How to feed a hamster at home. Djungarian hamster: how to care at home and how to feed a pet

A domestic hamster, compared to a wild brother, is a true gentleman. Indeed, in the steppe or on the field, no one offers a rodent "to the table" vitamin fruits and vegetables, and even vitamins in a dosage form.

And the animals have to be content with what God sends. And in the place of their natural residence, God sends mainly grains of cereals and the fruits of legumes, sunflowers and corn. Because their diet is complete only in the warm season when you can enjoy fresh berries.

It is known that hamsters are very thrifty, because they do not starve even in adverse weather conditions: they exist at the expense of supplies dragged underground in their cheek pouches.

Pets, in principle, also eat the same foods with pleasure, but due to the pampered body and reduced stamina, it is better to feed them not with purely “natural” grains and seeds, but with balanced nutritious foods (which are also fortified) sold in pet stores.

What can you feed hamsters

This very food should be present in the feeder of the homa all the time. The mixture contains carefully selected and appropriately processed products that will not harm the pet.

Despite the fact that food for parrots and songbirds, as well as for rodents - guinea pigs, rats - is mostly grain, but hamsters should not eat it: the composition is completely different there.

As for the types of dry food, as a treat, you can sometimes, literally twice a week, give fluffy or seeds - sunflower or pumpkin. Why is it so rare? And because these products are part of the main feed.

But what should never be done is to treat a hamster with shelled nuts or fruit stones, which is supposed to help the rodent wear down its long teeth. However, the opposite effect can be achieved here: both teeth can be broken, and the oral cavity or pouches can be injured. And besides, the nucleoli of stone fruits contain hydrocyanic acid - the strongest poison.

To abrade the teeth, a special “biting” stick is placed in the cage - a boiled and dried twig of some country (environmentally friendly!) Tree, be it a birch, a hazel or an apple tree.

vegetable set

Knowing that hamsters “sweep” everything that gets into their paws, you need to carefully monitor that something harmful like sweets does not get into them - they don’t know about their harm!

And although many people, out of ignorance, believe that these rodents are omnivorous, there is one immutable rule: they should not be given "human" food with all its set of fats, sugar, salt, and even spices. What can you give hamsters from food?

Juicy and green food must certainly be included in the hamster's menu, and the products must be fresh and thoroughly washed.

From vegetables it is most preferable:

• carrot,
• beet,
• zucchini,
• pumpkin,
• green leaf lettuce.

In addition to lettuce, you can add parsley and dill, dandelion leaves and yellow clover to the list of necessary greens. Naturally, they should not be collected on the side of the road, but away from the highway and the city outskirts.

Green grass for hamster food can be grown in a pot on the windowsill, sowing seeds in the ground that the hamster did not scam.

• watermelons,
• cabbage,
• potatoes.

fruit treat

Starting from the age of two months, the hamster can get a little apple. Let him and currants. “Laxative” pear and apricot (as we remember, without a stone) should be dispensed with in small quantities, and given very rarely - as a treat.

Useful little animals and dried fruits - apples, raisins, dried apricots. The exception is prunes.

It is forbidden

Forbidden include almost all fruits of exotic origin:

• avocado,
• kiwi,
• persimmon,

And you need protein

Any living organism needs a constant replenishment of protein. Hamsters, of course, are no exception. For this they need to get a protein supplement every day. It may include the following products:

• boiled egg,
• low fat,
• boiled (without salt and spices) chicken breast,
• lean boiled fish
• sprouts of oats or leguminous plants.

The pet should receive all this alternately twice a week.

What can not be fed is whole milk, cheese and bread.

These foods are poorly digested and can create problems with the rodent's stomach and intestines, causing indigestion, prolonged constipation, and even death.

Let's drink, homa? Where is the vodka?

If it seems to you that the hamster does not need water, because he "almost does not drink it", then this is a deep delusion.

He drinks, of course, but not in the same quantities as his owners, and his drinker may remain half empty. The water in it must be changed daily, and it should not be boiled or distilled, i.e. devoid of all "live" useful substances, but ordinary drinking. You can filter it.

