Download Feeding Your Hamster

Feeding Your Hamster
The main part of your hamster's diet should be a good quality complete (rather than
complementary) food mix. This will contain things like dried peas, peanuts, sunflower seeds,
alfalfa pellets, locust bean, wheat, barley and corn. A mix with added sugar (glucose, sugar
beet, molasses) should be avoided, as hamsters do not have a "sweet tooth" and as with
people, too much sugar can be harmful.
Any change to a hamster's diet should be gradual, when switching foods try to ensure you have
enough of the old food to mix some together before transferring completely to the new brand.
Fruit or veg should be introduced gradually, as young hamsters can get enthusiastic and eat to
much giving themselves diarrohea (which should not be confused with the serious disease wet
tail that can affect Syrians).
Vegetables and fruit can provide enrichment in your hamster's diet, but remember as hamsters
are very small they only require small portions (the size of a fingernail) and do not require this
daily.Hamsters are omnivores, and so may be fed animal proteins. Small treats of plain meat
can make an excellent treat for your hamster. When feeding fresh food, ensure any uneaten
food is removed after several hours to avoid it spoiling in the cage.
Foods to feed in moderation:
- Nuts. Hamsters love nuts, but as these are high in fat extras should only be given as a
treat.
- Cheese; hamsters are thought to be lactose intolerant as adults, so should only be given
small treats of cheese.
- Egg (boiled, poached, scrambled or omlette); a high protein treat good for expectant
mothers or young hamsters. Care should be taken feeding extra protein to old hamsters, as
they find it harder to process.
- Poultry (unseasoned, cooked without added fat).
- Mealworms, crickets, locusts, waxworms etc. In the wild hamsters would eat insects, so
while we may find it unpleasent to feed bugs to our pets, they adore them! Dried or live are
suitable.
- Commercial treats with honey or other sugar; may be fed as an occasional treat to syrians
or roborovskis, but it is generally advised to avoid feeding refined sugar to the other species as
they can be prone to diabetes as a result of bad breeding.
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Feeding Your Hamster
Foods that should never be fed:
- Chocolate; contains theobromine which is toxic to animals. Also has a risk of melting in
the pouches, which can cause them to stick together and cause problems. This includes
chocolate biscuits, chocolate cake etc.
Please note, "hamster chocolate" is not made from
the cocoa bean, has a higher melting point than chocolate and is a safe treat in small quantities.
- Alcohol; this should be obvious!!
- Citrus fruits; these are too acidic and can upset the bacterial balance in the gut.
- Garlic, leak, onion and chives (or other members of the Alium family); contains
thiosulphate which is toxic, this does not affect humans as we are much larger. Small amounts
of cooked onion (such as that which may be present in babyfood) do not cause problems.
As a rule, anything unsafe for humans (e.g. raw potato) will also not be safe to feed to
hamsters.
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