How much do hamsters eat, volume and weight of food? Syrian hamster nutrition

Answer from Natusik[active]
In general, food should always be in the feeder. Don’t worry, hamsters won’t overeat, at most they will fill their cheek pouches with food)) Even though they sleep during the day, they still wake up periodically and, without leaving the nest, take food out from behind their cheeks and sit there crunching)) And fruits, vegetables and give a little grass 1-2 times a day and low-fat cottage cheese once a week

Reply from X[guru]
Get a better boyfriend)

Reply from Antonidas-San[guru]
Hamsters are rodents, so their diet must contain special grain food for hamsters.
At the pet store you can buy domestic and imported food.
Most imported feeds and some of ours are fortified. Therefore, there is no need to give hamsters additional vitamins.
Each hamster should have a special rodent drinking bowl with water in its cage. In rare cases, the drinking bowl can be replaced with a large amount of succulent food (vegetables and fruits).
Every day the hamster should receive some kind of fruit or vegetable, but you just need to take into account that not everything can be given to them.
YOU CAN GIVE: apples, pears, banana, tomatoes, cucumbers, Chinese lettuce (lettuce), carrots, zucchini, pumpkin.
NOT: potatoes, cabbage, garlic, onions, citrus fruits, exotic fruits and vegetables, etc. d.
You should not give hamsters fruit seeds, as they contain acid in large quantities that is dangerous to them.
Hamsters need to be given protein food 1-2 times a week. Young hamsters and pregnant or nursing mothers should be given it every day.
Protein foods are: boiled chicken without salt, spices, boiled chicken and quail eggs, low-fat (or low-fat) cottage cheese, meat baby food (beef, chicken) is better to buy without salt. You can give low-fat kefir.
Hamsters can be given porridge cooked (or brewed) in water; hamsters should not be given porridge with milk. Milk is a very difficult product to digest. You can buy porridge for baby food or regular porridge from various cereals. Only the porridge should be without any additives harmful to hamsters (butter, sugar, salt, etc...).
You cannot feed hamsters food “from your table”. You should not feed anything salty, spicy, smoked, fatty or sweet. Such products are very harmful to hamsters. One of these products is cheese; there is a widespread belief that cheese is one of the important and favorite products on a hamster’s menu.
In fact, cheese does great harm to the health of hamsters, because cheese is fatty, salty and spicy, and this, as mentioned above, is not allowed for hamsters. So, foods of this type such as cheese should not be given to hamsters.
If you are not sure about the quality of the products, then it is better not to give them.

Reply from ACID 9[expert]
I think twice a day is enough.

Reply from Nina Pogrebnaya[guru]
every day a piece of cucumber, sausage and herbs and dry food every other day

Reply from Caspella[master]
A plate of dry food should always be present. So give vegetables and fruits two or three times a day...

When we get a pet at home, we must think about how to properly care for it. And this is especially true for nutrition. Therefore, now we will talk about what to feed a hamster at home. After all, how long he will live and whether he will get sick will depend on this. Are you sure you know how vitamins and a routine diet can affect your hamster? If not, you will find the answer below.

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Hamster diet: characteristics

Oddly enough, hamsters are practically omnivores, and will happily eat everything you give them, but this does not mean that you can do this. After all, a number of prohibited foods that a hamster eats include fatty, sweet, fried and smoked foods. Because this can have a bad effect on his health and become almost fatal for the animal. The diet of hamsters must be properly designed and consist only of fresh, natural products, and all because of the animals’ weak stomach. The main foods include cereals such as oats, wheat and buckwheat.

You can also give your pet cooked semolina, oatmeal with milk or water, but only without sugar and butter. This food is especially useful for young hamsters who are not even one and a half months old. Because they not only have weak stomachs, but also young teeth that are not able to chew hard foods. In addition, do not forget about fresh herbs and vegetables, because the rodent loves them so much. Although such products should always be washed and dried.