Menu for jungarians

Speaking about the diet of hamsters, one must consider what species they belong to. What do dzhungars eat at home? These hamsters are indeed omnivorous, but this does not mean that this “everything” can be given to them. Ideally, their home menu should not differ much from what Mother Nature presents to him in the wild. Ready-made dry mixes are ideal, but since they differ both in composition and quality, you need to carefully monitor whether your pet likes this or that set. Dzhungarik is able to ignore what he does not like.

You can also prepare a similar mixture at home if you mix the following products in equal quantities:

• legumes, in particular beans, peas, beans, lentils,
• buckwheat
• oats or hercules,
• wheat,
• barley.

A good addition would be sunflower or pumpkin seeds.. Every day, the jungars should receive something from nuts:

• peanut,
• walnut,
• cashew nuts,
• sesame seeds,
• hazelnut.

As for parsley, it is worth remembering: having a laxative effect, it is contraindicated for pregnant hamsters.

Certainly, the diet of jungariks should also include fresh fruits with berries, but in limited quantities, since this species of rodents has a tendency to diabetes.

Dried fruits, including banana chips, should be given in small amounts.

In general, zoologists believe that it is much more useful - vegetables, whose list is quite wide. In addition to the already mentioned root crops and pumpkin, these are:

• eggplant,
• - broccoli, Beijing, colored,
• fresh corn,
• cucumber (preferably grown in a summer cottage - without pesticides),
• tomato (with the same caveat!),
• string beans.

Opinions of experts differ about the use of radishes and radishes. You can experiment, but is it worth the risk: after all, even without them, your pet will not remain hungry!

And the favorite delicacy of hamsters are bamboo sprouts, sprouted grains of wheat, oats, alfalfa. And it is quite appropriate to offer rodents to gnaw cherry, maple, birch or apple twigs - any other deciduous or fruit tree. This is not only useful for the hamster's teeth, but also for his entire body.

What can't a jungarik?

Citrus fruits are harmful to crumbs, as is a dessert made from sour berries such as barberry or sea buckthorn. The stomachs of dwarf rodents are hard to digest white cabbage, sometimes this even leads to the death of babies.

Under no pretext should you give food from the table of the owners: fatty, fried, floury dishes are disastrous for pets.

And the following extensive list has a short name - you can not!

What will we feed the Syrian?

There are no big differences in the diet of these two types of hamsters. Perhaps the main feature is a great commitment to grain feed.

When compiling the menu for the Syrian hamster, one must take into account both the age and state of his health, and the taste preferences of the pet.

Balanced grain mixtures have already been discussed above. It is recommended to give such food in the mornings and evenings in the amount of one tablespoon.

Cereals and legumes, protein supplements, greens, fresh vegetables and fruits - the set is almost the same.

It is useful for females who are expecting an addition to the family to receive cereal porridge.

And also hamsters, especially Syrians, choose live food as a treat: ants, flies, worms. However, it is better to buy this "game" in a pet store than to catch it personally.

What is good for the baby?

Hamster babies, like human babies, need to be fed little by little, but often. In the first three months of life, the hamster's diet should be special.

A bowl of dry food should always be in the cage of a small rodent, and what to eat, what to leave is at its discretion. But the owner will soon be able to determine his tastes and preferences.

Wet food for the baby can be offered only one of some kind per day, otherwise the delicate ventricle will react with frustration.

A leaf of fresh garden lettuce, sprouted peas, wheat, beans can act as green fodder. In addition to being vitamin "meals", they are also tasty, nutritious and beneficial for growing hamster organisms.

But to treat kids with such goodies as watermelon or strawberries is not worth it.

Feeding rules

For all types of hamsters, two meals a day are recommended - breakfast and dinner.

Experts believe that fresh food is more appropriate in the morning, and dry food in the evenings, then, traditionally hidden, it will not deteriorate.

Serving sizes depend on the size of the rodent - it can be one or four tablespoons. However, the volume of a single portion should not be made large. Thrifty hamsters, if you put more food in the feeder than they can eat, they can simply hide it somewhere in their bins, and then it will go and spoil. A hamster would not get poisoned!

New types of food are introduced into the menu gradually, from very small pieces - as the animal gets used to it.

For dwarf species of hamsters, choose food that is “convenient” in size - so that it is easy to hide in the cheek pouches.

