Food for thought

[kirby0202]

what can you feed your hamster? I usually sitck to the stuff in the bag, like seeds , (he especially likes the sunflower seeds) And occasionally I'll give him some peanut butter or fruits. But i've been hearing about people giving them cheerios, crackers, many things, even chocolate! Are these things safe to eat?

[Mitchandozzie]

cheerios yes. crackers, if they are not salted i guess so. chcolate is a big no-no. it will kill them

[SqueekyMouse415]

i give mine a half of a bannana slice....she loves it!

[Babyblue]

Sunflower seeds are high in fat, so I'll keep that to a minimum. I don't know about chocolate and hamters, but I do know that with rats chocolates are NOT toxic and can be given in small amounts, and even used as an emergency measure to open up the air passage if they're having trouble breathing.

[Left Paw]

I've posted this before. It's from petswebsite:

Vegetables and herbs that are safe to feed a hamster are:


Alfafa
Apple (seedless)
Asparagus
Avocado (skinned and seedless)
Banana
Basil
Blackberries
Blueberries
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts - small amounts occasionally - not all hamsters like the strong taste
Calabrese
Cabbage - should only be fed in small amounts occasionally as too much can cause health problems
Carrots
Cauliflower leaves and stalks
Celery
Cherries - stones should be removed as they can be dangerous if gnawed
Chestnuts
Chicory
Chinese Leaves
Coriander
Corn-on-the-Cob
Corn Salad
Courgettes
Cranberries
Cress
Cucumber
Curly Kale
Dates
Endive
Fenugreek
Feijoa
Figs
Grapes
Green beans
Kale - should only be fed in small amounts occasionally as too much can cause health problems
Kidney Beans (cooked)
Kiwi Fruit
Kumquat
Lettuce - small amounts occasionally - in excess it can cause liver problems
Logan Berries
Lychee
Mange Tout
Mango
Marrow
Melon
Mint
Mung
Okra
Pak Choy
Papaya
Parsley - a good tonic
Peach
Pear
Peas
Plums - stones should be removed as can be dangerous when gnawed
Potato (cooked)
Raspberries
Raspberry Plant leaves - beneficial for diarrhoea
Rhubarb (cooked)
Rocket Chard
Sage
Sorrel
Squash
Star Fruit
Strawberries
Sugar Cane - small amounts
Sweet Potato
Soybean Sprouts
Swede
Sweetcorn
Sweet Peppers
Ugli Fruit
Turnip
Water Chestnuts
Watermelon
Water Spinach

Vegetables and herbs that should not be fed are:


Kidney Beans (raw)
Onion
Potato (raw)
Potato tops
Rhubarb (raw)
Rhubarb leaves
Tomato leaves Wild Plants and flowers which can be fed to hamsters are:


Alyssum
Asters
Bramble leaves
Blackberry leaves
Burnet
Chickweed
Clover
Coltsfoot
Cornflowers
Cow Parsley
Crosswort
Dandelion leaves and flower
Dock
Groundsel
Hawthorn leaves
Hedge Parsley
Knot Grass
Mallow
Marigolds
Michaelmas Daisies
Nasturtiums
Nipplewort
Phlox
Plaintain
Roses
Salvias
Shepherds Purse
Sow Thistle
Sweetpeas
Trefoil
Vetch
Wallflowers
Watercress
Young grass

The following should not be fed as they are poisonous to hamsters:


Bindweed
Bluebells
Bulbs
Buttercups
Clematis
Crocus
Deadly Nightshade
Elder
Evergreen Plants
Hemlock
Henbane
Horse Chestnut
Laurel leaves
Oak leaves
Privet
Ragwort
Scarlet Pimpernel
Speedwell
Toadflax

Other titbits that can be fed to your hamster include:


Acorns
Almonds (shelled)
Beechnuts
Biscuits
Boiled Potatoes
Brazil Nuts
Bread (fresh or stale)
Breakfast Cereals
Cake - but not chocolate cake
Cashew Nuts
Chicken (cooked)
Cheese
Coconuts
Crickets
Currents
Dog Biscuits
Egg (scrambled or boiled)
Fish (cooked)
Hazel Nuts
Mealworms
Meat (cooked)
Nuts
Pecan Nuts
Peanuts (shelled or unshelled)
Pistachio Nuts
Prunes
Raisins
Sweet Chestnuts
Sultanas
Toast
Walnuts

You should be careful not to feed too much sweetened food as these could cause the hamster to become fat.

