Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Can Hamsters Eat Grass?

at September 19, 2017 No comments:

Can Hamsters Eat Grass?

Hamsters are dear and popular pets for many people. They are not demanding like some larger pets and do not need complicated and special conditions to feel good and be healthy.

Hamsters are easy to maintain and easy to please. They are active and playful, they love to stretch and cuddle, but can also be aggressive and bite if they are provoked. One of the essential things in taking care of hamsters is to provide them quite a lot physical activity. Otherwise, they tend to obesity and diabetes.

One of the most popular toys for hamsters is wheels for their terrarium mandatory. They would spend long time running hundreds of meters on their favorite playground.

Hamsters are very curious, they love to sniff and explore, so you should be carful when let your pet play outside the cage. Of course they should be let out, just pay attention on their moves. Those true masters of hide-and-seek could easily slip behind or below furniture and other interior elements and literally disappear. You can also let them play in the garden, but be cautious if they eat plants or grass and track their movement.

What do hamsters eat?

Hamsters love to eat different kind of food and they need variety of nutrients. They are omnivores and their favorite food are seeds and cereals. You can buy excellent hamster food mixtures in pet shops. It usually contains grains of sunflower, wheat and corn. You can also prepare it yourself, since it is really easy to make. More then grains, hamsters love to chew walnuts, hazelnuts and raisin. You can really spoil them with this treats and make easy to tame.

Alongside grains, you should give hamsters fresh fruit and vegetable such as carrots, apples, lettuce and so on. You can even give them boiled eggs once in a while. Unlike many other rodents, hamsters are not exclusively herbivores and they can safely eat variety of food.

Can they eat grass?

When it comes to playing outside and eating grass, you should be careful. While some people regularly let them chew grass from their yards, others occasionally feed them fresh grass, purchased in pet store and prepared exclusively for pets. Grass from the garden could be contaminated by dangerous chemicals, such as pesticides or other material, harmful for your gentle pet.

Grass in larger amount can also irritate their delicate bellies and give them diarrhea, just as other wet food.

So, you can give it grass once in a while and regularly stick to dry food, with several servings of fresh fruit and vegetable. If you decide to feed it some grass, make sure it is completely free of pesticides and such.

Source: Can Hamsters Eat Grass?

Can Hamsters Eat Sunflower Seeds?

at September 19, 2017 No comments:

Can Hamsters Eat Sunflower Seeds?

Being so cute and lively, hamsters are dear and beloved tiny pets in many homes. They are adorable and playful and they do not need any special treatment. Hamsters are ideal pets for smaller living spaces and for people who work a lot and don’t have time for more demanding pets, such as dogs and cats.

Hamsters are good for older children. Many psychology experts would say having hamster is a great opportunity for them to learn about responsibility, caring for others and natural life processes.

Hamsters sleep during the day and they are awake and playful at night. You can play with your little friend in the evening and let it out of the cage. Hamsters are curious and easily tamed. Just be gentle with them, since they are small and very delicate little creatures. Once it gets used to you and your living area you can use it in your hands. If you provide it healthy diet and good condition, you will make a great new furry friend.

Food for hamsters

Hamsters can eat almost everything and they don’t require any special ingredients to be satisfied and healthy. The base of hamsters’ diet are grains and plant food. You can buy prepared mixtures in pet store or you could make it yourself. Hamsters are omnivores and thus you should enrich their diet with variety of other food, as long as cereals stay as staple food. You can feed it many sorts of fresh fruit and vegetable and even some food you normally eat.

Other food should be considered as a treat, not a regular ingredient. Some chicken meat or boiled egg could be really great choice to enrich its nutrition with valuable elements.

Unsalted sunflower seeds as an occasional treat

Hamsters love seeds of many types. Sunflower seeds are certainly delicious to them. You can feed it sunflower seeds, but be careful. People commonly purchase them as snacks in different forms. They are usually fried and salted, which is not particularly healthy neither for us nor our small sized pets. The greatest difference is that hamsters are so tiny that even small amounts could do them harm.