If you managed to notice that not all of the food was eaten, immediately remove the excess. Spoiled, it will lead to gastric upset in the pet.

Keep an eye on the expiration date of the purchased ready-made food, even if it looks pretty decent. Often even one of the ingredients can make the food toxic.

Useful video

The diet of all mammals, which include hamsters, requires completeness and balance. Each owner knows the age, individual characteristics of his pet, his habits, realistically assesses his physical activity, and, focusing on all these indicators, taking into account the season, he must be able to select the products necessary for the pet. If the food is organized correctly, the hamster will live in contentment and health until the deepest hamster old age.

In contact with

Before deciding how to feed a hamster at home, you should contact animal breeders. If you purchased an animal at a pet store, ask the seller what food was given to the baby. Considering that sellers are not able to provide rodents with optimal care, start from the food familiar to the animal and supplement it.

If you just bought a pet in a store, immediately take all the contents of the dowry, including a drinker. From food you need to take and which does not contain salt.

The grain mixture should be specifically for hamsters, and not for birds or other rodents. Do not take drops for rodents: there is too much sugar, the animals do not need it. If there are several mixtures in the store, do not take the cheap one. The more expensive ones have the vitamins and minerals your pet needs and is better balanced. If you still decide to take economy class food, buy vitamins for it.

In addition to the dry mixture, it is necessary to feed the animals with juicy food.

What can hamsters and what not, a list of products

The table shows the main groups of products from what can and cannot be eaten by rodents:

List of food groups for hamster food

Must be given continuously as feed

Dry food for hamsters, legumes except red beans, raw and cooked cereals except rice. Rice is given for diarrhea. Vegetables: root vegetables except potatoes, in season cucumbers and peppers, zucchini, pumpkin. Greens of dill, parsley, lettuce, dandelion. Fruits are sweet, seasonal, pitted. Dried fruits of home drying. Frozen vegetables without onions. Seeds of pumpkin, sunflower, melon. Nuts, except for almonds and apricot pits, should not be given as the main food, but as an additive, since the nuts are fatty. Sprouted oats, wheat. Branches of deciduous trees boiled for 20 minutes, but not from the street.

It is necessary to give one of the positions of your choice 2-3 times a week

Boiled chicken breast without salt and other spices; low-fat lactic acid products (fat content not more than 1%); boiled egg white; very rarely meat or boiled shrimp; store-bought insects and gammarus; lean boiled fish without bones.

Can't give

Fried, smoked, salted, pickled, fatty. Sugar, salt, spices, honey. Cream, sour cream and butter. Macaroni: both dry and boiled. Citrus fruits, persimmons, onions and garlic, radish, potatoes, acorns, cabbage, eggplant, tomatoes. Coniferous branches. Insects from the street, bloodworms. Mushrooms, mint and wild rose.

The table gives general principles on how to feed a hamster, based on them, make up a pet's diet.

What can be given to hamsters, food quality

If you have no plans to get rid of the animal in the near future, pay attention to the quality of the feed. The animal should not eat "from the garbage", moldy grains and rotten fruits are not suitable for babies. Food at home should consist only of fresh and high-quality feed.

No one in their right mind would give a pet rotten fruit. But slightly spoiled apples “with barrels” are also dangerous for animals. A person is not afraid of porridge that has stood for two days in the refrigerator, and a hamster can get sick from it.

How to feed fruits to animals

Fresh vegetables and fruits can be put in a cage in a large piece or cut into pieces.

Since you can only feed your hamster with fresh food, be sure to remove the remnants of succulent food no later than after 8 hours.

Can hamsters give the same food in winter and summer

The diet of animals is quite diverse. It includes: grains, nuts, fruits and vegetables, protein products. They have a seasonal cycle. In the middle lane, cucumbers and plums grow in summer. At this time, they have a lot of vitamins. There will be no benefit from plums for the new year. It was: either grown somewhere far away, or treated with chemicals that protect against spoilage. This product should not be given to an animal. As for it, it is better to exclude them from the diet altogether. They have a lot of water, and nitrates added during cultivation are perfectly dissolved in it.

