamsters live, depending on the species and heredity, for two to three years, less often - up to three and a half years.

A new tenant has appeared in your house, a cutie hamster - entertainment for the kids and a delight for you. But after a week - another, suddenly, the pet begins to behave strangely - the hamster gnaws at the cage at night and the constant noise does not allow the whole house to sleep.

Maybe the rodent wants to get out into the wild this way or is the reason hidden in something else? This is clearly alarming, since the chance of finding broken electrical wires in the house was not part of your plans when purchasing the animal. But you shouldn’t make such hasty conclusions and look askance at the poor guy. You just need to figure out why the hamster chews the cage and what to do about it.

So why does a hamster chew on its cage? In the wild, hamsters are very active, looking for food, hunting, digging minks, but at home this need disappears immediately, since everything they need is already provided. But you can’t argue with nature, because a rodent’s teeth are constantly growing and they periodically need to be ground down on something. Therefore, it is necessary to put up with the activity of the rodent and simply find the best solution to this problem. Hamsters are nocturnal inhabitants, so their peak activity occurs at night; during the day they most often just sleep.

Grinding down teeth

If this happens every night, then most likely there are no branches of fruit trees, plant roots or mineral stones in the cage. Your pet, not receiving what it needs, will use everything to wear down its teeth - a feeder, a house, toys, or even your hands. Place a twig in the hamster's cage fruit tree or a mineral stone and the rodent will stop gnawing on the cage.

Remember - a rodent needs solid food, it will also help your pet wear down its teeth and minimize the desire of the rodent to eat the cage.

Boredom

Another reason could be boredom; the hamster is simply unable to think of anything else to do. The cage space is very limited, and in the wild, hamsters cannot just sit in one place: they dig holes for housing, are constantly looking for supplies, and create small warehouses with food. Their mobility can be directed in the right direction, because the choice of accessories for such animals is very diverse.

There are multi-story cages, bridges, elevations, pits, tunnels or just a running wheel; equip your pet’s cage with these accessories and the rodent will not have time to get bored.

Hunger

Another reason why a hamster chews on its cage may be simple hunger. Constantly check the presence of food in your pet’s feeder or the presence of food in his “food store,” especially solid food.

Lack of sleep

Hamsters are nocturnal animals and during the day your pet should get a good night's sleep. If you interfere with this in any way (for example, you decide to clean your pet’s cage and wake him up), the rodent may not behave calmly at night.

Interrupting your pet's natural behavior pattern can result in irritable behavior or even illness.

small cage

It is quite possible that your pet has become small or is simply bored with its cage and is possible ways trying to escape from there. In this case, the solution will be to purchase a new, more spacious cage for the rodent.

How to deal with it

First, you need to satisfy the rodent's need for grinding teeth - give the hamster something hard and he will calm down. This could be a special mineral pebble or a small piece of wood. You can also look for something for a rodent in a pet store, just ask the sales consultant what would be the most suitable alternative in this case.

If you have tried all possible food options, and the hamster still continues to chew on the cage, perhaps he just wants to go for a walk. Then you just need to release the rodent to check the surrounding area. This is quite acceptable, because sitting in a cage all the time is not the most enviable life for an active rodent.

Walk around the apartment

Hamsters are advised to be released periodically for a walk around the apartment, you can use a special walking ball for this. Or you can build a space for walking on the balcony, giving the rodent a small place to roam.

There is no need to be afraid that the animal will run away somewhere; after having a walk, the hamster will most likely return home on its own, where there is the usual food and drink, and also a cozy home corner. Although there are exceptions - a pet may find a more comfortable corner for himself, so if you still decide to take this step, then let the hamster walk around the apartment only in a walking ball.

A walking ball will not allow the rodent to desert, but will give the opportunity to calmly move around the apartment without leaving behind unpleasant marks. This ball imitates the same wheel as in a cage, but the ability to move allows you to move in any direction, while the baby will not disappear from it anywhere. The shell of the ball has small holes for oxygen through which the hamster can breathe calmly.

If there is no ball, you can simply make a low fence, thus creating a walking area for the animal. The larger the walking area, the better for the pet; let the rodent walk and thereby ensure a peaceful night.

Repellent

If all of the above methods do not suit you, try using a repellent based on lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. The product is a spray that needs to be sprayed onto the bars of the cage. After spraying, the rods will absorb the bitter liquid and thus become completely unattractive to the rodent.

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Cats and dogs, as we know, are among the most common pets, however, the point here is not at all a matter of ease of keeping, but rather of tradition. In addition to these animals, there are a lot of other species that are much more suitable for small apartments than the mustachioed and striped ones that love to hang on curtains or their larger “neighbors” that need to be walked twice a day. Some of the most “compact” pets that are the cutest and funniest include: Djungarian hamster. After cats and dogs, this is the most common creature in people's homes as a companion, it probably takes third place - today almost everyone knows about these animals.