The salt will make them very thirsty and seeds themselves are high in fats. Hamsters are also prone to obesity and they can very easily get diabetes.

So, the best advice is to completely avoid salted sunflower seeds.

On the other hand, you could give your pet extremely small portions of plain, deshelled sunflower seeds. Your hamster would love it! Those seeds are fatty, so just stick to very small amounts and consider it only as a treat.

Source: Can Hamsters Eat Sunflower Seeds?

Can Hamsters Eat Rice?

at September 19, 2017 No comments:

Can Hamsters Eat Rice?

Many would suggest you don’t give your pet remains of human food, food that contains sugar, chocolate or other sweets.

Actually, you can do it, but only once in a while, in order to prevent it from obesity and diabetes. What about cereals that are not on their regular menu? Can they have rice?

When it comes to rice, it has green light in both raw and cooked form. However, you need to take some precaution. Any sort of rice should be given only as a treat, just a couple of grains at a time. Rice lacks nutritional value that hamsters need, which is why it is not one of the staple viands for hamsters. It should be addition to its diet, not a major ingredient.

You can safely feed your hamster raw or cooked rice, once in a while. Raw rice is better option, because it could be stored in your pets’ cheek pockets. Cooked rice could be a good treat, just make sure it is not too moist or overcooked.

Otherwise, it could get stuck in hamster’s cheeks and rot, which is certainly not good for your pet’s health.

Hamsters are little rodents, originating from Southeast Europe and Middle East. They are easy to maintain and very flexible, so they are often kept as pets. Hamsters are ideal pets for the whole family, except very small children. They are dear, cuddly and very playful.

Hamsters do not require complicated care and conditions and they easily get used to new living space. If you don’t have time for more demanding animals, such as dogs or cats and still want to have pet, hamster is an ideal choice.

This tiny cute animal is nocturnal being, so it will seep most of the day. Hamsters are active at night, so evening would be a perfect time to spend it with your pet and play. It will quickly gain confidence and get used to you. Just have an eye on it when you let it outside the cage.

Hamsters are very curios and they love to climb and hide everywhere around the house.

Hamsters’ nutrition

Feeding hamsters is simple. The basic of their diet are grains, which you can buy in pet store or mix it yourself. They should always have fresh and clean water and a piece of wood to sharpen their teeth.

Besides grains, you should give it small amounts of various other viands. Fresh fruit and vegetable several times a week could be a great treat. They could eat most of it; just pay attention on amounts, because of water and sugar content.

Source: Can Hamsters Eat Rice?

Food Diet and Treats For Hamsters

at September 19, 2017 No comments:

Hamster Food Diet and Treats

Feeding your hamster is going to be relatively easy considering all the food options that are available to you. With that said though, not every type of hamster food is good for them. Some of your options include carefully formulated ingredients that will provide your hamster a well balanced diet while others don’t provide any nutritional value and are loaded with nothing but sugars or fats.

The hamster food you should look for includes 12-15% protein and 3-6% fat. For Pregnant of baby hamsters, your should get hamster food that contains 18-20% protein and 7-9% fat. The reason pregnant mothers and babies need more protein is because they need all the protein to grow. It’s during the first month of a a baby hamster’s life that is does most of it’s growing; additional protein will help.

In addition to the protein and fats, they need a diet high in carbohydrates. Since they burn so much energy when they are active, hamster food with some needed carbs will give them the energy to do their nightly exercise on the hamster wheel or through their tubes and tunnels. Round out the diet with greens in the forms of lettuces, grasses, fruits and vegetables.
Food Diet and Treats For Hamsters

When purchasing a bag of hamster chow or seed mix, consider the following before purchasing any:

