Hamster food

Each hamster will have different tastes and not all hamsters like the same things to eat. However, it is important to know what can and cannot be fed to hamsters to avoid harming the hamster and to help keep the hamster healthy.

Hamsters have cheek pouches which they use to collect food. They push the food into the pouches which expand and then carry the food to some "safe" place. Here the hamster will empty the food from the pouches by pushing the food forwards and out of the mouth and create a food store. The inner lining of the cheek pouches are very delicate and sharp or sticky foods can become stuck.

Most pet shops sell dried food mixes specifically designed for hamsters. These usually consist of crushed oats, barley, rodent pellets, peanuts, sunflower seeds, maize, dog biscuit and some of the better mixes provide a wider variety with the addition of ingredients such as dried fruit and vegetables. Food mixes designed for other animals should not be given as these may not be suitable to meet your hamster's dietary requirements. However, a small seed bird mix can be added, particularly for dwarf hamsters or hamsters with young babies. Hamsters should be fed a basic hamster mix and this should form the main part of their diet.

Although the hamster mix will provide the hamster with a good basic diet, hamsters also enjoy fruit and vegetables. However, it is important that fruit and vegetables should be introduced to a hamster's diet gradually as a sudden large amount of fruit or vegetables can cause diarrhoea. To begin with the hamster should only be given a small piece of fruit or vegetable once or twice a week and over a period of weeks this can be increased to a small piece every day.

Some vegetables and herbs that are safe to feed a hamster are banana, broccoli, grapes, figs, lettuce, kiwi fruit, melon, pears, avocado, apple.

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