It is better to prepare fruits in season. To do this, dry apricots and pears, and then add to your pet. Instead of greenhouse cucumbers, feed the animals with carrots and turnips, which retain vitamins well, apples can be given from fruits.

Is it possible to give a hamster exotic fruits?

Fruits are fed to hamsters at home regularly. They should be sweet, not sour. As for imported exotics, animals do not need them. Fruits such as: kiwi, papaya, pineapple, mango will not bring any benefit to steppe animals. Not to mention something more exotic. The only fruit that has come into common use tightly is - they can be fed without fear.

What can you feed a hamster who was left without a mother

It is a great misfortune if the babies lost their mother at birth or she escaped from the cage.

You will have to arm yourself with patience and take care of the little hamsters on your own. Of the mixtures, milk is best suited for feeding kittens. It can be bought at a pet store. Give your babies a diluted formula every two hours. After eating, massage their tummy. Give the animals bottles of warm water so they don't catch a cold.

As you grow, your diet gets richer. Add baby purees without salt and sugar to animals:

• vegetable;
• fruit;
• meat.

Boil them porridge on the water. Monthly animal can be fed with adult food. If necessary, grind it on a grater.

Controversial issues or what not to feed a hamster

There are products that cause controversy among animal owners. Is it possible to give milk to animals, how much cheese can be given, and how crackers and bread will harm.

To answer these questions, you will have to return to the diet of animals in the wild:

• Adult animals do not feed on milk, and the composition of the cow is not suitable for cubs either. Babies fed with bread soaked in milk only survive due to potential health, and not full nutrition.
• Feeding a domestic hamster cheese is not worth it. It is quite fatty and contains a lot of salt: this will harm the rodent.
• absolutely not edible for rodents, although they will chew them. There are too many harmful components in crackers and cookies in the form of fat and sugar. If you decide to feed something similar, choose unsweetened drying. It will not be very useful, but in a minimal amount it will not cause harm.

What can you feed hamsters

The closer a hamster's diet is to natural nutrition, the better for the animal. The less the product is processed, the more useful substances are preserved in it.

These rodents are the children of the steppe. It is easy to guess what hamsters eat. The basis of their diet is of varying degrees of maturity: seeds,. Juicy roots and roots harvested in vegetable stores are also included in the menu of these resourceful animals.

Protein food is also necessary for animals. In the wild, these are: insects, wounded birds and small animals.

So, the diet of animals consists of:

• grain mixtures purchased at a pet store;
• juicy vegetables and fruits;
• greens;
• and nuts;
• low-fat dairy products, eggs or chicken breast 2-3 times a week.

The list of products can be supplemented if you have experience in raising such animals. You can make your own grain mixes or supplement them with grass seeds or cereals.

The cage should contain water and a mineral stone for grinding incisors.

Nutrition and care dangers of improper feeding

It happens that inexperienced pet owners seem to feed the animal correctly, but get a bad result: the animal gains excess weight, digestion problems arise. What could be the reasons:

• the animal is given a lot of treats;
• at home, the animal does not have enough “simulators”;
• hamsters' diet consists mainly of ready-made meals: cereals and boiled vegetables

So feeding hamsters is unacceptable, even if they like it.

In nature, animals run up to several kilometers a day. They need exercise. In addition to the wheel, for running in a cage there should be: paths, labyrinths, passages and ladders.

The hamster eats twice a day: in the morning and in the evening. The evening portion should be larger, since the peak of activity of these nocturnal animals falls on the evening. Restrictions on dry food can be omitted so as not to create additional stress for the animal. Let the dry mix lie in the feeder at all times. Change it so that it does not have time to deteriorate. But treats - dose, especially if they are sweet, if you do not want to fatten the animal and bring it to illness.

What do dwarf hamsters eat

It practically does not differ from, with one exception. Babies are susceptible to diabetes. For this reason, sweet fruits should not be given to hamsters as their main diet. It is better to limit yourself to rare cases and give such fruits in small quantities.

What to feed hamsters at home in special cases

Special cases are the time of illness or the feeding of small hamsters. For babies, boiled cereals on water or baby food in jars without sugar, milk and gluten are suitable.
In case of illness, the owner of the animal should contact the veterinarian, but one-time disorders can be tried to be corrected:

• If the animal has diarrhea, you can give the hamster rice water or slightly undercooked rice.
• If - constipation, it is necessary to give him 2 drops of vaseline oil after 3 hours. Here oil is not so much food as medicine.