Check the expiration dates and get the freshest bag you can get

Most feed won’t last more than three months before it goes bad

A Syrian hamster will only eat one to two tablespoons of food per day

Dwarf hamsters have higher metabolisms so they will consume the same amount

Expired bags of hamster food might have moth eggs hatch inside

Store the feed in a cool dry location to ensure freshness

Put it in an air-tight container in the fridge for extra freshness

What is in Hamster Food

With all the options available and all the guideline you need to follow, you’re probably wondering what exact type of hamster food to get. The problem is, there is no one right answer. We can give you a recommendation on what we think makes a well balanced hamster diet but by no means is this always going to be right for your situation. In addition to pregnant and baby hamsters, you might need to alter your diet formula for any obese, old or diabetic hamsters. Obese hamsters should be limited in their fat intake, old hamsters can be feed what the babies eat and diabetic hamsters should have low sugar diets.

Prepackaged Feed

In regards to prepackaged hamster chow, these should make up more than 50% of the overall diet. There are two main types to choose from; seed mixes and lab blocks of pellets. Variety is the spice of life so it’s okay to use both in your hamster’s diet.

Seed Mixes

A bag of mixed seeds is great choice if you want a large variety of options for your hamster to eat. Depending on the brand, theses mixes include not only seeds but also and other types of grasses/grains (oats, wheat) dried fruits and vegetables. If your hamsters ate a bit of all these ingredients, it would probably have a relatively balanced diet. However, just as you see in humans, hamsters will pick and choose what they want to eat. Often they will go for the more fatty foods like sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds while not eating the other parts of the mix. Thus, they don’t get a well balanced diet.

Food Diet and Treats For Hamsters

You can pick out the fatty seeds like sunflower and pumpkin seeds and only give them out every so often. You might consider removing some of the corn or alfalfa since some hamster owners say they can can cause cancer or liver damage but there is little research to back this up from what we can find. Additionally, dehydrated fruits can get stuck in their mouths or cause a cheek impaction. Finally avoid mixes that have a lot of molasses in them since they are full of sugar.

Lab Blocks and Pellets

Lab blocks were originally created as feed in laboratories for research animals. You can now buy these at pet stores but the best ones still come from manufactures that still sell to laboratories. A lab block usually contains a mixture of seed and grains and vitamins and minerals. These are a preferred type of hamster food if you want to make sure your little guys or girls are getting all the vitamins and minerals they need to stay healthy. If you could only get one type of dry food, these would be them.
Brands that Come Recommended:

HagenHarlan Native EarthOxbow

You might think they would taste bad but your hamsters will most likely love them, especially the Syrian breeds. In addition to getting a well balanced diet, these pellets and blocks will help wear down your hamster’s teeth and keep them from becoming overgrown. Lastly, Block and pellets are easier to save while cleaning your hamster cage then the smaller seed mixes.

Greens/Fruits/Veggies

Hamsters in nature rarely drink water but instead get their water from the things they eat (This does NOT mean you don’t need a water bottle though). Fresh greens, fruits and vegetables not only provide your hamsters with the water they need, they also provide extra vitamins and minerals they need. With that said, you need to be careful how much greens you add into the hamster food; too much greens and they can get a case of diarrhea. A rough guide calls for only feeding it about one square inch (2.54cm) of greens per day. There are greens, fruits and vegetables that are great for hamsters and there are also ones that should be avoided. The following are some of the greens that are acceptable and some of the greens to avoid (If you collect these from outdoors, make sure there are no pesticides or toxic chemicals that could be on them. Always thoroughly wash them before placing them in your hamster’s cage.)

