Despite their small size, pet hamsters can require a lot of care and time. These little pets have a long history and many unique attributes that make them distinct from other small pets.

1. The name “hamster” comes from the German word for hoard, which is what hamsters do with their food. Because they often store treats in various hiding places in their cage, hamsters’ food bowls do not always need to be refilled as soon as they are emptied; despite their active lifestyles, hamsters can become overweight if they have constant access to both a full bowl of food pellets and their personal stash of snacks.

2. Syrian hamsters, also called golden or teddy bear hamsters, are the most common type of pet hamster.

A 10-year longitudinal study suggests that when seeking a confidante, many children are more likely to turn to their pets than to their siblings or other peers.

After working on a data set with Professor Claire Hughes of Cambridge, Matt Cassels was struck by the data on children’s relationships with pets and decided to focus his MPhil in Social and Developmental Psychology on these relationships, according to gatescambridge.org.

“It had never occurred to me to consider looking at pet relationships although I had studied children’s other relationships for some time and even though my own experience of pets while I was growing up was so important,” Cassels said.