Also, special attention should be paid to what hamsters eat in the winter season. Because during this period the animal may suffer from vitamin deficiency. And to prevent this from happening, it is recommended to germinate oats and wheat as often as possible. This will be right both for them and for your peace of mind regarding their food.

What foods should I give?

Undoubtedly, every owner of such an animal will be faced with the question of what to feed a hamster, that is, which foods can be useful for him and which ones are not. As mentioned earlier, almost all plant foods can be given in their natural state. Be sure to give your hamster a little cereal every day, either naturally or cooked without additives or spices.

The next mandatory item in the diet are vegetables and fruits, especially apples, watermelon, beets, parsley and carrots. After all, it is with these products that the necessary moisture comes into the rodent’s body.

Also, many veterinarians recommend giving the animal dairy products in the form of cottage cheese, milk, yogurt and low-fat cheese. Although it is important to monitor the naturalness of these products.
It is important to pay attention to the nutrition of a pregnant hamster and give her food in the form of chicken egg shells for feeding, from which she consumes all the necessary vitamins and microelements.
Many owners of these babies buy specialized combined foods that contain not only healthy foods, but also additional vitamins. This way, you can save money, and the question of what to feed your hamster disappears.

What vitamins are needed?

In addition to the standard diet of the hamster, you also need to take care of the presence of additional vitamins in it, because they are not always supplied to the body through food, but which he loves so much. And considering that an animal can easily contract a viral or infectious disease, then such supplements are simply necessary. Sometimes food for hamsters contains such microelements, but sometimes you need to give them additionally, and every day.

The main groups of vitamins are considered to be A, E and D, but if they are oil-based, then they should be added to water or dry food no more than once a week and only one drop at a time, and not as much as you want. If we talk about fish oil, then it is also good to add it to food, but you can do this every day, 0.2 g.

You need to think about buying mineral tablets for your pet, which will not only bring benefits, but also sharpen their teeth. And then there will be no need to chew on the cage or pieces of wood. You can also give your rodent a mineralized mixture or a complex of vitamins, but this should only be done in a clearly defined dose. Although it is very difficult to find one, and it all depends on the time of year and the needs of the hamster. After all, few owners still know what to feed their hamster, and what he especially likes to eat every day. Not to mention the obligatory amount of water.

Do not forget that vitamin complexes that are developed for humans should not be given to a hamster, because this is contraindicated and can cause irreparable damage to its body. Indeed, in this case, you can encounter an overdose, which also often happens.

Water is an essential element in a hamster’s menu.

In addition, to be interested in the question of what to feed a hamster, you need to think about the fact that its diet must include plenty of drinking. In addition to absorbing moisture from natural products, you can replenish the animal’s needs through ordinary water, and constantly. It is necessary to change the water once a day by rinsing the drinking bowl. And all because the animal eats mainly dry food. Therefore, you can ease the work of the stomach with the help of water.

If you wish, you can add vitamin C there, purchased at the pharmacy. It is important that water is constantly in the diet, the plate or bottle for storing it is thoroughly cleaned, but without the use of chemical detergents. It is advisable that the water you give your pet is the same as what you drink yourself. Although it is better that it does not come from the tap, but is cleaned of heavy metals and bleach. Hamsters love to drink often, so you shouldn't deny them their desires.

Hamster feeding regimen

Due to the fact that this animal loves to sleep, especially during the daytime, its diet and regime are adjusted precisely to this biorhythm. And feeding can be done once or twice a day. At the same time, you can decide for yourself how the regime will be compiled. For example, in the morning you can give him cereals and heavier foods, and in the evening give him greens and vegetables. By the evening, prepare some kind of treat for him, but only from the list of recommended products.

A separate topic can be considered what hamsters that bear offspring eat. Because a separate diet is prepared for them, including a lot of water. Most often, they are fed more than three times a day, but are evenly distributed according to the load. They should also get more vitamins and nutrients and drink more water than usual.

