It is very interesting to know how hamsters’ eyes are. This will help you answer the popular question; “How do hamsters see the world?”.
Hamsters are popular rodents that are also classified under one of the 19 species of the subfamily Cricentinea. These rodents are small and most of the time kept as pets.
They feed on nuts, vegetation, fruits and sometimes insects. When in the wild, they hide in holes during the day and look for food during the night. They have cheek pouches large enough to help them carry all the food they need to their burrow in a go.
Hamster eye structure
Answering the question; “how do hamsters see the world?” depends greatly on understanding the structure of their eyes.
If you look at a hamster’s eye from a distance, all you will see is a tiny black or brownish ball. Most of us who know hamsters can tell their eyes look different from humans. That is because there is little difference in the structure of their eyes compared to that of humans.
What most people do not know is that the structure of hamsters’ eyes is almost the same as that of humans. However, hamsters’ iris is smaller and not white. The pupil is also quite conspicuous compared to that of the human eye.
These structures contribute greatly to how hamsters see the world around them. According to research hamsters are almost blind when born. That is because the structure of their eyes allows more light so it becomes difficult for them to see during the day.
How hamsters see the world
According to research, hamsters have very short eyesight because of the structure of their eyes. With that being the case, it is difficult for them to see during the day.
They turn to see better in the light than during the day because their pupil is quite larger. With humans, our iris changes the size of our pupils depending on the amount of light reflecting on our eyes.
Our pupil shrinks if there is too much light and enlarges if there is too much darkness. These adjustments help us to see better no matter the situation.
With hamsters, their pupil can not change shape, so the much light that gets absorbed into their pupil during the day makes it difficult for them to see.
Hamsters are also colour-blind or so scientists thought. An earlier study into rodents research shows that hamsters are monochromatic. This means they will not be able to see any colour or they can see all colours as a single colour.
Another study proved that hamsters responded to blue and green stimuli. This means they can only see blue and green. Other nocturnal animals can only see green.
This study proves that hamsters can not see all colours in this world.