# Hamster age estimate



## Knighterist (Feb 10, 2020)

Hi all, I just adopted a hamster from [email protected] after seeing they have one up for adoption. They said that he is around 6 months to a year old but I am not so sure. He is a little smaller than my previous hamster at his last days (my old hamster was on the smaller side) and also his scent glands aren't obvious yet (he is short haired).
Is there a general age estimate before the event glands become obvious on a hamster? If so would an estimate of 3 months old be more reasonable than 6? (Also his boy bits aren't showing too much yet and it is midsummer by now...Surely he's not 6 months old...:s)


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

Scent glands are fully developed when the hamster reaches sexual maturity at around 4 - 5 weeks old.


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## Knighterist (Feb 10, 2020)

ForestWomble said:


> Scent glands are fully developed when the hamster reaches sexual maturity at around 4 - 5 weeks old.


In that case he is definitely just about a month or two old? :O


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

Knighterist said:


> In that case he is definitely just about a month or two old? :O


No, not definitely.


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

Non of my Syrians have had obvious scent glands until hair started thinning around 18 months-2 years of age. From the photo you can definitely tell he's a boy. My Ghosts boy bits weren't huge either so in no way an indication of age. Have you weighed him? By 6 months of age a hamster has stopped growing in every direction and will have a stable weight. For a lot of pet shop hamsters Ive seen the adult weight is normally around the 150g mark. But if you weigh him weekly you'll be able to see if he's still growing or not as an adults weight won't budge much. 

Congrats on your new friend!


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## Knighterist (Feb 10, 2020)

Engel98 said:


> Non of my Syrians have had obvious scent glands until hair started thinning around 18 months-2 years of age. From the photo you can definitely tell he's a boy. My Ghosts boy bits weren't huge either so in no way an indication of age. Have you weighed him? By 6 months of age a hamster has stopped growing in every direction and will have a stable weight. For a lot of pet shop hamsters Ive seen the adult weight is normally around the 150g mark. But if you weigh him weekly you'll be able to see if he's still growing or not as an adults weight won't budge much.
> 
> Congrats on your new friend!


Thank you! I guess in that case he could've been a a year old as they initially quoted to me. His cherries did gleam and glow during the heat wave earlier so I guess he was just being modest when we first met! 😂


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## Soph x (9 mo ago)

Knighterist said:


> Thank you! I guess in that case he could've been a a year old as they initially quoted to me. His cherries did gleam and glow during the heat wave earlier so I guess he was just being modest when we first met! 😂


Not sure how true it is but I was also told monitoring their fur can be an indication of age. If their fur is thinning already and continues to do so they are likely 1+ years old. If their fur is just starting to show signs of thinning, they're likely around the 1 year old mark, maybe a couple months younger. If their fur is same length and density all over, they're likely younger.

Also regarding their cherries in the heatwave, my boy would go in his house, lie on his back and hang his through his door 😂


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