An elderly hamster eats worse. It is more difficult for him to cope with large pieces of food and hard food. You can grate vegetables and fruits and steam cereals. However, solid food must be added, the animal cannot do without it. A decoction of chamomile, brewed twice a day, is also good to give to “pensioners”.

Caring for rodents is easy, but you need to know what hamsters eat. To do this, study the question of what hamsters are fed and what they cannot be fed on this depends on the health of the animal and its mood.

How and what to feed hamsters: diet at home

5 (100%) 9 votes

Buying a hamster in the house, the owners often do not know how to feed the animal. Therefore, having fed him with their usual products, they do not realize that they can harm their pet. It is worth remembering that a hamster is not a person and what is good for you is death for him. For your hamster to live a long and happy life, you need to take his diet very seriously.

Food for a hamster should contain all the useful vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, carbohydrates. To do this, you need to feed the hamster with different foods. For example, in the summer it is better to give the animal as many vegetables as possible. In winter, it is worth choosing the right vitamins or food that has all the useful substances. Do not forget that a hamster in a cage should have not only food, but also water. , although not a difficult task, but a responsible one. Therefore, carefully read what foods you can feed your hamster, and what not.

Foods that hamsters can eat (Djungarian, Syrian and other species)

The main food for all types of hamsters is, of course, dry food and cereals. It is worth buying food in specialized stores and only marked for hamsters. All other feed mixtures for parrots, rabbits and other living creatures cannot be introduced into the hamster's diet. The daily feed intake for growing or young individuals should be 14 grams.

In addition to food, hamsters can be fed with the following foods:

Protein food:

• non-fat dairy products 0-1% fat (cottage cheese, kefir, yogurt without fillers);
• meat (chicken not salted boiled);
• seafood (shrimp and non-oily fish);
• boiled eggs (chicken or quail);
• dried gammarus or live butterflies, grasshoppers, earthworms bought at a pet store.

For feeding small hamsters:

What not to feed hamsters

milk, butter, sour cream, cream, almonds, honey, mint, white and red cabbage, seeds from apricots, cherries or cherries, potatoes and their peels, onions, garlic, mushrooms, watermelon, melon, fried, fatty, sausages, sausages , sorrel, gozinaki, citrus, salt, spices, sugar, pineapple, kiwi, mango, pomegranate, avocado, ice cream, chocolate, confectionery, pasta, bread, croutons.

Everyone knows that a pet beloved by many does not cause much trouble and eats little.

But it’s not enough to provide a hamster with comfort by settling in a spacious one. Another important component of the full life of this funny animal is proper nutrition.

The material contains all the necessary information about what hamsters eat at home and what diet will be most suitable for them.

Nutrition Features

Food should meet all the needs of the hamster. This is quite possible if you take the issue of nutrition seriously and properly compose its diet.

Important!The main cause of death in domestic hamsters is diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and non-compliance with certain features when feeding.

It is important to provide the hamster with such important components of his short life:

• complete diet;
• correct diet;
• compliance with food hygiene.

Complete Diet

Hamsters belong to the order of rodents, therefore, for a full life, food of plant and animal origin must be present in the basis of the diet.

Hamsters need to constantly grind their incisors, so you need to provide animals with a variety of branches of deciduous trees - for example, apple trees, cherries, black currants, wild roses, lindens, birches, willows, oaks. Pre-harvested branches must be scalded with boiling water, thus disinfecting them from dirt, insect larvae and road dust.

In winter, it is important to provide the hamster with a constant supply of hay - it acts as a substitute for fresh greens.
Sometimes hamsters prefer to eat small insects (grasshoppers, locusts, ants and worms), which are rich in calcium and iron. It is advisable to buy this kind of insects only at a pet store.

Diet

Veterinarians recommend feeding your hamster twice a day: in the morning and in the evening.

The main part of the dry food is served in the evening, since the hamster is a crepuscular animal and usually wakes up in the late afternoon.

