The longest-lived hamster known to date is the Roborovski hamster (also called the desert hamster). Here are its longevity records and key characteristics:
1. Longest Lifespan Records
Roborovski hamsters have an average lifespan of 3–4 years, with healthy individuals living up to 5 years.
The Guinness World Record for the longest-lived hamster is 4 years and 3 months (a probability of less than 0.1%).
While the European hamster (Cricetus cricetus) has a theoretical lifespan of up to 8 years, its wild population is endangered, and cases of captive breeding are extremely rare.
2. Reasons for Longevity
Genetic Advantages: They have less inbreeding, reducing the risk of genetic diseases.
Adaptability to Care: They adapt well to regular hamster food and require no special diet.
Smaller Size: Their metabolic stress is lower than that of larger hamster breeds.
3. Other Long-Lived Hamster Breeds
Syrian hamsters (golden hamsters): With an average lifespan of 3 years, 23% of individuals can live beyond 3 years in ideal environments.
Golden hamsters: Isolated cases have reached 5 years of age.
4. Key Factors to Extend Lifespan
Environment: Cages should be at least 60cm long, with reduced noise and stress.
Health Management: After 1.5 years of age, conduct physical examinations every 6 months to prevent tumors (15% incidence in elderly hamsters).
Avoid Breeding: Each litter a female hamster produces reduces her lifespan by approximately 3 months.
Note: Although European hamsters have a longer theoretical lifespan, they are wild, endangered, and difficult to domesticate. In practice, Roborovski hamsters are more common and stable in captivity.