The largest study of its kind has revealed the 20 most common disorders in hamsters, most prominent causes of death and the average lifespan as 1.75 years. Findings for one of the world’s most popular small pets are the latest to be revealed under the RVC’s VetCompass project, and aim to help owners better understand … Read more
The RVC has published new research which has revealed the 20 most common disorders and the typical lifespan of pet hamsters. The study1the largest in the world to date, investigated anonymised veterinary clinical records of a random sample of almost 4,000 hamsters. The three most common hamster species were Syrian (golden) hamster (73.5%), Djungarian (winter … Read more
Scientists have discovered variants of the virus causing COVID-19 can potentially infect more animal species than the original strain. In a study led by The Pirbright Institute, SARS-CoV-2 variants alpha, beta and delta were found to infect more species, such as rodents and ferrets, compared to the ancestral virus strain, due to the mutations in … Read more
Animal charities fear a looming pet welfare crisis as data shows around 3.4 million households have given up a pet for adoption in the past year – with many citing financial reasons. The Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association (PFMA) has released its annual population data – and while it shows 17.4 million UK pet-owning households, and … Read more