Feed hamsters preferably at the same time. This mode will not lead the hamster to severe hunger and subsequent overeating.

Did you know? A hamster's cheek pouches can hold an amount of food equal to the weight of the hamster.

Hamsters require different amounts of food depending on their age and size. Relative to its size, the hamster eats a fairly large amount of food. So, the daily rate of food should be 80-100% of the hamster's body weight. The appetite of the animal may depend on the breed, personal preferences, air temperature.

A hamster is a thrifty animal, and a sufficient amount of food and various delicacies should always be in its feeder.

The nutrition of a hamster should be varied, this will saturate the body with useful substances. So, the optimal diet should consist of:

• from all kinds of cereals: it can be oats, wheat, millet, corn, peas, beans;
• croup: buckwheat, rice, oats, etc.;
• nuts: walnuts, peanuts, cashews, pine nuts;
• seeds: pumpkin, sunflower, watermelon;
• fresh vegetables: pumpkin, carrot;
• berries: currants, cherries (pitted), raspberries, etc.;
• some fruits: apricot, apples, pears, grapes;
• dried fruits: dried apricots, raisins, prunes;
• greenery: clover leaves, plantain, ordinary meadow grass, beet or carrot tops, parsley (in a small amount), dill, lettuce.

Mandatory condition: all these products must be fresh, not spoiled.

Ready feed

Special ready-made mixtures developed by veterinarians help to meet nutritional needs to the maximum. As part of such mixtures - a balanced content of essential trace elements and nutrients, taking into account the needs of the hamster.
Ready feed is divided into:

• basic, as a daily meal;
• feed additives, as additional support for the body in different periods of life;
• treats, as a promotional dietary supplement.

When buying feed mixtures, pay attention to their composition. Some manufacturers may add products prohibited for hamsters to such food. Also keep an eye on expiration dates.

You can not buy feed mixtures intended for other animals, despite the fact that the basis in them is almost the same. When mixing, various (vitamin and non-vitamin) supplements can be added that will not suit the hamster's body.

Important! Ready-made feed mixtures may contain ethoxyquin in their composition - a preservative to increase the shelf life, which provokes poisoning and illness in hamsters.

The surest and safest way to make sure your hamster is eating the "right food" is to make your own mix, which is pretty easy to do at home. To do this, cereals useful for a hamster are mixed, nuts and dried fruits are added. For example: 20 g of oats, 10 g of wheat, 5 g of germinated wheat, 3 g of pumpkin seeds, 2 g of sunflower seeds, 10 g of dried fruits, 10 g of walnuts, 5 g of hazelnuts.

As a result, the finished feed is not too much, which will not allow it to deteriorate and stale.

In the season of fresh vegetables, before feeding the hamster, you can add a few small pieces of carrots and zucchini to this mixture. In addition, a sprig of greenery will be useful.

Kashi

It is useful to add ready-made cereals to the menu: buckwheat, oatmeal, wheat. They are cooked (or steamed) only on water, with the addition of a small amount of vegetable oil.

Such porridges are very useful and necessary for cubs and young hamsters with not yet strong incisors.

Cereals and legumes

Of all the grains, oats, barley and buckwheat are considered the most useful.

So, oats and barley are rich in vitamins, micro and macro elements, and buckwheat is useful due to the protein and minerals it contains.

Rice does not need to be given to a hamster - all the beneficial components in rice are removed during processing, and what remains after processing contains mostly only starch. It will not bring benefits to the hamster.

From legumes, young peas, lentils, chickpeas, and green beans are best suited. They are rich in potassium, phosphorus, carotene, iron and contain vitamin C.

Hamsters love sunflower seeds and often eat only them. Therefore, try to give them in small quantities so that the hamster has the need to eat other food.

Did you know?Stocks of seeds and grains in hamsters in natural conditions can reach 90 kg.

In the general diet, grains and legumes should be at least 30%.

nuts

It is advisable to give nuts in limited quantities. This is a high-calorie product, and so that the pet does not gain excess weight, you should not abuse them. In nutrition, they should act as a treat.

Nuts such as walnuts, peanuts, hazelnuts, cashews should be present in the diet on an ongoing basis, as a storehouse of protein and useful elements for the hamster's body. It is necessary to give nuts in an already peeled form so that the hamster does not injure his cheek pouches.

