Proper feeding of hamsters is crucial for the maintenance of healthy animals and the production of sound offspring. It is not difficult to supply the right food or inducing your pet to eat it. Your only responsibility is to offer a variety of well-balanced rations.
Commercial pet food suppliers emphasize protiens in the diet, because they are the main structural components of nearly all living tissue. But feeding hamsters a diet high in protein does not absolutely ensure that they will have all the correct amino acids needed for protein synthesis; thus a seemingly well-fed hamster can suffer from malnutrition. This can be avoided by offering your pet a multitude of proteinaceous foods rather than just one kind of high-protein food. So variety is the key to proper nutrition, but not only variety in the kinds of protein given, but of all the other nutrients as well: the fats, the carbohydrates, the minerals, the vitamins and the fiber. A well-balanced diet produced by a great variety of foods ensures that all of the hamster's physiological functions will be carried out correctly.
The easiest way to get variety in teh food supply is to use a packaged mixture designed for hamsters. Used as the mainstay of the hamsters diet, these mixes seem to be as complete in their nutrient variety as any single prepared food mix can be, scientifically designed to furnish all the vital substances expect water. Some hobbyists never feed their pet anything else but these mixtures, and nothing is wrong with this if you only want your hamster to survive. Unsupplemented by other foods and vitamins, your hamster will grow to almost full size and may or may not breed. However, if you provide treats of fresh vegetable, fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, and vitamins supplements, your pet will flourish-reaching full size, having brighter colors, displaying more alert behavior, and producing larger and healthier litters.
Fresh fruits and vegetables should not be overlooked, for they are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and roughage or fiber in the form of cellulose. Roughage is a carrier for food material passing through the digestive system. Inadequate roughage means severe digestive disorders. All soft foods should be fed carefully, because green vegetables and fruits do not lend themselves to pouch-packing. The soft, quick-spoiling foods are difficult to remove from the pouch and remain stuck there, causing various health problems. Since they are often eaten on the spot, they make an excellent treat for hand feeding during taming and training.
Nearly any vegetation fit for human consumption is suitable for your pet; potatoes, water chestnuts, watermelon rinds, banana peels, grapes and any vegetable trimmings discarded by your grocer. A convenient and inexpensive method of obtaining green foods for your hamster is to pick up these discarded greens regularly from the grocer, who will probably be glad to give them to you. Thus you have a year round source of fresh food. (Do not feed your pet any discarded foods that are not fresh enough for you yourself to eat.)
Even wild plants suit your hamster's dietary needs. Grass, dandelions, colver and chickweed are commonly available and readily eaten. Many people though, are not good at identifying wild plants and might choose one that can sicken or kill a hamster. Therefore, select only vegetation which is easily identifiable as safe. In addition, keep away from henbane, oak leaves, buttercups, laurel leaves and hemlock. Avoid areas where other domestic animals deposit their wastes,and locations in which herbicides, fungicides and insecticides have been used recently. Before giving any foods to your pet, be sure they are clean and fresh. Remove any dirt and contaminants.
Any of the individual ingredients found in commercial mixtures can be fed alone as a dietary supplement or as a treat. For example, proteins such as barley, wheat, soybean, wheat germ and whole or cracked corn can be purchased and fed to your pet. Do not offer oats because the sharp ends tend to scratch the pouch and cause abscesses.
Hamsters are particularly fond of sunflower seeds, which are especially useful for conditioning lactating females, as they seem to enhance milk production. Be sure however, that once the pups are weaned extra feeding of sunflower seeds are withdrawn from the female's diet. All nuts are rich in fat and carbohydrates; feeding them in excess is fattening. Both sunflower seeds and peanuts serve another purpose for hamsters besides nutrition. The animals chew the shells into fine fibers to be piledup and used for bedding material.
Pre-packaged mixtures of seeds, especially rape and millet, sold as bird food are also excellent dietary supplements for adult hamsters. Served alone, they make a good first solid food for babies.
Hamsters enjoy nibbling on dry plant stalks like alfalfa, which is packaged and sold as rabbit food. This also makes a suitable nesting material.
Most owners feed their pets some sort of pelletized dried vegetable material designed for small mammals. These commercially prepared foods are nutritionally adequate, inexpensive, convenient, and readily available in pet stores. The pellets, which must be fresh, need to be stored in are air tight, moisture-proof containers in a cool, dry place. Cleaned out coffee cans or a trash can with a tight fitting lids make for a good storage. Often spoiled food cannot be detected until it is fed to your hamster, so any food that is suspect should be discarded and the container sterilized before using it again. Fortunately, most unsafe or unwholesome foods will be rejected by your pet.
Although much of the needed water is obtained from soft foods, a supply of fresh, clean water at all times is an absolute must. A separate supply of milk is a valuable addition to any hamster's diet, particularly bred females, nursing females, and newborns. In the babies, it promotes the development of healthy bone structure, thus preventing loss of calcium and ensuring continued productivity in the matron. A newborn will be nursed by its mother until its eyes open and the fur grows. At this time, whole wheat bread socked in milk should be supplied. This is a great food for the baby and a fine supplement for its mother. Evaporated, condensed, or pasteurized milk can all be given, but never offer raw milk. Check the milk supply often, as milk tends to sour quickly. Slightly older hamsters, as well as breeding females, benefit from a treat of mashed hard-boiled eggs.
Garlic and onions are totally unsuitable, and citrus fruits are controversial. You might try feeding a bit to your hamster and see how it reacts. Introduce any new food in small quantities and only one new food at a time.
The availability of cooked and raw meats is another topic of controversy. Some authorities maintain that meat should not be fed at any time, presuming that it encourages cannibalism of young by their mothers. Others heartily disagree. If you choose to feed your hamster meat, do so in a trail basis. If the results seem to be satisfactory, continue the feedings. Your pet will at least get some enjoyment from boiled beef bones, while at the same time deriving some value from the minerals in the bone. Small, hard dog biscuit or kibble are high in calcium and phosphorus, thereby promoting strong bones, teeth and claws. Dry pellets, bones , and biscuits also give hamsters plenty of gnawing exercise, since they are good tooth-grinding mediums. Petshops also sell special chew treats for hamsters that keep their teeth in good condition.
Vitamin and mineral supplements are recommended for your pet, especially if you are planning to breed it. Wheat germs oil, cod liver oil, and other fish oils make for good vitamin supplements. These liquid supplements may be offered in the drinking water, sprinkled on food, or given throughan eye dropper. Ripe whole wheat as it comes from the stalk and raw peanuts are prime sources of Vitamin E.
Hamters are slow eaters and constant nibblers. They are designed and equipped to consume hard materials, like nuts and seeds, that are slowly chewed and slowly digested. Just because your hamster accepts what you offer and stuffs it into its pouches doesn't mean it plans to eat it or use the material at that time. Your pet just want to carry it off for later use. Whether you feed a hamster each day or a specific time, or simply replenish the stock when it is low, it is the hamster who decides when and what to eat. Hamsters eat only for their immediate needs, so don't be afraid of offering to much food. Since they do not overeat, you cannot overfeed them. What they don't eat will just be hidden away for a later time.
