Smith 2012 p.747 says this, but attributes it to a 1940 Ellerman paper that he saw in this source.
GRANADOS, H (1951). "Nutritional studies on growth and reproduction of the golden hamster Mesocricetus auratus auratus". Acta Physiologica Scandinavica. Supplementum. 24 (87): 1–138. PMID14902515.
Murphy 1985, p. 14 lists these as early research using the Syrian hamster as a test subject.