The lesser hamster-rat is a small rodent with a long tail and cheek pouches. It lives in the forests of East Africa and feeds on seeds, fruits, and insects.
The lesser hamster-rat differs from other rodents by its cheek pouches and long tail. It helps the forest by dispersing plant seeds and serves as food for snakes, birds, and small predators.
Foraging on the ground and storing in burrow.
homogamy, reproduction always with fertilization, no alternation of generations
Immature form that undergoes metamorphosis before adulthood.
Worker
Tail size
birth time
Describes the act of excavating soil or substrate to locate or access food.
breeding
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Inhabits dense tree-covered areas with closed canopy.
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
adult
Maturity
insects
About health
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
protection from predators
Eyes count
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
hot, rains in summer, little precipitation in winter
Uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for refuge or nesting.
conifer cones
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
Trophic type
Filters
Warm winter with almost no precipitation
always hot and humid, huge trees and vines
Upcoming birthdays
eggs, roe or offspring develop in a nest built on the ground or close to it
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
in a burrow
nest on the ground
young are born live on land, not hatched from eggs or roe
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
cones of coniferous trees with seeds
Hot, little precipitation in winter
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
Age (larva)
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
fruits
Lifespan average
nest located directly on the ground surface on land, only the mother provides parental care for the offspring
in a terrestrial nest
young after fast growth
Juvenile stage following larval metamorphosis but not yet adult.
live birth
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
hot, there is a dry season, trees shed their leaves
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
seeds
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
nest hidden in an underground burrow
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
digging
Pets
Tropical dry broadleaf forest
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
{name} jubilee
Foraging on the ground and storing in burrow.
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
turns
Rascals
Tail color
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Tropical savanna
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
38 to 65 grams, 15 – 40 centimeters
Summer almost without rain
Low precipitation in winter
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Tropical moist forest
Elders
Bro
winter dry and warm
normal sexual
Taxons
seeds, berries, fruits
almost no rain in summer, more precipitation in winter
hot, rains in winter, almost no precipitation in summer
if born as {name}
omnivore
age
birth date
soil
rest
Fur color
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
burrow
Potential Habitat
Hot, almost no rain in summer
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
Body size
land
{name} birthday
Always hot
No results found
underground
Eyes color
On the map
Pleasant summer
all life stages
Female ♀
Body color
world of Afrotropics
nest located directly on the ground surface on land
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Shelter used specifically for reproduction or nesting.
Maturity
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
comfortable summer, +20…+25 °C
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Neither
from birth to adulthood
caring mother
What do they eat?
forests
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
from birth to death
early young
world of Afrotropics
Duration
live insects
This is me
Gamers
How are they built?
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
terrestrial
Asexual
swap
Cheek pouches size
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Warm summer and lots of rain
inhabit and develop on land, outside water bodies
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
very hot all year round, frequent rains, but sometimes dry
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
embryo
Orange
Length
kg
lots of rain, warm and pleasant summer
Observations
◉{N} more on tap