This little animal is called differently Sungur hamster- he belongs to the family Phodopus, which, in turn, includes three types. Hamsters are interesting animals that are both domestic and wild: they can be kept in an apartment, but if released into the wild, they will switch to the lifestyle inherent in them by nature. In this way, these animals differ, for example, from parrots, canaries and some exotic cat and dog breeds, which cannot survive in natural conditions. The hamster is perfectly adapted to survive both winter and summer. In nature, these cute creatures live in the semi-deserts and steppes of the Central and Central Asia, Western Siberia, northeastern Kazakhstan, Manchuria and Mongolia.

Most active Djungarian hamster at dusk and at night - during the day he, for the most part, sleeps. Under natural conditions, these furry animals feed on the green parts of various herbaceous plants, seeds, and insects. One of characteristic features hamsters, what makes them so popular is their thriftiness: collecting seeds in their huge “cheek” bags, hamsters thus stock up on food for the winter, because V winter time they do not hibernate. The hamster's thriftiness works in any conditions, no matter where he lives. It’s amazing that if you let this fluffy out in the apartment, then after a while you can find him with his cheeks full of all sorts of things - threads, pieces of soap and all sorts of little things, sometimes even inedible, that the animal managed to collect while running around the apartment.

On average, a hamster reaches a length of ten centimeters and gains a weight of 45 grams. The ears of this animal are tiny, the muzzle is pointed, like that of a mouse, the tail is almost invisible, because it's quite short. In general, jungarik is similar to an ordinary mouse, only more well-fed, like a ball. The animal's paws are covered with a thick coat of fur - it hides the digital tubercles. On the back of a hamster, the fur can be ocher-gray or brownish in color, and the belly is usually light, almost white. The color of a hamster is its protection in natural conditions, because He can protect himself from predators only by camouflage or by fleeing. The boundary between the color of the back and abdomen of the animal is quite distinct; in summer, the color may change, becoming grayish, matching the color of the earth. But in winter, especially if the room is cool, the hamster can become almost white, and silver-gray hair will grow on its spine. The coat color of these fluffies begins to change at prolonged temperatures below sixteen degrees.

Djungarian hamster, called in Latin Phodopus sungorus, after leaving his mother, prefers to lead a solitary lifestyle. By the way, of all the types of dwarf hamsters, this option is most suitable for taming, because he's excellent at this moment studied. This also applies to the nature of this hamster breed: Djungarians almost do not bite compared to Campbell's hamsters and are much calmer than Roborovsky's hamsters. Withdrawn today different types Djungarian hamsters, differing from each other in skin color - light gray, white, brown, without stripes on the back or, on the contrary, striped. You can easily verify this by typing the phrase on the Internet Djungarian hamster photo.

The funny thing about hamsters is that their front legs are like hands - he holds food with them when he eats. Hamsters are easy to observe animals, so they are often used as laboratory animals. Many people, wanting to buy a hamster, stop because they believe that all these animals have an unpleasant odor, which will then steadily spread throughout the apartment and make things smell. In the case of dzhungarikas, this is absolutely not the case - they have almost no odor, which, again, makes them ideal for keeping at home. The character of this fluffy is extremely friendly: he loves to be petted, loves to sleep in his arms and play with the children.

For those who are planning to breed Djungarian hamsters, it will be useful to know that a hamster produces two or three litters a year - each from three to nine cubs, which at the age of a month will need to be separated from a pair consisting of mother and father. The animal's pregnancy lasts about twenty days. If the children are not removed in time, the hamster can eat its cubs, perceiving them as competitors - hamsters become mature within one to two months after birth.

Thus, for breeding, hamsters are kept in pairs, and in pairs, preferably with friends. early age. The fact is that in nature a couple unites by choosing each other in advance - in artificial conditions these two fluffies may simply not like each other. If this happens, you can put a removable glass partition in the cage. It is better to place nesting houses very close - this way the couple will quickly get used to each other’s unfamiliar smell. Over time, the partition can be removed and the maple can be exposed to bright light. The fact is that hamsters are twilight lovers, and therefore bright rays will make them hug each other. One male hamster can be kept in a cage with several female hamsters. As for the compatibility of the breeds, Djungarians are good friends with Roborovsky hamsters, as well as golden ones.

You need to feed your hamster grains, sunflower, pumpkin and watermelon seeds, peas or beans; juicy fruits and vegetables, unsalted lard, mashed and hard-boiled yolk. In order for the animal to sharpen its teeth, it is good to place fresh birch branches in the cage. Professional maintenance of these animals involves feeding them with special food, which is intended for rats and mice. An ideally balanced food should contain 16-24 percent protein, 60 percent carbohydrates and five percent fat. With an average weight of one hundred grams, five to seven grams of this food per day is enough for one hamster.