Food Diet and Treats For Hamsters

Acceptable Greens to Eat

Celery

Carrots

Apples

Broccoli

plums

Figs

Peas

Strawberries

Melons

Cauliflower

Beets

Cut Grapes

Plantains

Soy Sprouts

Pumpkin

sweet potato

Rose Hips

Cucumber

Zucchini

Dandelions

Clover

Mint

Timothy Hay

Herbal Hay

Stinging Nettles

Chamomile

Apple (twigs with no pesticides)

Pear (twigs with no pesticides)

Hazelnut (twigs with no pesticides)

Beech (twigs with no pesticides)

Bananas

Greens to Avoid Feeding

Cabbage (causes gas)

Onions (causes gas)

Leeks (causes gas)

Spinach (hard to digest)

Sorrel (hard to digest)

Rhubarb (hard to digest)

Raw Potatoes (hard to digest)

Corn (may or may not cause cancer)

Alfalfa (may or may not cause cancer)

Citrus Fruit (too acidic)

Peaches (too acidic)

Apricots (too acidic)

Nectarines (too acidic)

Pineapple (too acidic)

Raspberries (too acidic)

Twigs from Evergreen Trees (indigestible oils and resins)

Horse Chestnuts (hydrocyanic acids)

Oak (hydrocyanic acids)

Ivy(hydrocyanic acids)

Acorns (hydrocyanic acids)

House Plants (can be poisonous)

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates in your food mix is a must. Carbohydrates are what an active hamster needs to keep going. If your lab blocks or seed mixes don’t have them or not enough, you can provide additional carbs of the following in small amounts. If you provide too much carbohydrates though, your pets will start to become overweight since all carbs won’t get used up and instead get stored as fat.

Acceptable Sources of Carbohydrates:

Cooked Pasta

Cooked Rice

Sugar Free Cereals

Cooked Potatoes

Milk

Whole Wheat Bread

Barely

Wheat

Oats

Nutritional Yeast Tablets

Dog Biscuits

Carbohydrates

Acceptable Sources of Carbohydrates:

Cooked Pasta

Cooked Rice

Sugar Free Cereals

Cooked Potatoes

Milk

Whole Wheat Bread

Barely

Wheat

Oats

Nutritional Yeast Tablets

Dog Biscuits

Proteins

In their natural habitat hamsters are mainly herbivores but on occasion, if the opportunity arises, they will snatch up small insects or grubs. This means you will need to provide your pet with some food that contains protein. Many of the prepackaged mixes will have some protein so you won’t have to provide that much more. All you need is a small fingers worth every so often. Try to keep its protein intake down around 12-15% unless otherwise for reasons stated in this article (pregnant and baby hamsters). The following is a list of acceptable forms of protein that can be fed to them (It’s best to get any of the live insects/bugs on this list from the pet store so no diseases get spread).

Live Mealworms

Insect Larvae

Grasshoppers

Crickets

Hard Boiled or Scramble Eggs

Cottage Cheese

Small Bits of Chicken

Small Bits of Beef

Small Bits of Fish

Other

Drinking Water

Hamsters need access to a fresh source of water 24/7. The best way to do this is by providing them with a water bottle or two throughout their habitat. You need more than one if you have several hamsters or an expansive cage system.

Salt Intake

In the wild you could observe a hamster licking different rocks or minerals that contain salt. They need salt to help retain water and stay healthy. You can provide your hamster with a salt lick or a mineral salts. These come in various forms and are sometimes added to their accessories as a form of play.

Supplements

If you provide your little guy with a well balanced diet you probably won’t need to get supplements to add extra vitamins and minerals into their food or water. However, if you want to play it safe and make sure they are getting all the nutrition they need, you can get vitamin and mineral supplements; it more than likely won’t do them any harm as long as you follow the directions.

Treats

Occasionally a pet owner wants to spoil their hamsters by giving them some treats. For the most part if you feed it a well balanced diet it won’t need to be fed any treats. However, every so often it’s okay to give your hamster something that is not the best for it in terms of nutritional value. If anything, if it does not provide any nutritional value, a tasty treat might improve their happiness which in a round about way can improve the little guy or girl’s well being. There are a lot of options on the market these days and some are less unhealthy than others. Most of them come in flashy packaging and contain a lot of sugar. Here is a list of some of the treats that are available:

Cheese Flavored Yogies

Hartz Bonanza Treat Stick

Crispy Honeybars

Treat Zone Dispenser Accessory

Avoid any treat that contains a high amount of sugar. This means no cakes, cookies or chocolates. If you only spoil your hamster every so often and don’t fall for their tricks that they just have to have a treat, then you are being a good pet hamster owner and providing them with the proper care they need.

