One of the best foods you can give to these critters is in fact a well-balanced hamster mix. Even so, if you want to own one as a pet, you should have a good understanding of what kinds of foods are actually safe for a hamster.
Hamsters are a type of rodent that is among the most popular pets people get. This is mostly because they are full of antics, are very loved by kids and adults alike, and are also very cute, furry, and small critters. On top of all this, most hamsters aren’t fussy at all and are really easy to keep happy and healthy. Even so, you shouldn’t consider that you have no responsibilities when owning this type of pet.
The Diet of a Hamster
Hamsters actually enjoy a pretty wide range of food types like biscuits, cereals, vegetables, fruits, and even grains. Considering that these critters won’t miss the chance of stuffing their mouth with everything they find, this list can pretty much become endless. While in the wild, hamsters will naturally look for vegetables and bits of fruits, grains, and nuts, they find lying on the ground. From time to time, they will also eat fruit flies, crickets, or other small insects. Even though these animals will basically try to eat anything that fits in their mouths, some of the foods might prove to be pretty harmful to them. Ingesting some things might prove to be not only unhealthy but might even lead to the hamster’s death. So, if you want to keep a hamster as a pet, you should have a clear understanding of what it will need to eat and what will make it sick.
Hamsters tend to be mostly vegetarians, although their diet might put them in the omnivore category. Even so, you should keep in mind that they will need enough proteins in their diet as well. Below you will find some of the recommended foods considered safe for a hamster.
- First, when you add a new type of food to a hamster’s diet, you should introduce it in very small amounts. This is the case with any kind of food, from vegetables, and fruits, to anything else. Also, keep in mind that something considered a treat and not an important part of the diet, shouldn’t be given in big amounts,
- When unsure, you can never go wrong with a well-balanced and healthy hamster mix, which can give it almost all of the needed nutrients. Aside from this mix, you will only need to give it other food items as occasional treats.
- Different breeds of hamsters like different types of meats. In this regard, while Syrian hamsters will love a big amount of grains, vegetables, and fruits, Roborovskis will love sweet corn, birdseed, and Chinese cabbage.
- Among the foods that are surely on the favorites list of a hamster are rice, dog biscuits, toasted bread, leafy vegetables, carrots, apples, cucumbers, oranges, cooked beans, and cheese.
- Vegetables in general are preferred by hamsters. Among the best vegetables are asparagus, zucchini, watercress, sweet corn, cooked beans, green beans, spinach, clover, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, and turnip.
- Among the favorite fruits of a hamster are raisins, blackberries, cranberries, bananas, strawberries, seedless grapes, raspberries, lychees, plums, pitted peaches, and seedless apples.
- Considering that hamsters will require a lot of proteins for their healthy development, you can give them different kinds of cheese like cottage cheese, bread soaked in milk, cooked rike, nuts and seeds, muesli, beef without fat, cooked poultry, grasshoppers, crickets, mealworms, scrambled and boiled eggs.
Keep in mind that although the foods I laid above are considered safe for a hamster, there are a lot of others that aren’t safe at all. You should never feed your hamster with watermelon, tomatoes, citrus fruits, canned foods, apple seeds, eggplant, foods that have whole oats, raw kidney beans, raw beans, chocolate, garlic, onion, raw potatoes, rhubarb, or almonds. Considering that these animals are nocturnal and will usually roam around during the night, you will have to feed them in the evening. Don’t feed them from plastic bowls ever. They will also need a clean and spacious cage and fresh water on top of the right food to have a healthy life.