Remember that your hamster may quickly become overweight and this is considered a bad sign. In this situation, you need not only to exclude a large amount of food in the form of cereals from the diet, but also add more water to it per day, as well as physical activity, which is undoubtedly correct. It’s difficult to say how long this will last, but this happens often. It’s a good idea to put different ladders or a wheel in the cage.

If we turn to the opinion of foreign experts, they believe that the diet, regime and water supply should be designed in such a way that the animal eats about five times a day, but in small portions. So that the hamster can eat everything at once and not leave anything behind. And this is exactly what is considered correct.

It is necessary to take into account all the most important elements of feeding the animal, which include: regimen, water, vitamins and basic food. Only by paying attention to each of these points can you make your animal’s life full, happy and healthy.

Photo gallery

Video “Care and maintenance of hamsters”

In the video below you will see how to properly care for hamsters, and what diet is optimal for them.

Inexperienced owners often wonder how many times a day they should feed their hamster. If everything is relatively clear with cats and dogs, then here we are talking about how to organize the nutrition of a rodent that is prone to making hiding places and supplies.

Healthy digestion is the basis of longevity for these animals, so attention should be paid not only to the composition of the diet, but also to the organization of the feeding regime. Hamsters are nocturnal and sleep almost all the time during the day. This feature must be taken into account to decide how many times you can feed your hamster.

It's funny to watch the animal eat, but the optimal time is to feed once in the evening when the animal is active. Another acceptable option is feeding in the evening and early morning hours, before the animal naps during the day. The evening portion should be significantly larger than the morning portion.

Having decided on a schedule that is convenient for themselves, it is better for the owner to stick to one feeding time. With amazing accuracy, the animal will wait for dinner at the appointed time. This stability is beneficial for the rodent's digestion.

Due to the high metabolic rate, the hamster cannot tolerate hunger strike at all. It is difficult to answer unequivocally how many times a day a hamster should eat.

Although the main meal occurs at night, the animals like to wake up during the day to have a snack. Therefore, access to food should be available almost around the clock.

When it comes to how often you should feed your hamster, it is important not to overdo it. You cannot give food more than twice a day: this will disturb the animal’s sleep. Juicy and can spoil if the hamster does not eat it right away. For the same reason, inventories are regularly inspected, removing spoiled products.

Amount of food

How much food a hamster needs per day depends on many factors:

• physical activity;
• age (young animals eat much more);
• physiological state (pregnancy, lactation);
• room temperature.

The average rodent eats an amount of food per day equal to 70% of its body weight.

A Syrian hamster weighing 140-150 g should receive about 100 g.

Such accuracy of calculations is not used in practice, and the owner can only roughly say how much a hamster eats per day.

The Djungarian hamster or Campbell is so small that it seems to the owners that they are eating “closely.”

It is a big mistake to overfeed your pet. Hamsters get fat easily.

From the outside it may look cute, but the animal itself faces serious health problems and shortens its life. If a dwarf has already received a tablespoon of dry food, and the feeder is instantly empty, you should not fill it again. The pet simply hid food around the cage.

Conclusion

The owner needs to think about more than just how often to feed the hamster. For your pet’s health, change water and food on time, prevent obesity and follow recommendations regarding. It is better to think over the animal’s diet before purchasing in order to avoid health problems caused by a lack of information about the nutrition of hamsters.

How often should you feed your hamster?

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The Syrian hamster's diet must be individually selected and balanced. It is necessary to take into account health status, age and pet preferences.

The basis of hamster nutrition at home is balanced grain mixtures, which are sold at any pet store. It is recommended to give a tablespoon of prepared food in the morning and evening.

Among the grain crops, wheat, including sprouted wheat, buckwheat, and oats are perfect. Grain feed can sometimes be replaced with wheat bread. It is useful for pregnant females to be given grain porridge.

For legumes, hamsters are given boiled peas and beans.

