What Do Hamsters Eat - A Comparison

By Matthew A. Boreau  

so what do hamsters eat?

Let's start this discussion with a few cautions - what do hamsters not eat?
These animals cannot have anything that has a low pH. This includes oranges, lemons, grapefruits, limes, dill pickles, sweet pickles, pickled cucumbers, or pickled grapes. Feed them nothing in the citrus family. Feed them nothing that contains vinegar.
Hamsters must not eat any processed foods. If the nutrients have been stripped, then it provides no nutrition for the hamster. And the hamster has such a small stomach - every droplet of food counts! Therefore, do not feed your hamster cakes, cookies, biscuits, or candies. Do not feed your hamster any chocolate either; it could kill your adorable pet.
Hamsters cannot tolerate eating pesticides, even in small quantities. Therefore it is important that you thoroughly wash any produce before feeding it to your pet.
In addition hamsters must not eat food that has been contacted by wild rodents. Rats and mice carry diseases that can be transmitted to your hamster.
Ok, then...so what do hamsters eat?
Well, to begin with they eat "pure" foods. They eat raw vegetables and fruits. They eat nuts, seeds, and whole grains. They also eat protein.
It is important to get the ratios of protein to carbohydrates to fats right. The best way to do this is to purchase a premium quality seed and grain mixture - made for hamsters. This last phrase is an important point. Hamsters need more protein than other small animals, and so not just any seed and grain mixture will do. You must select one that is formulated specifically for hamsters.
To that, you should give your hamsters fresh vegetables. Just a little bit, though, because its stomach is tiny. Every other day, offer it veggies. Perhaps the easiest way to do this is to put aside some of the raw vegetables from any vegetables that you would be cooking for your family on a given day.
Periodically, say once or twice a week, you can give your hamster treats that contain more fat or fructose. This means that your hamster can eat pieces of fruit and sunflower seeds - but only as sporadic treats.
If you want to see a real show, put some live crickets inside your hamster's cage. Regardless of its temperament and demeanor, your pet is sure to liven up as it chases these hopping bundles of protein around its cage.
Finally, to be certain that you have not missed any nutrients, purchase some lab blocks. These are plainly packaged hard pieces of food. They contain all the necessary nutrients that your hamster needs. They are also beneficial because they are hard and will provide your hamster something to gnaw on.
You may be wondering if your hamster could eat a diet of strictly lab blocks. And, truthfully, it could. But part of the joy of owning a hamster is watching its behavior. And it will revel in discovering hidden sunflower seeds and gobble up meal worms like there is no tomorrow. When you have the chance to witness your hamster experiencing joy (or at least what looks like joy to us), then you should take that opportunity to experience the joy yourself.

Matthew Alexander Boreau has been fascinated with dwarf hamsters for as long as he can remember. To him, it isn't just a hobby. Matthew's philosophy is that to be the best hamster owner that you can, you need to understand dwarf hamsters, and see the world from their point of view. To get more answers to the question "What do hamsters eat?", visit The Dwarf Hamster Centre.

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Caring for A Hamster

By Liz Andrews  

Learning about caring for a hamster is an important part of being a responsible pet owner. Many hamster owners who don't take the time or effort to really understand their pets find that they don't last very long. Hamsters, especially dwarf hamsters, are delicate little creatures that need some specific things to make sure they stay healthy and content.

Proper Housing

Hamster housing needs to be safe and secure for your hamster to thrive. There are countless types of housing available so you will need to learn more about your specific breed to determine the best fit. Some breeds can escape their cages, and others can't maneuver through vertical tubes so it is important know what is best for your particular hamster.

Cleanliness

Cleanliness of the cage is of the utmost importance when caring for a hamster. Hamsters can become stressed living in unclean areas and this can result in illnesses like "wet tail" which can be deadly within 24 hours. Every day you should be doing some sort of housekeeping for your hamster.
Usually hamsters will only go to the bathroom in one section of the cage. Clean this area daily by scooping out any droppings, removing soiled bedding, and replacing with fresh bedding. Every other day you should do a more thorough cleaning of the entire cage and at least once a week, you should completely empty the cage and use a gentle cleaner on the wires, plastic or glass.
Cleanliness of your hamster is also important. Hamsters are from the desert so they really like sand, specifically sand that they can clean themselves with. You can purchase a cleansing sand (it is really more like a dust) product from a pet store or pet website. Don't use regular sand or sandbox sand, as there could be bacteria in it. Put the sand in a small plastic container and watch your hamster have a ball at the "salon" getting her hair done!

Food and Water

Food for your hamster should be changed out every day. Hamsters like to hoard and they will definitely hoard any food you give them. Because of this, they might sometimes move around food that is old and spoiled. So remember what you give your hamster and clean his hiding areas so he doesn't get sick from rotting food. These might be things like carrots or leafy greens that you provide in addition to his normal hamster pellets.
Water is especially important for hamsters because they drink all the time. The water dispenser should be cleaned and filled every day as water can harbor bacteria on the nozzle.