Never feed a hamster any of the following:


Buttercups
Chocolate
Garlic*
Onions
Rabbit Mix (containing antibiotic ingredients)
Raw Kidney Beans
Sweets
Toffee

[kirby0202]

wow thanks! by the way where can i sign up for your fan club?? lol jp jp

[Left Paw]

Ha ha *hiding under desk*

Be sure never to give ANY pets apple, pear, or grape seeds. They contain trace ammounts of arsenic- could be deadly in a little guy!

[Mitchandozzie]

I have a list of things dangerous to hamsters, but im at school so i kinda cant post it lol. sooo anyone, when is teh first leftpaw fan club meeting? lol:D

[kirby0202]

ur still in school? ours let out a while ago! you'll have to ask left paw when the meeting is lol:D

[SqueekyMouse415]

can CS be the mascot? all we need is a club song!

[kirby0202]

left paw left paw shes are woman if she cant do it noone can lol

[Left Paw]

**pulls desk chair in on top of her**

[kirby0202]

i think shes gettin annoyed lol

[Mitchandozzie]

lol ya i was still in school then. school hours are 9:00 to 3:25 and we get out of school on the 24 i think.

[Mitchandozzie]

ok heres that one list:
Air plant
Amanita
Amaryllis
American yew
Andromeda
Arum lily
Autumn crocus
Australian flame tree
Avocado
Azalea
Balsam pear
Baneberry
Bird of paradise
Bishop's weed
Black laurel
Black locust
Bloodroot
Bluebonnet
Blue-green algae
Boxwood
Bracken fern
Broad beans
Broomcorn grass
Buckeye
Buckthorn
Bulb flowers
Burdock
Buttercup
Cacao
Camel bush
Castor bean
Caladium
Calla lily
Candelabra tree
Cardinal
Castor Bean
Chalice vine
Cherry tree
Chinaberry tree
Christmas candle
Clematis
Cocklebur
Coffee
Coffee bean
Coral plant
Coriander
Corncockle
Cotton bush
Coyotillo
Cowslip
Crown of thorns
Cutleaf
Daffodil
Daphne
Datura
Deadly amanita
Death camus
Delphinium
Devil's ivy
Dieffenbachia
Dutchman's breeches
Eggplant Elderberry
Elephant's ear
English ivy
English yew
Ergot
Eucalyptus
Euonymus
False hellebore
False henbane
Flame tree
Felt plant
Firethorn
Four O'Clock
Foxglove
Ghostweed
Glottidium
Golden chain
Ground cherry
Johnson grass
Heliotrope
Hemlock
Henbane
Holly
Honeysuckle
Horse bean
Horse chestnut
Horsetail
Hyacinth
Hydrangea
Indian licorice
Inkberry
Indian turnip
Iris
Jack-in-the-pulpit
Java bean
Lima bean
Jasmine
Jerusalem cherry
Jimsonweed
Juniper
Kentucky coffee tree
Lantana
Larkspur
Laurel
Leucotho
Lily-of-the-valley
Lima bean
Lobelia
Locoweed
Lords and ladies
Lupine
Malanga
Mandrake
Marijuana
Maternity plant
Mayapple
Meadow saffron
Mescal bean
Mexican breadfruit
Mexican poppy
Milk vetch
Milkweed Mistletoe
Mock orange
Monkshood
Moonseed
Morning glory
Mountain laurel
Mushrooms
Narcissus
Navy bean
Nettles
Nightshades
Oak
Oleander
Panda plant
Parsley
Peires
Pencil tree
Periwinkle
Philodendrons
Pigweed
Pikeweed
Poinciana
Poinsettia
Poison ivy
Poison oak
Pokeweed
Potato
Precatory
Privet
Pyracantha
Rain tree
Ranunculus
Rape
Rattlebox
Rattlebush
Red maple
Rhubarb
Rhododendrons
Rosary peas
Sandbox tree
Scarlet runner
Skunk cabbage
Sorghum grass
Sorrel
Spindle tree
Snowdrop
Snow on the mountain
Spurges
Sudan grass
Sweet pea
Tansy ragwort
Tobacco
Thornapple
Vetch
Virginia bower
Virginia creeper
Wattle
White cedar
Wisteria
Yam bean
Yews
Yellow jasmine

[kirby0202]

dang our school let out like nearly a month ago! lol

[Left Paw]

We've been out since May 16? I think it was. Of course, we make our own schedule. Mom will have us back the beginning of August, thouogh. We get out early and start back early becasue the end of the summer is too hot to do anything but stay inside, anyway.

[kirby0202]

lol the 16th you have me beat, i got out the 23rd or 22nd, one of those...

[Mitchandozzie]

wow you guys are lucky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we get july and august off

[Left Paw]

We also take off a month at Christmas and New Years. We aren't required any certain 3 of days by Alabama state law, but we usually go about 140. This year we went 180 and it was very tiring!