Types of Hamster Food
Hamsters, those cute and furry balls of joy that scurry around and expend extreme amounts of energy running in circles, need a lot of food to power their lifestyles. Typically, hamsters will store large amounts of food in massive pouches in their cheeks, and they carry the food with them for a long period of time until they are ready to eat. The type of food that hamsters consume can have quite a variety and may depend on the specific tastes of your hamster.
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Mixed Seeds and Grains
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The most standard hamster food may be seeds and grains, which are sold by numerous companies and can be found in most pet stores. Many pet lovers find a mixed seed and grain diet to be the best for hamsters because they can pick and choose the type of food that suits them. Over time, you can see which types of hamster food your hamster prefers, and you can mix more of this type of seed or grain in the food.
Chow
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Unlike the mixed seed and grain diet, which presents a lot of different individual types of food, the chow variety features a lot of types of food that are ground together into one brown substance. Although the substance may look like a piece of cardboard, it contains a lot of valuable vitamins and nutrients that a hamster needs (see Reference 1 & 3). Sometimes hamsters may be too picky, choosing only certain types of seeds and grains. Chow forces them to eat all of the nutritients and healthy aspects of their meal in one bite.
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Timothy or Alfalfa
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In addition to these other types of foods, a healthy dose of timothy or alfalfa for hamsters will mimic the type of food that hamsters typically eat in their natural environments. In the wild, hamsters typically eat smaller plants such as these, and adding these to existing food may help improve a hamster's life span and quality of life. However, before you add alfalfa or timothy to a hamster's bowl, be sure that the plants do not have any pesticides or fertilizers that could harm the hamster.
Other Odd Hamster Foods
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Departing from the traditional hamster foods, certain food types may be a unique and special treat for your hamster. For example, hamsters love hard-boiled eggs, which can be very helpful for the growth and development of pregnant or young hamsters. Fish liver oil, small amounts of meat, and yeast are also regarded as delicious by a lot of hamsters. Milk can also be a good snack for small litters, pregnant hamsters or hamsters that are recovering from an illness.
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References
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