Toys

Hamsters are inquisitive and love to explore their world. Caring for a hamster includes providing them with an exciting environment in which to live. Give them as many different fun options as you can afford. You can provide tunnels and tubes to run through, hamster wheels, hamster balls, hamster swings, chew toys, and even little hamster cars to go cruising around your room.
Most of all, you should learn everything you can about your particular breed of hamster or obtain a complete guide on raising them. Caring for a hamster is a big responsibility and you definitely want to make sure you are being the best owner possible.

For more information on caring for a hamster, check out DwarfHamsterSite.com. Liz Andrews has been a hamster enthusiast for nearly 20 years. Her newest book, 'Dwarf Hamsters In a Nutshell' teaches hamster owners absolutely everything they need to know about caring for their pet.

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Hamster Diet and Treats PART 1

Today I am going to talk about a good beneficial hamster diet and treats. This part 1 video is the diets and treats you can give your hamsters that is good for them that you can buy from a pet store.
Part 2 will be about hamster food when it comes to human consumption. So foods that you can and cannot feed your hamster when it comes to human food.

DO NOT FEED YOUR HAMSTER ANY TREATS THAT HAS ANY SORT OF SUGAR INSIDE SUCH AS YOGURT DROPS!!
try to get those sugar free papaya squares from kaytee. they love those!

Hamster Feeding Tips

Hamsters also includes rodents, they will eat food that what they see - what other sweet things without thinking again. These mammals do not think what the food is harmful or not for them. If you give what foods they eat, they can become fat, and often can make them sick. You must pay attention to their instinct to hide their food in the nest. There are some food in their bin that has become rotten and could cause it to become caretaker masalah.Karena good you also need to be a nutrition expert they are good for your hamster.

Hamsters love sunflower seeds like other rodents. Sometimes the seed is often stated as the main nutrient source but that's not true. In the wild environment, seeds, sun is the source of important nutrients and can understand them going crazy about this sun seed. But for hamsters, sun seed is the food is too greasy to eat every day. If you feed seeds sun in your hamster cage, this will make you fast fat hamster. Obesity is also not good for hamsters. You should give seed sun as a reward / treat. Maximum daily limit is between 3 to 5 seeds. This method can also help you tame or good friends with the hamsters quickly. By feeding the sun seeds by hand, your hamster will recognize you as a good keeper.

In addition to beans or peas, you can feed your hamster with vegetables such as cabbage and other vegetables. They love it. Vegetables do not make them fat. You do not need to buy vegetables only for hamsters because they do not eat much. You can leave a little at the time of providing meals for your family. For example when you make a cabbage salad, cabbage center you can give to your hamster. Oh, yes some sources say that lettuce (lettuce) to endanger the health of hamsters. We are less sure about that but you can avoid. You should pay attention to your hamster will save makananya instinct in the nest. They keep everything in their nest, but they do not sort out / clean up, they also do not realize the vegetables have been damaged / decayed rapidly. So keep cleaning your hamster cage, get rid of old vegetables kept on a regular basis. Atar moldy rotten vegetables that will harm your hamster.

Vegetables strong herb such as garlic, onion or celery leaves can be toxic to a small hamster. While the vegetables are good for humans, leaves a strong sense to endanger the health of hamsters. Avoid celery, garlic, onion. Hamsters eat anything without strings attached, only you can protect it from food poisoning. You also have to realize that pack a salad mix sold in supermarkets. Sometimes mixed salad packs may contain vegetables. You should feed the hamster from his own vegetables. Other stimulants such as chocolate can also endanger the health of hamsters. Keep your children not to give food snacks / snack them to the hamster. Because the hamster you can end up with tragic results.

Rodents teeth never stop growing. Therefore they have to bite something hard continuously. For this reason you must give them something for their bite. Vegetables too soft for this, you can give a hard pellet or a piece of wood. Eating formulations suitable for this purpose, please check the pet shops around you. Usually designed hamster food as hard as possible to cut their teeth. Also serve the same piece of wood in an effort to dental care, but also works as a hamster food supplements and more can be enjoyed by hamsters. Sometimes the food is not formulated in accordance with the hamster taste, then do not buy too much. Buy a little first and see if the hamster likes it or not.

Hamsters also like fruit. You can feed such as berries or a piece of apple into hamsters, they must be thrilled. The basic rule is mild fruit suitable for babies is also good for hamsters. The fruits also like rotten vegetables can be quick, you have to remember that. If the fruits have become rotten or moldy, rotten fruit that can be harmful not only for the hamster but also keepers. If the hamster has left the fruit that you provided, you must remove and discard the rest of his cage. Do not let the rest rot in the cage.