Animals love crunchy food. Dried corn, pumpkin seeds, and dried carrot slices are suitable. Every day, it is necessary to include fresh fruits and vegetables in the hamster's diet: carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, apples, etc. It is best to give them in the evening, since at night the hamsters will not mind eating and the food will not have time to spoil.

The hamster needs protein feeding several times a week. This can be low-fat cottage cheese, kefir, or well-cooked chicken or fish (low-fat!). The pet will not refuse a boiled egg. Some owners offer mealworms to their hamsters as a protein supplement.

Periodically, the animal must be fed with fresh herbs. Homa will happily eat dandelion leaves and roots, clover, and plantain. In winter, you can purchase trays with a mixture of herbs for rodents and sprout the greens yourself.

There must be a mineral stone in the cage. The hamster will sharpen its teeth (as in the wild) and at the same time receive useful substances.

It is important that the animal always has clean water in its drinking bowl. It is not recommended to place bowls of water in the cage: a frisky animal will constantly knock it over, and the water may simply evaporate. It is best to purchase an automatic drinker.

The Syrian hamster's diet should be balanced and varied. Otherwise, allergic reactions may occur.

The animal is fed twice a day, morning and evening. It is advisable to put enough food in a bowl so that there is some left over for the next day. Spoiled food is removed from the cage.

Small hamsters, like small children, eat often, but little by little. An animal aged 1 to 3 months needs special nutrition.

Firstly, the baby should always have a bowl of dry food. He will decide for himself how much and what to eat. Perhaps not all pieces will be to his taste.

Secondly, it is better to offer your hamster one product per day from wet food, otherwise the animal may develop an upset stomach.

Thirdly, it is not advisable to “pamper” a small hamster with goodies, such as watermelon, strawberries, etc. ? wait until he grows up.

From green food, you can offer a leaf of fresh lettuce, bean sprouts, peas, and wheat. The sprouts contain many vitamins and microelements that are useful for hamsters; they are tender, tasty, nutritious and little hamsters really like them.

Nutrition for an adult hamster

An adult hamster needs a varied diet, since the animals are very sensitive to vitamin deficiencies. The basis of the diet should consist of a mixture of grains (millet, corn, oats). Additional, but no less important products are vegetables and fruits, protein feed, and plants. It should be noted that Syrian hamsters prefer only fresh and succulent vegetation - dry vegetation is used as building material for the nest.

An adult hamster can also be offered dry foods, pasta, and various berries. The pet will not refuse to taste the branches of deciduous trees: birch, apple tree, walnut.

Any food must be fresh. Spoiled foods can make the animal sick. Don't forget about clean drinking water at room temperature. There is no need to worry if your hamster drinks little water: the pet gets some of the liquid from vegetables and fruits.

Often a problem for older hamsters is excess weight. To avoid this, it is recommended to install running wheels in the cage.

With a properly selected diet, a hamster usually does not have digestive problems, but if the animal has diarrhea or constipation, the diet should be reconsidered. For constipation, can you give a little sunflower oil, for loose stools? rice porridge, boiled until sticky.

Nutrition for older hamsters

As the hamster approaches two years of age, you can notice signs of aging: he is no longer as active, his teeth are worn down, and he eats less. The diet should be changed. You can grind your hamster's solid food and puree the vegetables. Children's dairy-free cereals and purees are suitable for feeding an elderly hamster. You can add special vitamins to your food.

Protein feeding should be given once a week, if necessary, pre-grinding. Under no circumstances should the grain component be excluded from the diet. This food is necessary for proper digestion.

Feeding sick and weakened animals

You can drink and feed a sick hamster using a syringe without a needle. The food must be ground and mixed with hot water (or pureed vegetables) to a puree-like consistency. It is better if the food is warm. You can give baby cereals and purees. It is convenient to add medications and vitamins to them. A sick hamster is given a warm chamomile decoction. This must be done carefully so that the hamster does not choke.