Fluffies kept at home can be given food sold in pet stores, however, it must be remembered that it needs to be enriched. Not only fruits and vegetables are suitable for this, but also dandelion leaves, lettuce and other non-poisonous herbs. Hamsters also love raw meat, but you can give it to animals no more than once or twice a week and in small portions. And, of course, animals should always have purified and fresh water in their cage. Another nuance related to food: hamsters, as already mentioned, love to stock up - this is what they do as residents of home cages. Therefore, it is necessary to check hamster houses from time to time for perishable supplies. Grains can be left there, but leftover fruits and similar products must be removed to avoid the formation of mold and rot.

Hamsters are crepuscular animals, which means that during the day they retire to their houses to take a sweet nap. This must be taken into account and not disturb small animals in vain, because They become truly cheerful in the evening. The optimal temperature for a fluffy is 21-25 degrees. To keep these animals you need a special cage with strong wire - they can easily chew through all other materials. In the event that breeding hamsters is not planned, it is best to get one animal, because... several individuals may not get along with each other - this will require a special cage with partitions.

The dimensions of the hamster cage should be at least 50-30 (length) / 30-25 (width) / 20 (height) centimeters. It is necessary to have a sleeping place, or a small house that can be filled with cellulose, into which the hamster will burrow while sleeping. Hamsters are very active animals, so to maintain good shape, a wheel should be placed in the cage, which they climb into to run the next cross. You can also keep a hamster in a glass terrarium (aquarium). In this case, you need to put branches there so that the animal can run up and down along them, diagonally. The top of the terrarium is covered with a metal mesh - this way a sufficient amount of air will flow inside and the animal will not run away. You can let the hamster out periodically to run around the apartment, however, in this case you need to keep an eye on him. The fact is that these little brats quickly feel freedom and can hide in a place where it will be very difficult to get them from later. In addition, the hamster will make a hole for itself, gnawing holes wherever possible; it can easily get stuck in such a hole, which can lead to the death of the animal.

It is interesting that ten to fifteen years ago, all lovers of small domestic animals kept hamsters either in three-liter jars or in aquariums. Of course, this did not happen at all because they were not interested in how comfortable their little charges were - the point was that there was a shortage of good cages for rodents, which were simply not available. Of course, you could make a full-fledged home for the mustachioed fluffy yourself, but such craftsmen are few. In addition, there was practically no specific information that would contain data on what a hamster cage should be like in those days. All that could be found were manuals issued back in the 20s for keeping rodents in laboratory conditions, where, as is known, hundreds of individuals are raised.

Today the situation is exactly the opposite: when we enter a large pet store, we can see a large number of all kinds of cells, in the diversity of which you can get lost. However, as in the case of birds, no more than 10-20 percent of the entire assortment is sold today of good cages that are truly suitable for hamsters to live in. In fact, for this animal it doesn’t matter at all how many floors there are in the cage, the main thing is the total area, which ideally should be about one and a half thousand square centimeters. At first glance it may seem that this “box” is too big for such a baby, however, in reality this is not at all the case. The fact is that in nature the hamster is an inhabitant of vast desert territories, and in one night the animal usually runs several tens of kilometers from one hole to another, in search of food. Along the way, he collects not only food, but also animal fluff and fur to build a nest - hamsters are constantly “upgrading” their burrows and nests. In fact, in natural conditions The hamster is in only two states: either sleeping or moving. Therefore, in a cage that is not large enough, this animal will not be comfortable, to put it mildly; this can lead to obesity and a variety of diseases caused by physical inactivity.

Another nuance when choosing a cage for a hamster is the location of the rods. Ideally, most of them will be located horizontally. Firstly, it is easiest to attach a running wheel, a mineral stone and a drinking bowl between such rods. And secondly, almost all hamsters love to climb such rods and even hang on them like little monkeys. In other words, horizontal rods are an excellent trainer for a furry fidget.

As for the floors: if the decision is made to buy multi-storey building for your pet, you need to take into account that the distance between solid ceilings should be in the range of 20-25 centimeters. This is due to the fact that hamsters love to stand on their hind legs and stretch. Floors that are too high can cause the animal to fall and be injured.

There are more than three hundred species of hamsters. Basically, these are wild hamsters, accustomed to living in nature. Only some breeds are domesticated. These include: Dzungarikov, Roborovsky, Campbell, Syrian hamster and a few others. They became tame due to their behavioral inclinations: they are not aggressive, they easily make contact with people, they are not vindictive, and they can get along in the same apartment with other types of animals. Domestic hamsters are a generation of domesticated animals that are not able to take care of themselves on their own, requiring constant care, care, and attention. What will happen to the animal if, due to some circumstances, it is released into the wild?

