The behaviour of the common hamster (Cricetus cricetus) under zoo conditions

Studies on the behaviour of the common hamster are very rare and fragmentary. From August till the middle of September 2005 we observed behaviour of six individuals of the common hamster (one female and five juveniles: three males and two females) and from the second part of September till October 2005 we observed behaviour of two juvenile males after they were separated from the group. The “Focal animal sampling” was used as an observation method, and the total time of observation amounted to 75 hours. During our observation 7707 bouts of behaviour were recorded. Both social and non-social behaviour were categorised. The number of the non-social behaviour prevailed significantly over the number of the social behaviour (n=496; 6.4%). The most frequent observed non-social behaviour was: head rearing (n=2019; 28%). Among interindividual interactions “escape” (45.4%; n=225) and “vocalisation” (15.7%; n=78) were noticed most frequently. Play-fighting, direct identification, following and hugging were the only aspects of the social behaviour characteristic of the young.The behaviour repertoire of the common hamster seems to be similar to the behaviour of the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus).