Hello Everyone

[RosieCheeks]

Hello Everyone! We are brand new to the hamster world and recently adopted a 9-month old Dwarf, Rosie Cheeks. She had 2 babies of her own (not with us, they were adopted separately). We bought her a massive enclosure and are loving learning all about how to care for her. I wanted to check in with folks about her daily greens and veggies. I've been following the feeding guidelines from Ontario Hamster club and mixing up her greens, veggies and fruit. She's very bitey, so we are slowly getting her comfortable with her being in our hands and feed her a few veggies this way each night. The rest of the veggies we scatter in her enclosure. For example, today was leafy greens day so I mixed tiny bits of kale and parsley, about a teaspoon. Is a teaspoon mix of these foods a good amount on a daily basis? TIA!

 

[Vanessa1]

Welcome to the forum, I'd love to see a photo of Rosie cheeks she sounds fantastic can't wait to hear more about her and her adventures Ness

 

[Maz]

Hello - it would be lovely to see a photo of Rosie Our guidelines are to not give fruit to dwarf hamsters due to their predisposition to developing diabetes. Not all of them have this predisposition but we don't know which do and which don't, so it's on the basis of prevention just in case. So veggies are fine but fruits are quite high sugar. Likewise it's best to feed a sugar-free hamster mix. Parsley is a very good option, maybe once a week as it has been shown to lessen the risk of diabetes in humans. However in terms of amounts, it's best to only give one tiny piece of any veg, daily, a piece no bigger than the hamster's ear They really eat such tiny amounts and any more than that they will probably just pouch and hoard and then you have to worry about rotten veg in the enclosure somewhere, and finding it. With just a tiny piece like that they usually eat it straight away. And don't hoard it. I tend to put it on a separate dish or on a tile on a platform - they know where to find it each day and go looking for it.

If she's a bit bitey it might be better to not hand feed so much as she might think your hand is food as well! It can take time for them to trust hands as well. You could maybe try with the odd pumpkin seed or sunflower seed between two fingers.

I've linked our safe and unsafe food guide which has a section on veggies

Safe and Unsafe Food list for Hamsters

Many human foods are safe for hamsters, but some are toxic to hamsters. Our hamster site has a researched and referenced food list gives up to date information on safe and unsafe foods for hamsters.

www.thehamsterforum.com

 

[RosieCheeks]

Hello - it would be lovely to see a photo of Rosie Our guidelines are to not give fruit to dwarf hamsters due to their predisposition to developing diabetes. Not all of them have this predisposition but we don't know which do and which don't, so it's on the basis of prevention just in case. So veggies are fine but fruits are quite high sugar. Likewise it's best to feed a sugar-free hamster mix. Parsley is a very good option, maybe once a week as it has been shown to lessen the risk of diabetes in humans. However in terms of amounts, it's best to only give one tiny piece of any veg, daily, a piece no bigger than the hamster's ear They really eat such tiny amounts and any more than that they will probably just pouch and hoard and then you have to worry about rotten veg in the enclosure somewhere, and finding it. With just a tiny piece like that they usually eat it straight away. And don't hoard it. I tend to put it on a separate dish or on a tile on a platform - they know where to find it each day and go looking for it.

If she's a bit bitey it might be better to not hand feed so much as she might think your hand is food as well! It can take time for them to trust hands as well. You could maybe try with the odd pumpkin seed or sunflower seed between two fingers.

I've linked our safe and unsafe food guide which has a section on veggies

Safe and Unsafe Food list for Hamsters

Many human foods are safe for hamsters, but some are toxic to hamsters. Our hamster site has a researched and referenced food list gives up to date information on safe and unsafe foods for hamsters.

www.thehamsterforum.com

Thank you very much, Maz! This is very helpful and we won't be giving her any fruit moving forward. And I'll cut back on the teaspoon amount of veggies and give her the tiny veggie piece. Her hamster mix is the Sunburst Higgins mix, which has dried fruit in it. Would you recommend a different fruit-free mix? FYI, I'm in Canada and it's not that easy to find a good hamster mix for some reason! And here is a photo of our Rosie Cheeks!

 

[Maz]

She's gorgeous . Ok so Higgins Sunburst isn't the best option no, for the fruit and other things. Can you get Higgins Vita Garden? That is sugar free and a slightly better mix. I've linked the recommended food mixes below

Best Hamster Food Mixes

A Hamster food mix needs plenty of variety and 18 to 20 per cent protein, to keep your hamster fit and healthy. In addition, hamsters need a tiny piece of fresh veg every day. This article recommends best hamster mixes available.

www.thehamsterforum.com

 

[Vanessa1]

The photo of Rosie cheeks is amazing she looks so cute, can't wait to hear more about her Ness

 

[Rescued One]

For a bitey hamster, tap a couple of times before you offer the food. Then she will learn over time that fingers = food only after tapping Has worked for all my hamsters (even grumpy old man Sweetpea) and my supposedly "aggressive" rescue gerbils, who now line up in the morning and wait for their treats (with their halos and angel wings slightly skewed from the night's mayhem)

 

[Maz]

So how does that work? If she nibbles fingers then next time it's tapping and no food? Or only food if there is tapping? Sorry if I'm being a bit dense there! I get the theory and it's good - hamsters can indeed be trained! In fact my vet suggested trying clicker training - something I was going to try but life got busy ..........

 

[Socks' Mum]

Is there a three way association between tapping, food and fingers? Tapping means food, then food and fingers?

 

[Socks' Mum]

Clicker training is very good

 

[Rescued One]

So how does that work? If she nibbles fingers then next time it's tapping and no food? Or only food if there is tapping? Sorry if I'm being a bit dense there! I get the theory and it's good - hamsters can indeed be trained! In fact my vet suggested trying clicker training - something I was going to try but life got busy ..........

Basic Pavlovian conditioning. If, and only if, I have a treat in hand do I tap 3 times on the tabletop (or some other nearby tappable item then in go the fingers and food to one specific spot. I usually put a small sushi soy sauce plate in a corner to serve as the treat plate and only treat there until they get the difference.
If the hand goes in for any other reason, no tapping, just voice. Hammie may still make a few mistakes, but they usually associate pretty quick. You can also offer the back of your fist and voice intermittently (the no-treat), because the skin stretched tight over the back of the fist makes it harder to nibble. I usually offer the fist when they are elevated on a platform so I have more control over the position of my hand.

Sweetpea is so attached to his treat bowl he likes to park in it while he snacks

 

[Socks' Mum]

Basic Pavlovian conditioning. If, and only if, I have a treat in hand do I tap 3 times on the tabletop (or some other nearby tappable item then in go the fingers and food to one specific spot. I usually put a small sushi soy sauce plate in a corner to serve as the treat plate and only treat there until they get the difference.
If the hand goes in for any other reason, no tapping, just voice. Hammie may still make a few mistakes, but they usually associate pretty quick. You can also offer the back of your fist and voice intermittently (the no-treat), because the skin stretched tight over the back of the fist makes it harder to nibble. I usually offer the fist when they are elevated on a platform so I have more control over the position of my hand.

Sweetpea is so attached to his treat bowl he likes to park in it while he snacks

View attachment 14675

Very cute. It's amazing, they learn so well