Source: Food Diet and Treats For Hamsters

Monday, September 18, 2017

Can Hamsters Eat Tomatoes?

at September 18, 2017 No comments:

Can Hamsters Eat Tomatoes?

NO! Hamsters can’t eat Tomatoes.

Tomatoes are members of the nightshade family and un-ripened tomatoes, along with the plant’s stems and leaves, contain tomatine, a solanum alkaloid that can cause neurologic and digestive tract issues. Dr. Karen Schachterle, an avian and exotics specialist at ACCESS, said she does not recommend clients offer tomatoes to hamsters due to the concern for potential toxicity. “There are many safe fruits and vegetables that owners can offer as alternatives to tomatoes,” she said.

Tomatoes are poisonous

Your little furry friend can’t eat tomatoes because they contain a lot of acid, which can be deadly for them. Besides being life-threatening, it can also cause diarrhea and vomiting. Serious stomach pain and constipation can also be a side-effect of eating tomatoes. So, it will be easy to notice if something is gone wrong, or he if he is having a bad reaction.

When it comes to the tomato, the whole plant is not recommended. If you give him leaves, you will pretty much get the same result. Vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pains. So no part of this fruit is good for your little furry friend, so try not to experiment.

Other symptom of giving your hamster tomatoes is also dehydratation. Dehydratation is very common in hamsters already, so eating tomatoes can only increase the risk of it. This can be best noticed by his sunken eyes, his loss of appetite and he will feel weak overall. If he gets to eat tomatoes, you should definitely get him hydrated as quick as possible. Give him water, or any sort of food that contains a lot of water, that will make up for the loss of it, that happened by eating tomatoes.

Another way to determine whether your hamster is suffering from dehydratation, is to pinch his skin, and notice if it’s retracting back or not. If some of these symptoms appear then call your veterinarian immediately and ask for advice, or take him directly for examination.

Some safe ways to feed your hamster with tomatoes

If you insist on giving your little friend tomatoes (which are, indeed, really healthy) then try to give him only half of teaspoon. After that, you MUST gve him water, and keep him hydrated.

Tomatoes are an extremly healthy fruit, and some of the beneficial effects to our bodies are: cardiovascular support, they also contain components that support bone health and they have anti-cancer benefits. Vitamin A, betacarotene, Vitamin C and E, Niacin, manganese, potassium and many other minerals and vitamin are just some of the beneficial components this powerful fruit contains.

So, it will definitely boost your little friends immune system, just remember not to give him too much, and don’t forget to keep him hydrated as well. If you don’t feel safe experimenting with tomatoes, then it is best to avoid them altogether, so you don’t make a bigger mess by trying to help him.

If you’ve ever typed in hamsters and tomatoes you will get results where hamster litterally run away from them. Their acid content is just too much for them, and they dislike it even at first sniff. They have a good way of showing us what foods they like and which ones they dislike.

In smaller amounts tomatoes won’t hurt your little friend, but don’t ever give him more than a tablespoon. But, by his reactions, there is really no purpose in making him eat foods that he dislikes. Any type of nutrient you want him to get, you can find in food supplements, and foods that expecially made for hamsters.

If he happens to eat more than the recommended amount, and you are worried about him, then contact your vet, and ask for advice. Give him enough water and make sure he gets it in his body before dehydratation strikes.

In the end it is up to you whether you want to give your furry friend this healthy but also not recommended fruit. It definitely has it’s benefits and it will give him enough vitamins and minerals but on the other hand it is not recommended in bigger amounts.

And, all we want is to keep our pet friends healthy, and the way they get their nutrients, therefore should be safe. Tomatoes are not recommended, but if you really insist, then go for the smaller amount and he will be ok. You can read and find more Hamster Food.

