Hamsters Treats

Hamsters enjoy a wide variety of food so it is easy to start by saying what you should avoid. They do not normally do not like salt or very strong flavours like onion or garlic. They are not keen on citrus fruits or tomatoes. The unhealthy things like salt, sugar or fats are not good for them. (The hamster salt lick blocks sold in pet shop are made from minerals and not table salt.)

You should avoid giving them food which will melt, as they may stuff it into their pouches which are warm. If food has melted in a pouch it will be hard for the hamster to remove. They can clean the pouches by pushing then inside out through their months and cleaning the inner skin, which does look a bit strange. But if melted food becomes stuck I have heard that this can cause infections.

There are a large variety of hamster treats sold in pet shops and most hamsters relish these. Although these are designed for hamsters, they are designed as treats and should not be fed in large quantities to your hamster. The overfeeding of treats which are high in sugar could lead to your hamster becoming obese.

Other titbits that can be fed to your hamster include:

• Acorns
  
• Almonds (sweet almonds, shelled)
  
• Beechnuts
  
• Biscuits
  
• Brazil Nuts
  
• Breakfast Cereals (without flavour or sugar)
  
• Cashew Nuts
  
• Chicken (cooked)
  
• Coconuts
  
• Crickets
  
• Currents
  
• Dog Biscuits
  
• Egg (scrambled or boiled)
  
• Fish (cooked)
  
• Hazel Nuts
  
• Mealworms
  
• Meat (cooked)
  
• Nuts
  
• Pecan Nuts
  
• Peanuts (shelled or unshelled)
  
• Pine nuts
  
• Pistachio Nuts
  
• Prunes
  
• Raisins
  
• Sweet Chestnuts
  
• Sultanas
  
• Walnuts

You should be careful not to feed too much sweetened food as these could cause the hamster to become fat.

Never feed a hamster any of the following:

• Almonds (bitter almonds, raw)
  
• Avocado
  
• Buttercups
  
• Cabbage
  
• Celery
  
• Chocolate
  
• Garlic*
  
• Grapes & Raisins
  
• Lettuce
  
• Milk
  
• Onions
  
• Parsley
  
• Potatoes
  
• Rabbit Mix (containing antibiotic ingredients)
  
• Raw Kidney Beans
  
• Red meat
  
• Rhubarb
  
• Sweets
  
• Toffee
  
• Vitamins

*There is much evidence to suggest that garlic can be beneficial to health but there is also some evidence to suggest that an overdose of garlic could be harmful. Therefore although it may not be strictly dangerous to feed to hamsters its effects on hamsters is not completely known.