Feeding
It is important that you feed a good quality hamster mix to your hamster as it contains all the nutrients and everything they need in their diets. I feed my hamsters on a basic hamster mix by GW titmuss into this I add some extras such as sunflowers, porridge oats, peanuts and monkey nuts and royal canin kitten biscuits and I find they do very well on it.
It is important not to quickly change the brand of food your hamster is used to when you purchase him. If you get your hamster from a breeder they should give you some of the food he is currently on and if from a pet shop, try to buy some of the food that they are feeding him on. If later on you wish to change the brand of food, it needs to be done gradually starting by adding a little of the new food into the current and gradually increasing the amounts of the new food untill they are only on the new food this should be done over a period of about 2 weeks. Changing the mix suddenly could cause the hamster to have an upset stomach. This tip goes with anything extra that is being added to the diet too such as fruit, veg or protein. Introduce it in very small amounts gradually. I always advise not introducing anything new to the diet for the first week or so while they are still settling into their new surroundings which includes changing the dry mix or any extras. Of course if you know that the hamster was fed any supplements by the person you got him from such as milky foods or protein foods they have been fed before then it is ok to continue. Contrary to believe, hamsters are an omnivorous animal and not a herbivore. They will very much appreciate treats of things such as a bit of cooked chicken, meal worms , crickets, boiled and scrambled egg and cheese in small amounts. In their natural habitat they would regularly feed on insects as well as plant matter and fruits, grains, seeds and nuts fallen from trees and other plants. Although your hamster does not need to have fresh fruit or veg on a daily basis like some animals, they will appreciate some now and again. There are many different ones you can try your hamster with such as lettuce, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, apple, cucumber, celery, sweetcorn, banana, cress and grapes to name just some. They also appreciate some herbs like parsley and dill. A full list of safe fruit and veg can be found here: http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/hamster_fruit_vegetables.htm Always introduce any new food slowly as mentioned above and in small amounts, removing any from the cage that is left uneaten after the next morning to stop the hamster from eating it when it has gone off. Only feed one type of fruit or veg at a time e.g. a small piece of apple or a small piece of celery or a small grape. Never feed hamsters anything from the onion family or any citrus fruits as they can cause your hamster to become ill. Young and elderly hamsters will benefit from having some porridge occasionally, I give it to my babies a couple of times a week and the adults all get it once a week too. You can make it using cows milk or a young animal milk such as lactol. You can also feed many different flavors of baby food and I have not had one turn their nose up at it yet! Just make sure that in the ingredients there are no onions, garlic, or spices in them. Just by walking into the pet shop you will see many different hamster treats that they sell. Dwarf hamsters will quite often appreciate smaller bird seed such as millet spray which you can find in the bird section of your local pet shop. |