What to feed a pregnant female

Pregnancy in Syrian hamsters lasts 17-20 days. At this time, the volume of regular feed increases slightly. To prevent a pregnant female from worrying about the lack of supplies, a little more dry food should be poured in than usual. The diet must include enough greens and sprouted grains. It is also necessary to increase the amount of protein foods. A piece of chalk and a piece of coal are placed in the female’s cage; you can also put a tablet of phytin or calcium gluconate.

Syrian hamster diet

The diet of hamsters can be divided into 3 components: base (dry food), wet food (vegetables, fruits) plus greens and protein supplement.

The basis of the diet includes:
1.Dry ready-made food
2.Nuts (walnuts, cashews, peanuts)
3.Pumpkin or melon seeds
4. Cereals (barley, buckwheat, wheat, corn, etc.)

5. Dried fruits (raisins, dried apricots, dried bananas, apples, pears)

The second component includes:
1.Vegetables (pumpkin, carrots, cucumber, bell pepper, zucchini, zucchini, etc.), briefly boiled vegetables
2. Legumes (beans, including green beans, soaked chickpeas, young peas in pods)
3. Berries (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries)

4.Fresh greens (Chinese cabbage, lettuce, dill, dandelion leaves, plantain leaves, alfalfa, clover, nettle)

Protein foods suitable for the Syrian hamster include:
1. Boiled chicken (you can use meat baby food without soy, sugar and salt)
2. Low-fat cottage cheese, biofilin
3. Boiled egg
4.Low-fat boiled fish
5. Dried gammarus
6. Mealworms, earthworms, butterflies, grasshoppers (purchased at pet stores)

What not to give to a hamster

Some foods that seem safe for your pet can actually be harmful to its health. These include:

• Food for parrots and other rodents
• Potato
• Acorns, chestnuts
• Persimmon
• Brazil nut

There is nothing difficult about feeding a Syrian hamster. Remember that proper nutrition for an animal is the key to its long and healthy life.

The largest percentage of deaths of hamsters at home is caused by gastrointestinal diseases, which arise in most cases due to non-compliance with measures to prevent them during feeding. Therefore, it is very important to maintain hygiene, diet and feeding regimen.

Like any domestic animal, a hamster needs adequate nutrition for normal functioning and reproduction. The food for the animal must contain in sufficient quantity and the required proportion those elements that are spent in the animal’s body for the formation of energy, the growth of new cells and tissues. So, a hamster needs proteins vitally,

fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and water.

It is worth noting that all components of the feed mixture must be balanced in the required proportions and meet the needs of animals at any given period of their life.

When feeding hamsters, it is advisable to use diets compiled by veterinary specialists taking into account the needs of animals depending on the time of year (Table 2). In winter and early spring, it is necessary to add 0.3 g of fish oil, 0.2-0.4 g of yeast and 0.2-0.3 g of salt per animal to the feed.

The daily rate of food consumption by a hamster depends on its size and age (Table 3). Small and young animals require relatively large amounts of food. So, if your pet weighs from 10 to 14 g, the daily food requirement for him is

should be 70-80% of his body weight, and in some cases - 100% or more. As they grow older, the weight of young animals gradually increases, and the amount of food they eat per day changes accordingly.

The ratio of different types of food, even for one hamster, can vary depending on its physiological state and external conditions (most often the air temperature in the room). The appetites of individuals of the same species can vary greatly, and, of course, each animal has its own preferences for certain foods. In this regard, strictly ensure that the animal eats all the food offered to it, and does not choose only its favorite food in the feeder.

Despite the fact that currently norms and diets have been developed for each age group of hamsters, the amount of food per day is determined, as a rule, experimentally.

Table 1 Daily diet of a hamster depending on the time of year

Type of feed		Time	year
	Winter	Spring	Summer	Autumn
Vegetables	50 g	50 g	50 g	50 g
Roots	15 g	15 g	10 g	10 g
Bread	15 g	15 g	10 g	10 g
Milk	10 ml	10 ml	10 ml	10 ml
Corn	20 g	20 g	20 g	20 g
Fresh herbs			300 g	300 g
Hay	10 g	10 g	—	—

Table 2 The daily diet of a hamster depending on its age

Hamsters are unpretentious eaters. You can safely give your pet almost everything you eat yourself. The main thing is to follow the rule: food should be varied.

