Canis lupus hominis

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And close-up:

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I once spent a summer as a hamster breeder. I raised golden or “Syrian” hamsters. At one point, I had 14 animals, all of which were either purchased from Walmart or from an aquarium store that also sold rodents.

This species is quite common in captivity, but it is incredibly inbred.

All golden hamsters in captivity descend from a single female and her litter that was captured near Aleppo in 1930 by the zoologist  Israel Aharoni, who was a Jewish person living in what was then Palestine. He captured a female and her pups in hopes of breeding them as research animals. The female died while still nursing her offspring, and only four of the litter of seven survived. These four would be the ancestors of all the hamsters you are likely to buy. (There is another captive population captured in 1999, but these aren’t part of the typical pet population).

Of all the pet rodents you can buy, this species is probably the worst. During those years raising hamsters, I suppose I was bitten at least 100 times.  Golden hamsters are not social, and they are nocturnal (at least in captivity). They are also very easily unnerved and usually respon to their anxieties with nips.

I had one black-eyed cream that was a notorious biter. Her name was “The Black-eyed Bitch” for that reason. Like most her species, she was only tolerant of a male during her estrous cycle, which occurs every 4 days until the female is bred. If I put a male into her cage and she wasn’t in the mood, she’d try to kill him. (Male golden hamsters are often 1/3 smaller than the females, and The Black-eyed Bitch was a big female.)

Because I could predict the estrous cycles and because the females were so aggressive towards the males, I really got good at determining when breedings could take place. In fact, I actually developed an ability to sense the peculiar smell given off by a female golden hamster in estrous. It is quite pungent. This strong odor helped them reproduce in the wild, because this species has large home ranges. They are also highly solitary. The strong odor the females give off is strong enough to attract the males from miles away.

The really interesting thing about them is that when the females were bred, the gestation period was only 16 days. That is the shortest gestation period for any placental mammal. The females build nests for their young, and then give birth to them.

Lots of female hamsters get hungry after giving birth and then eat their offspring. It’s just something they do. And they have huge litters. I suppose this large litter size is an adaptation to the females’ tendency to eat some of their offspring.

Yes, I almost want to go back to breeding hamsters. They are already far more inbred than any dog. They are cute and come in more and more exotic colors and coat lengths.  Their temperaments are already surly; in fact, people expect the surly temprament. And they don’t have enough brains to be trained, and they have no working abilities that can be ruined through stupid breeding practices.

In short, they are the perfect “fancy” animal that can be “improved” until we have them in all sorts of bizarre shapes. If dog shows disappear, they will probably be replaced by rodent shows.