In the apartment

“Will” can be different. For example, your pet got out of its cage and got lost in the apartment. What dangers may await him in this case:

• The main one is the escape from the cell itself. If the animal’s home is high from the floor, then there is a high probability that when escaping, it may fall, get injured, and in some cases, death is possible, it all depends on the height of the fall.
• Danger of being eaten by other pets. If, in addition to a hamster, there is a cat living in your apartment, then it is likely that it can feast on a small rodent, or simply strangle it.
• Death by negligence. It happens that the owner himself is the cause of the death of a pet. Didn't notice, didn't see, nailed it with the door.

If none of the above happened to your animal, then you need to look for the fugitive in the location of the food. This is the instinct of a hamster: from time immemorial, it settles where there is an opportunity to eat something. Most likely, it will be the kitchen, the trash can. He will be able to make a nest for himself, and he will have enough food, but still he cannot be left out.

On nature

In this case, by the word “nature” we mean a forest or field. Will an inexperienced animal be able to survive in the harsh conditions of its new existence? Hardly. He will lack some structural and physiological responses to environment. Let us list the main reasons why its existence will be impossible:

• Hunger. Domestic hamsters, although they have cheek pouches that are regularly stuffed with food, do not know how to get their own food. The diet of tame animals is similar to the diet of hamsters in the wild. It is based on cereals, grains, seeds, and nuts. Rodents love to feast on vegetables, fruits, and berries. They do not disdain animal food: grasshoppers, beetles, worms. The life of a wild hamster consists of a constant struggle for survival, a regular search for food. To feed itself in the winter, in the summer it makes large reserves of food. In some individuals, these reserves can reach up to 90 kg. Hamsters raised in captivity do not have the knowledge and abilities inherent in free animals. They will not be able to get food for themselves, much less make long-term supplies. Their stomachs are sterile, so unprocessed foods can cause serious gastrointestinal disorders, and as a result, death.
• Cold. Let's say you set your hamster free in the summer when there is no severe frosts, snow (it definitely won’t survive in winter). But even at this time, his body may be susceptible to hypothermia due to temperature changes between night and day. It is known that a hamster’s cage should not be left in places with a strong draft, as it is susceptible to colds. For the same reason, it is not recommended to bathe the animal in water: if the fur is not dried well, then consequences such as a runny nose and sneezing are possible. In the wild, rain or morning dew can lead to hypothermia in a small animal and cause diseases of the larynx and respiratory system.
• Predators. In nature, wild hamsters have many enemies. Rats, ferrets, badgers, and herons prey on young animals. In older individuals, foxes, owls, buzzards, kites, and falcons are enemies. Only people can repel the enemy large rodents, for example, the Cis-Caucasian hamster, whose height reaches 30 cm and weighs one kilogram. A wild Gray hamster, 10 cm tall, sensing danger, immediately hides in a hole. As a rule, domestic animals have a reduced gene for aggressiveness. This means that they cannot defend themselves on their own, and once in natural conditions, one hundred percent become the prey of the first predator they encounter.
• Reduced immunity. A comfortable existence, a regular warm climate, and selected food greatly reduced the animal’s immunity. A sharp change in habitual living conditions can lead to the occurrence of many diseases. First of all, diseases will arise gastrointestinal tract. This is due to the intake of low-quality food, which the hamster will be forced to eat in freedom. Diarrhea and diarrhea can cause rectal prolapse or dehydration. Without human help, the animal cannot cope with this disease; inevitable death awaits it. Eye disease, or conjunctivitis. It is known that the eyes are a very vulnerable organ in rodents. At home, the cause of infection is a cage that is not washed on time. In the forest, infection awaits the baby at every turn. Colds associated with sudden changes in temperature, high humidity, drafts. Here are the main diseases that can lead to the death of a pet in the wild. Of course, there are a number of other more serious diseases that a pet may encounter in the forest.
• Great fright. Hamsters are generally considered cowardly animals, and if you release him in the forest, then there is a high probability that out of fear he will simply hide under the roots of a tree or in another secluded place from which he does not dare to leave, and die there from hunger, cold or thirst.

Results

All hamsters were once free and lived quite comfortably in nature. We are not talking about a specific breed, but about dividing hamsters into tame and free-range ones. Definitely, pet hamsters will not be able to survive in conditions wildlife. Weak immunity, lack of experience and some behavioral reactions will not allow them to properly adapt to new living conditions. The animal must not be released. All of the above problems can cause the quick and certain death of a small animal. If it turns out that you do not have the opportunity to continue to care for your pet, you should not experiment. Give or give away a rodent, because a domestic hamster should live in its usual habitat.