Can Hamsters Eat Plums?

Hamsters like grapes and plums as treats.

All species of pet hamsters, including the dwarf species, can eat specially prepared plums as occasional treats. Plums are excellent fresh fruit treats, along with apples, grapes, melons, pears, strawberries and figs, according to "Training Your Pet Hamster."

Preparation

All plums given to hamsters should first be washed to remove any traces of pesticides, says "Food For Thought" by Doran James in "Hamsters," 2008. Because hamsters are so small, even a tiny trace could kill them.

Size

Cut the plum into very small pieces, less than 1 inch long. "Training Your Pet Hamster" notes that large quantities of fresh fruit might give a hamster diarrhea.

Considerations

Hamsters will eat only a little bit of the plum, then tuck the rest into their cheek pouches and stash it. But rotting fruit could introduce harmful bacterial to the hamster dwelling, so remove any uneaten plum in a few hours.

Time Frame

Give fresh fruit treats such as plums to hamsters only once or twice a week. This keeps them from putting on excess weight or forgoing more nutritious food for plums.

Warning

Although hamsters like many types of fresh fruit, they should never be given citrus fruits such as oranges or lemons, because those would make them sick.

References

• "Training Your Pet Hamster;" Gerry Bucsis and Barbara Somerville; 2002
• "Food For Thought" by Doran James; "Hamsters"; 2008
• Hamsterific.com: Hamster Nutrition and Food Info

Resources

• Hamsterific.com: About Hamsters for Hamster Lovers
• Hamster Hideout: Hamster Care: Feeding
• PetEducation.com: Golden Hamsters as Pets: Husbandry and Care of Syrian Hamsters