Source: Can Hamsters Eat Tomatoes?

Friday, September 15, 2017

Hamster Care: What can you do if your hamster is ill?

at September 15, 2017 No comments:

Hamster Care: How to take care of hamsters

8. What can you do if your hamster is ill?

Learn common symptoms of illness and be ready to treat your hamster at the first sign of a problem

Once you have a bought a pet then it’s your responsibility to make sure that they’re looked after; especially when they are sick. Obviously you don’t want this to happen, but there is always the likelihood that your hamster will become ill at some point.

Choosing a type of hamster

Buying your hamster

Your hamster’s home

Feeding your hamster

Getting to know your hamster

Exercise

Cleaning

Health problems

It can sometimes be difficult to tell if something is wrong with your hamster. In the wild hamsters are prey for larger animals, so they try not to show if they are hurt or feeling unwell, as it makes them vulnerable.

If you get to know your pet well then you will probably have a feeling if something is not as it should be. There are some signs that are worth looking out for

Loss of appetite

Smaller poop pellets, or none at all

Sitting still with no movement at all

Eyes not bright and alert when awake

Unknown discharge around the nose or eyes

Aggression when not normally aggressive

Bald patches

Change in movements

Damp tail area

Change in posture such as hunching

Change in breathing

Limb chewing

Change to drinking habits

If you notice any of these changes in your hamster then you should seek advice from a vet.

One final thing with regard to health: If your home is very cold for some reason, and your hamster appears to be unconscious, then it’s worth placing the cage somewhere warm to see if the change has any effect. Hamsters can go into hibernation if it’s cold and you may find that’s what has happened. If that is the case then your hamster should awaken once they are in a warm environment.

To a long and happy life!

With the right care, your hamster will live to a grand old age (by hamster standards at least!)

Hamsters make marvellous and fun pets, but never be fooled into thinking they are an easy option. You need to be willing to spend time with your pet, socialising and getting to know them. This usually means at least half an hour each day giving your furry friend your undivided attention. Of course it’s also important to know when to back off. You wouldn’t like it if someone was trying to play with you while you were sleeping, and neither does your hamster!

If you are thinking of bringing a hamster into your home then carefully study all of the advice we have provided here, and think about whether you are able to invest the time and attention that your new pet will need to live a long and happy life.

If you get to know your hamster, respect their space, provide them with enough food,exercise and toys, keep their home clean and make sure their health is looked after, then you should have a very happy time together!

Choosing a type of hamster

Buying your hamster

Your hamster’s home

Feeding your hamster

Getting to know your hamster

Exercise

Cleaning

Health problems

Source: Hamster Care: What can you do if your hamster is ill?

Hamster Care: A clean and tidy hamster home

at September 15, 2017 No comments:

Hamster Care: How to take care of hamsters

7. A clean and tidy hamster home

Your new friend will groom themselves, but it’s up to you to make sure that you keep your hamster’s cage clean. To make this easier you can train your new hamster to use a damp corner. Put some of their damp wood shavings into a little plastic tray and put it in one corner of the cage. Your hamster will smell the urine and go to the spot every time they need to pee. This makes your life a lot easier as you are not having to constantly change the bedding or shavings in the cage.

Each day: Make sure that your pet’s food and water are changed. You should also shake the bedding or shavings, and make sure any droppings are removed from the cage.

Once a week: Give your hamster’s cage a full clean from top to bottom. Though leave a small amount of the old bedding in place so that the hamster recognises some familiar smells when it returns to the cage.

While you are cleaning, you need to make sure that your pet is secure and cannot escape. If you purchased a small animal carrier when you first bought your pet, you can put them in this while you clean the cage.

It’s not a good idea to put them in a hamster ball unless there is someone else there who can watch them. You can’t concentrate on cleaning the cage and keep an eye on your hamster’s ball manoeuvring skills at the same time.