Find us. Your hamster's diet Our vets' advice on making sure your hamster has a healthy, balanced diet. The ideal diet for your hamster. The ideal hamster diet will include: Commercial hamster pellets not a muesli-style mix. You can buy these in pet shops. Small amounts of fresh fruit, vegetables or herbs Timothy hay. You can buy it in pet shops.
Occasional treats, like nuts, boiled egg or mealworms. You hamster will also need constant access to clean, fresh water. It should be in water bottle with a metal spout. Before serving your hamster any grapes, it's best that you discuss with your veterinarian the appropriate quantity of grape pieces can be offered in one setting or per day.
Regardless of their size, hamsters should not be fed whole grapes, as their high sugar content can cause digestive tract upset like diarrhea or other stool changes. Similarly to grapes, raisins have an unknown toxic effect that has been documented to damage the kidneys of cats, dogs and ferrets.
Karen Schachterle, an avian and exotics specialist at ACCESS, said she does not recommend clients offer tomatoes to hamsters due to the concern for potential toxicity. There are additional foods you could feed a hamster, like a bit of a hard-boiled egg for protein, Osborne said.
An egg snack should be the size of two raisins. Hamsters can be hand-fed, however, they can also bite. If you want to give your hamster a treat by hand, try petting them with one hand while giving them a treat with the other, according to Osborne. Additionally, whatever you choose to feed your hamster in addition to their pellets or seed mixture should amount to no more than the size of two raisins, Osborne said. While it may seem like you can give a hamster just about anything, there are some foods to steer clear of, including:.
Although nuts like peanuts and almonds aren't directly toxic to hamsters, they are dense in caloric and fat content and can be provided in a volume that quickly exceeds daily caloric requirements and contributes to obesity.
The only time when supplements are potentially helpful is when your hamster is having certain health issues and they are recommended by a vet. However, they could also simply be hoarding their food! Check their bedding for food that they may be keeping for a late-night snack, but do not remove it. If your hamster is not hoarding food and not eating, they are most likely sick and need to see a vet.
This is usually accompanied by other symptoms, like weight loss and lethargy. If there are no other symptoms and they seem well but are still not eating, they may simply be bored of their food! Feeding your hamster tablespoons of food per day is a good general rule of thumb to go by, depending on their size. Hamsters love to store food, so be sure to check their stash before upping their daily food intake to avoid obesity. If their stash is looking a bit hefty, you may want to skip a day or two of feeding to get them to finish what is stored.
She has a strong love for all animals of all shapes and sizes and particularly loves a good interspecies friendship and wants to share her animal knowledge and other experts' knowledge with pet lovers across the globe. Skip to content. Oct 26 Foods to avoid at all costs are:. Daily 0. But no worries, questions will be answered in our Hamster Fresh Foods guide. However, fresh foods should be provided only occasionally as special treats for your hamster, and only in small amounts each time.
Any fresh food must be introduced very gradually, as sudden large portions is likely to upset their digestive system. Observe your hamster closely when introducing them to new types of fresh foods.
If they have a negative reaction to it, stop feeding it immediately and remove it from their diet. Hamsters love to hide and hoard their food, and since fresh foods decay rapidly in our tropical climate, thus, always remove any uneaten pieces of fresh foods on the same day you provided them, and do a check of their food stash for fresh items.
Below are lists of different categories of fresh foods to try with your hamster, and tips on how to prepare them. Bear in mind that just like you, your hamster will have preferences when it comes to food and may like some better than others.
Hamsters are a huge fan of salads and will love the fresh greens provided, and will welcome it as a juicy supplement to their dry mix. Filled with vitamins and fiber, and very hydrating, they make fantastic hamster snacks! Raw potatoes cannot be fed to hamsters!
Fruits are also high in vitamins, fiber and water content that can be beneficial for your pawbaby! Always remove the seeds before feeding any to your hamster.
Seeds are known to be choking hazards for hamsters, and some kinds, such as apple seeds, even contain chemicals that can potentially be lethal to your hamster!
NOTE: Fresh fruit should be given as an occasional treat, to avoid potential diarrhoea, as well as reduce the risk of diabetes, especially for dwarf hybrid hamsters. Stick to organic or unwaxed fruits.
If not, always wash the wax off with warm water or carefully wash the skin of the fruit if edible. This will help remove any unsafe traces of pesticides or chemicals. Cut to remove any seeds, stems or leaves that may be harmful. Did you know that hamsters are omnivorous?
You can feed your hamster meat proteins to help with their growth and development. Listed below are some protein rich foods that you can feed your hamster. One should never feed a hamster raw meat or raw eggs as they contain high levels of bacteria and parasites that can be deadly to them.
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