Milk

Hamsters love milk. It contains the necessary liquid and well-digestible protein. It contains a lot of vitamins and minerals necessary for the body of a hamster. In small quantities, milk contains sugar, so it should be given no more than twice a month for benefit. You can soak a small piece of stale bread in milk and serve your hamster as a rewarding treat.

Of fermented milk products, it is allowed to give kefir, but not more than 1% fat.

Meat

Once a week, a small amount of meat can be added to the diet. A hamster will benefit from boiled chicken breast, boiled beef heart and liver. These products will affect the good appearance of the coat. Meat for hamsters no pork, it will lead to serious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

The main condition when feeding meat is to serve a small amount that the hamster can consume at a time, without leftovers.

Pasta and bakery

Oddly enough, but hamsters love to eat cooked pasta. They need to be served in limited quantities, only in boiled form, without the addition of salt and, moreover, any spices.

Periodically (very rarely) stale bread is added to the main diet.

The thing is that hamsters eat bread with pleasure, but it is prepared on the basis of yeast, which also leads to diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Vegetables and fruits

Vegetables and fruits should be present in the diet on an ongoing basis. These are cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes and many others growing in the garden.

Vegetables can be raw or cooked. The only prohibition is no cold or frozen vegetables and fruits..

Also, do not give the hamster already spoiled and stale food, otherwise the animal may get sick.

Important! When making stocks of fresh vegetables, a hamster can eat them already spoiled, so you need to monitor the pet’s cage and throw away such “stocks” in time.

Vitamin complexes

Another important component of a complete hamster diet is vitamins. He consumes most of the vitamins with food, but additional support for the hamster's body will not be superfluous for diseases.

In winter, with a lack of green vegetables in the diet, it is useful to give the hamster sprouted grains (oats, wheat). This will replenish the body of the animal with vitamins.
The most common way is to buy special vitamin complexes in veterinary pharmacies. When buying this kind of vitamins, you should pay attention to their form of release. Tablets and powders are considered a comfortable form.

Vitamins in the form of granules or rice balls are used as prevention and do not have medicinal properties.

In addition to vitamin complexes, hamsters need to be fed with minerals. As a mineral supplement, meat and bone meal is added to the feed, but not more than twice a week. When serving, meat and bone meal is mixed with porridges at the rate of 1-3% (young or adult) of the amount of porridge.

Common salt is an additive to the main diet. In small quantities, it is useful - at a dosage of 0.02 g for young and 0.05 g for adult hamsters per day.

Water balance

Domestic hamsters cannot replenish their water balance from food, so there should always be enough fresh water in the cage. This is due to the fact that the hamster eats mostly dry food.
Water must be changed every day, thus preventing it from stagnation in the cage. Bad water will harm the health of the hamster.

Some veterinarians, as a prevention of colds, sometimes recommend pouring chamomile decoction instead of water into a hamster's drinker (1 tsp per 0.5 cup of water). Such a decoction is suitable for no more than 12 hours.

The hamster's drinker should be washed every day without the use of special detergents or with ordinary baking soda.

Prohibited Products

But not everything is so simple with the diet of hamsters. There are a number of prohibited foods.

We list what to feed hamsters at home is not recommended:

• bread;
• cabbage;
• almond;
• sausages;
• sweets;
• Exotic fruits;
• citrus.

It is also dangerous to give such greens as dandelions. The milky juice contained in the stems and leaves causes irritation on the inner surface of the hamster's bags.

It is forbidden to feed food seasoned with salt and spices. Prohibited foods also include food that has undergone heat treatment (meaning fried food).

Important! For grinding teeth, you should not give the hamster branches of coniferous trees and cones because of the resins they contain.

Remember: what hamsters eat at home directly affects the quality and duration of their life. Carefully observing the basic rules of a healthy diet, you will certainly provide your pet with a long and healthy life.

Choosing the right diet for your pet is the key to his health and good mood. In this article, we will consider how to feed a Syrian hamster at home, we will compile a list of useful and harmful foods. The list will help inexperienced owners quickly navigate and form the perfect menu for the baby.

