all of it is true. sources at every step.

1. december 7, 2023

   hamster appears.

   instagram artist @almarts27 (art by alma) posts the first hamster drawings. five little faces: heart eyes, smiling, raised eyebrows, shocked, and staring blankly.

   the very first hamster post. pear-shaped, with a big body and a small head, a pink nose and lips. the original post has gathered over 62,700 likes. the internet was never the same.

   art: @almarts27 · source: know your meme

2. december 19, 2023

   four more hamsters.

   alma posts a second set of drawings: eating, frowning, sleeping, and crying. over 40,700 likes.

   art: @almarts27 · source: know your meme

3. january 4, 2024

   hamster plays dress-up.

   the first character variations appear, including a little red pikmin hamster. over 45,700 likes in a year.

   art: @almarts27 · source: know your meme

4. october 9, 2024

   hamster says stop.

   an animation of hamster making a stop gesture travels across x after a repost by @Absolunar — over 30,000 likes. hamster becomes a reaction image.

   source: know your meme

5. may 15, 2025

   sticker time.

   tiktok discovers hamster. sticker compilations by @doctormeme5819 gather roughly 48,500 likes.

   source: know your meme

6. august 1, 2025

   everyone loves hamster.

   compilation videos with gentle fade transitions by @mars_farm reach over 327,900 likes in a single month.

   by now hamster has many forms: joker hamster, cowboy hamster, drunk hamster, pikmin hamster. he contains multitudes.

   source: know your meme

7. 2026

   hamster comes home.

   hamster gets his own little corner of the internet. you are standing in it.

   

   art: @almarts27