Hamsters are small rodents. They are generally nocturnal, meaning they sleep during the day and wake up at night. Hamsters are popular pets that have not been kept for very long. Hamsters used to be thought of as pests because they ate crops.

Hamsters are determined hoarders. In fact, in Latin, the word “hamster” means “to hoard.” In the wild, hamsters stuff as much food in their expandable cheeks as they can when finding food, then run back to their burrows and stash it there for a rainy day. Once, during a shortage of food, natives robbed some hamsters’ stashes and were able to survive.