What to Feed Your Pet Hamsters

Feeding Hamsters ~ The Basics ~ The basis of a hamster's diet should be a good quality store-bought food designed specifically for hamsters. Should you choose a pelleted diet or a diet based on a loose seed mix?

Pelleted Diets ~ Pelleted foods offer a completely balanced diet, and for this reason we generally recommend pelleted diets. As explained below, a hamster can be picky with loose mixes resulting in an imbalanced diet. However, pelleted diets are a bit monotonous and some hamsters will refuse them. A pelleted mix can be supplemented with a variety of other items, as long as the pelleted food makes up the bulk of the diet to ensure well-balanced nutrition.

Loose Mix/Seed Diets ~ It is important to pick a loose mix diet that contains a variety of foods such as grains and dried vegetables along with some seeds ~ and some loose mixed foods also contained a balanced pellet food as part of the mix. As mentioned previously, the biggest problem with loose mixes is that hamsters can pick and choose their favorite bits, which could result in a dietary imbalance. When feeding a loose mix, make sure your hamster empties the food bowl before adding more as this is the best way to make sure your hamster does not just eat his or her favorite parts.

Our recommendation: try to get your hamster to eat a pelleted diet, and supplement it with a variety of other foods such as human foods. If you like, you can even sprinkle a bit of a loose mix diet in with the pellets to add a bit of variety.

Fresh Foods and Treats ~ You can feed your hamster a variety of human foods, as long as you stick to healthy human foods and limit the treats to no more than about 10 percent of the diet. Skip the junk food and stick to healthy things like whole grains and fresh vegetables and fruits (in moderation, or diarrhea may result). Store-bought treats such as yogurt drops and honey/seed sticks are generally sugary, and we recommend avoiding them.

Note: since dwarf hamsters are somewhat prone to diabetes, it is prudent to avoid much sugar in their diet, so avoid fruits as treats for dwarf hamsters.

Some suggested fruits and vegetables:

apples (no seeds!)
bananas
blueberries
broccoli
carrots
cauliflower
cucumber
dandelions greens
grapes
kale
peas
potato (cooked)
romaine lettuce
spinach
strawberries
sweet potato
squash

Other treats:

hay
whole grain bread or toast
whole wheat pasta (cooked)
brown rice (cooked)
whole grain cereal (no sugary cereal)
meal worms
crickets
bit of hard boiled egg
nuts (no almonds; unsalted)
unsalted peanuts
pumpkin seeds
lentils
sunflower seeds
plain air popped popcorn (no butter or salt!)

Hamsters usually love peanut butter, but it must be fed carefully (as with any other sticky food) because it can get stuck in their cheek pouches and cause severe problems. A very thin layer on a piece of wood is okay as an occasional treat, but peanut butter must be given with caution.

What to Avoid:

apple seeds
raw beans
raw potatoes
almonds
citrus fruit
garlic
onions
rhubarb leaves or raw rhubarb
chocolate
any sugary or salty foods
any junk food

Again, variety is the key here, so start with a healthy pelleted mix, add in some fruits, veggies and the occasional treat and your hamster should be happy and thriving for a long time! 

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