If you decide to choose a hamster as a pet, this is a great decision. They are relatively unpretentious, very playful and not at all aggressive. The kid is perfect for families with children: he will bring up a sense of responsibility in the child and develop care for our smaller brothers.
The appearance of a hamster is always accompanied by pleasant chores: choosing a cozy home, buying toys so that the baby does not get bored.
Perhaps the most important question that confronts the owners: what to feed the baby? Some owners feed the hamster with food from the common table, this is wrong and dangerous. The human stomach and gastrointestinal tract of a rodent are very differently arranged, our everyday food can cause indigestion and be harmful. Therefore, let’s figure out how to choose the perfect diet for a hamster.
The natural habitat of hamsters is steppes and meadows. They live in burrows and are predominantly nocturnal. Their daily diet is dominated by cereals and insects. In summer, juicy fresh grass and vegetables are added to food. Rodents that are sold in pet stores are domesticated species. In general, their diet is similar to the diet of wild relatives, but there are still differences due to a lazier lifestyle.
The best option for proper eating behavior is ready-made factory food. Please note that this is a specialized food for hamsters only, it is not recommended to feed with mixtures for birds and other rodents. Modern manufacturers have made sure that the mix contains the right balance of necessary substances. In addition, major brands carefully select raw material suppliers, grains are not treated with pesticides and are grown in an environmentally friendly environment.
The daily diet should be supplemented with fresh vegetables and fruits. Veterinarians recommend supplementing your hamster with carrots, beets, zucchini, apples, and grapes. You can also offer your pet greens: lettuce, clover, dandelion leaves, young grass. Please note that all vegetables are thoroughly washed. It is permissible to give hay to a fluffy pet, but very short blades of grass – a hamster can get tangled in long stems with its paw.
Since hamsters are not herbivores, it is advisable to treat your pet with protein food once or twice a week. It can be low-fat cottage cheese, or boiled chicken breast without spices and salt. A boiled quail or chicken egg is perfect. For special connoisseurs, you can buy dried grasshoppers, worms and caterpillars at the pet store, there will be no limit to the joy of the rodent.
As a treat and a rare treat, you can buy special sticks. They consist of various nuts and are sealed with honey. Such a dish does not replace a balanced meal and is more of an encouragement. It is permissible to treat the baby with such an additive no more than 1 time per month.
Hamsters are very tiny creatures, so they drink very small portions, but often enough. It is for this reason that you need to replace the water every day, as well as regularly wash the drinker.
The pet does not need any other liquid other than pure water.