HAMSTER
			Phylum: Class: Order: Family: Chordata Mammalia Rodentia Cricetidae

The Hamsters are short-tailed rodents, like voles and gerbils. There are 14 kinds, of which the best known is the golden hamster, which has reddish-brown fur and is an easily-kept children's pet. Golden hamsters are all descended from a single family caught near Aleppo, Syria, in 1930. They are less robust than the common, or black-bellied hamster, of Europe. Various other species of hamster are found in Europe and Asia.
Most hamsters are nocturnal. Their diet includes cereal, fruits, roots, leaves, and occasionally, insects. They stuff food into pouches in their cheeks and carry it off to storage chambers in their underground burrows. They live alone, except during the breeding season.