Are Hamsters Related to Squirrels?

Hamsters and squirrels share many characteristics, largely because both types of creatures are rodents. It's like the way that striped tabby cat prowling your neighborhood is related to a lion or tiger. While the two types of rodents share many similarities, they're also quite different. Squirrels, for instance, tend to be much larger than the typical pet-store hamsters.

  1. Rodentia

    • The order Rodentia has well over 2,000 species, ranging in size from the tiny to the large -- the capybara tips the scales at more than 100 pounds. Hamsters are on the smaller end of the scale, although certainly not the smallest. Aside from hamsters and squirrels, Rodentia includes mice, rats, beavers and gophers. Common characteristics of all rodents include continuously growing incisors, lack of canine teeth and five-toed feet; most also have clavicles.

    General Descriptions

    • Tree squirrels possess large, bushy tails, somewhat large ears and very sharp claws. These characteristics enable them to live agilely in the treetops. Ground squirrels, on the other hand, are more robustly bodied and have powerful forelimbs to allow them to dig in the ground. Hamsters more closely resemble ground squirrels, with short legs and robust bodies. Hamsters, along with several squirrels, have enlarged cheek pouches that enable them to hoard large amounts of food.

    Hamster Taxonomy

    • The taxonomic relationship between hamsters and squirrels stops at the order Rodentia. Hamsters belong to the suborder myomorpha, which also includes mice, rats and gerbils. Further taxonomic classification separates hamsters from other members of myomorpha into the family cricetidae, which includes New World rats and voles; the subfamily cricetinae houses the hamster genera. Hamsters in the pet trade include the Syrian and dwarf hamsters. The Syrian hamster, also known as the golden or teddy bear hamster, belongs to the genus mesocricetus; dwarf hamsters typically belong to the genus phodopus. Several other hamster species are found in the wild throughout the world.

    Squirrel Taxonomy

    • Squirrels belong to the family sciurida in the suborder sciuromorpha. Other members of sciuromorpha include dormice. Five different subfamilies fall under sciurida: Asian squirrels (callosciurinae), Asian giant squirrels (ratufinae), pygmy squirrels (sciurillinae), tree and flying squirrels (sciurinae) and marmots, ground squirrels and African squirrels (xerinae). Sciruinae and xerinae are the commonly encountered squirrels in the United States.