Since the hamster sleeps all day and wakes up only at 8 o'clock in the evening, evening feeding is usually timed at this time. The animals are fed once a day in the evening or 2 times - in the morning and in the evening. Food must be fresh and good quality.

It is up to you to decide what food and what feeding to give your pet. However, keep in mind that you need to feed the animal at the same time and with the same type of food. For example, morning feeding can be done at 7 o'clock, offering the hamster juicy and green food, boiled vegetables and protein supplements, and evening feeding - at 19 o'clock. For the second feeding, the animal should be given grain mixtures or porridge and, of course, some kind of treat.

If your hamster becomes overweight quickly, this will have a negative impact on his health over time. You can correct the situation by reducing the amount of food and making him move more. Bakery products must be completely excluded from the animal’s diet.

Feeding regimen and hygiene

Hamsters should be fed strictly at certain times, 2-3 times a day (pregnant females are fed 3-4 times a day), giving them food at regular intervals. Evening feeding should be complete and consist of 40% of the animal’s daily diet. Indiscriminate feeding of pets can lead to dysfunction of the normal functioning of the digestive organs, which will have a detrimental effect on the digestibility of the food eaten and, over time, will lead to metabolic disorders.

If your hamster stops spinning the wheel and starts chewing on its axle or iron bars, do not be alarmed and do not rush to get him out of the cage. He's probably sharpening his teeth. And to prevent the animal from gnawing on anything, put a special stone for rodents, a piece of chalk or a branch of a fruit tree in the cage.

As a rule, in the morning feeding hamsters are given succulent food, and in the afternoon and evening - ready-made or grain food, as well as hay and milk (for nursing females). In the spring and summer, instead of hay, the animals are fed greens. In winter, it is good to give animals sprouted grains of wheat and oats, as well as various fortified food (fresh vegetables, dried nettles and alfalfa). Tree branches can be given to hamsters in unlimited quantities. When feeding hamsters, the following rules must be observed:

Under no circumstances should animals be fed cold or frozen food.

as well as withered or moldy food;

The feeder and drinker must be washed daily;

Hay and green food should be placed in the feeder, otherwise the grass scattered around the cage will quickly become dirty

and will fall into disrepair;

Before feeding green and juicy food to pigs, it must be thoroughly washed and dried;

It is better to give food in a ceramic bowl, since animals can knock over a plastic bowl;

After each feeding, you need to remove any leftover food from the cage.

Regular digestive disorders and, as a consequence, metabolic disorders occur in hamsters from constant overeating. Therefore you should not feed

pets every time they start to stand on their hind legs. Perhaps this behavior is not associated with hunger at all, but with boredom: sometimes it is enough to let the hamsters out for a walk around the room or install a new toy in the cage so that the animals have something to do.

New food should be introduced into the animals’ diet gradually: after offering the hamsters a small amount of new food, you need to monitor their behavior and digestive processes (based on the consistency of excrement).

Grain, bran, root vegetables, hay, fresh grass, even mushrooms and plant waste - all this is eaten by hamsters. But the food must be good quality and fresh. Musty grain, rotten root crops, rotten grass inevitably cause gastrointestinal diseases, often fatal.

According to most hobbyists, the best food for hamsters is wheat bran, oats, carrots and green food (spring and summer) or hay (autumn and winter).

Before giving cucumbers, tomatoes and various fruits to hamsters, they must be washed well, but not peeled. But sweet bell peppers, after being thoroughly washed, must be freed from thin skin and seeds and only then fed to the animals.

The following foods are harmful to hamsters:

Moldy, rotten and contaminated products, as well as food that has expired;

Red cabbage;

Sweets;

Leftover food from the owner's table;

Damp feed;

Unripe and overripe fruits and berries.