We will also analyze what can be given to a Syrian hamster, and what it is absolutely impossible to feed it with.

The diet of the Syrian hamster in the wild consists of 3 main components:

• succulent feed (greens, vegetables, fruits, berries);
• protein food (small insects, worms).

At home, it is not difficult to provide a pet with a balanced diet.

Seeds and nuts

Since the homeland of the animal is forest-steppe and meadows, cereals should become the basis of its diet. The easiest way is to provide your pet with the necessary seeds in full, buying for him in pet stores. They include:

• wheat;
• corn;
• oats;
• red millet;
• alfalfa;
• sunflower;
• shelled peas;
• peanut;
• buckwheat;
• sesame.

All these components can and should be included in the diet of the Syrian hamster.

The only thing you need to pay attention to is that the percentage of fat-containing seeds and (sunflower, peanuts) is minimal.

It is better to use such food as a treat so that the pet does not begin to gain weight.

You can prepare a mixture for the baby yourself to be absolutely sure that all the ingredients are suitable for the pet. In the composition, in addition to the above components, it is good to include more seeds:

• pumpkins;
• watermelon;
• melons.

These components diversify the baby's diet and saturate the body with useful substances.

Greenery and tree branches

It should also form a significant part of the rodent's daily menu. Here is a list of useful plants:

• knotweed;
• clover;
• wheatgrass;
• sleep;
• plantain;
• burdock;
• nettle (only treated with boiling water);
• leaf salad;
• parsley;
• dill;
• seedlings of wheat, oats, millet and other permitted seeds.

There are plants that can be included in the diet of the Syrian hamster, but this must be done with caution. This:

• tarragon;
• sagebrush;
• dandelion.

Grass for feeding a pet should be collected away from busy roads (the best option is your own garden plot), rinsed well with running water and then dried.

In order for the rodent to be able to grind off constantly growing teeth, it is recommended that it also offer deciduous trees:

• apple trees;
• pears;
• cherries;
• birch;
• maple;
• beech;
• oak;
• poplars;
• ash.

Branches should be cut in an environmentally friendly place. Before putting them in a cage, you should rinse the branches and remove all knots.

Vegetables

In the daily diet of the Syrian hamster, you need to include some juicy, rich in vitamins. The most useful vegetables for small rodents:

• carrot;
• cucumber;
• pumpkin (only pulp);
• Bell pepper;
• radish;
• turnip;

Hamsters are especially fond of and, but kids are always happy with other vegetables. It is necessary to choose a fruit for complementary foods very carefully. The pet's small organism is hard to tolerate any "chemical" substances, so the vegetable is guaranteed to be grown without the use of pesticides and nitrates.

Even a small dose of chemicals, if it enters the animal's digestive tract, will cause poisoning.

Vegetables should be fresh, without rotten areas. All root crops must be washed well before treating them to a pet. It is better to peel the vegetables from the peel and cut into small cubes so that it is convenient for the baby to eat.

Fruits

• (if the apple is sweet and sour, you can give it more often);
• bananas;
• (first try to give a small piece to follow the reaction of the intestine);
• peaches;
• apricots.

Before you treat your baby with fruits, remove the seeds and seeds from them, cut them into small pieces and give them to the rodent one at a time.

Berries

Berries are on the list of what Syrian hamsters eat in their natural environment. In a small amount, it will be useful for them to enjoy:

• strawberries;
• raspberries;
• (seedless).

Berries should be chosen ripe, but not overripe, and washed well.

Protein products

Consider what you can feed the Syrian hamster to provide the body of the rodent with protein. Here are the most useful and affordable sources of this diet component necessary for animals:

• (chicken or quail);
• boiled chicken breast or lean fish;
• fresh green peas;
• chickpeas (soak in water before feeding);
• insects or worms intended to feed rodents and sold in pet stores.

For these products to be beneficial, they should be given in limited quantities.

"Protein days" is better to arrange a pet twice or thrice a week. Products need to be rotated.

How to feed the animal

After the question of what a Syrian hamster can eat is resolved, it is necessary to figure out what liquid should be given to the animal. Contrary to popular belief, juicy food is not enough to provide the body of the animal with moisture.