This project is still (and is ALWAYS) accepting submissions.
I want to avoid getting this thread archived, and I still think it's relevant and useful. If you would like to contribute, please post the following information below. Or, if you would prefer to PM me rather than posting the information here, that's fine as well.
Hamster species: [Syrian, Chinese, Robo, Winter White hybrid, Campbell's hybrid, or unknown hybrid]
Age s/he lived to: [___ months]
Month and Year you got the hamster: [ABC of 20XX]
Month and Year of death: [ABC of 20XX]
I am now requiring that all submissions include the month and year of birth (or "gotcha") and month and year of death. The reason for this is to help ensure accuracy of information. If month and year information is not included, your submission will not be added to the chart!
In addition, be aware that the Guiness World Record for oldest hamster is 4.5 years of age. I will not be accepting or adding any hamsters in excess of this age without an abundance of proof.
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Special thanks to all members who assisted with this project by providing data:
Luci, ThreeMagicBeans, Imi&Cinni, Freep, Spangoid, Zoe's Zoo, Syrian Pumpkin, Mika, Ping, Creative Hamster, Emma, xxLovexx, ILuvMySyrians, Azayles, princesshamster, tinypixie, malloria, Allison, Spangoid, Luci, Lillias, WeepingMilkshakes, Hamochi, Mark Grant, Jolty, KittyKatMe, HoppingHammy, mostlyrodentdoglover, Amur leopard, EscapingHammies, Biscotti, Megan<3, fourleafclover, WinnieTheHam, BCPets, beth82, and WinterWhite123, Teeny Hammy, SuAlaska, EightCloudyCupcakes, CandyHammy, Pan, TheSleepySnorlax, MaggieMoo, skywilling, Iris ♥️, krazykelly, Tree Hugger, ♥️luna♥️, HashtagHamster, krazykelly, SBH, Yuukio, hamsterfanTLH, Creative Hamster, KingdomHammie, HamsterLoverVanessa, 4littlepaws,♥Celtic~Tigress♥, KittyKatMe, MsPipStick, n i c o, MyFrozenFriends, tbiM20, nebit, Squigglesthehamster, butterflylover527, Teeny, Emma&Chester, Crientjuh, AKPETS, SoFloofy, Griffyish, Alisha, SophiaLily,
Thank you all so much for your contributions. Without all of you, this would not have been possible! I also want to thank Simi&Chewy, thehammieluv, and eimee7 for their support.
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[UPDATED MARCH 2019]
Current average lifespan - Around 19 months (approx 1.5 years)
Current sample size - 338 hamsters
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FAQ
How do I read the chart?
The X-axis is number of months, ranging from 0 to 48. The bolder vertical white lines are just there to highlight year marks (that is, 12, 24, 36, and 48 months being 1, 2, 3, and 4 years, respectively). The Y-axis is the percentage of total hamsters in the survey that survived to X age. If you find 12-month label and look up, you'll see that there's a dot at [about] the 70% line. So approximately 70% of the hamsters in this survey survived to at least 12 months of age.
With this chart, you can look up data by either lifespan or percent of hamsters. If you're wondering what percentage of hamsters lived until 24 months, you find 24 months on the X-axis and go up to find the point. Then, you go left to find the percentage. That gives you the percent of hamsters that survived 24 months (it's about 30%).
Conversely, if you're wondering how long 90% of hamsters lived for, you do the opposite. Find 90% on the Y-axis, and then go right to see where the point is. Then, go down to see the number of months. This tells you that 90% of hamsters survive to at least this age (6 months).
What does this tell us right now?
The typically-quoted "average lifespan" of 2 - 3 years may be a bit deceptive. Only about 30% of hamsters in this survey survived to 2 years, and less than 5% survived to 3 years. The true average in this survey was around 1.5 years. The 2 - 3 year figure may be more representative of an expected maximum lifespan for hamsters, as it is incredibly rare for hamsters to make it over 3 years old.
What about the by-species charts?
Unfortunately, I was unable to do them due to lack of data. In order to get an accurate representation, I need to have at least 20 - 30 data points for each species. I have almost no data for Chinese dwarf hamsters at this point. I'm hoping that in the future, I will be able to explore this.
Can you see if [ABC condition] affected lifespan?
Unfortunately, probably not. I barely have enough data to make an accurate representation of lifespan overall. I would need literally thousands of data points to even attempt a correlation study. Not to mention that the amount of work and effort that went into even this simple project. As much as I'd like to be, I am not a full-time hamster researcher! While I understand that it would be great if I could look at more factors, please at least try to see the project for what it is first.
Disclaimers: This is not, in any way, shape, or form, a perfect statistical analysis. Please take it as-is.
Edited by Taxonomist, 30 March 2019 - 10:56 PM.
