Safe or no?

[Haruka]

This is actually a treat for dogs, but it looks like it has a lot of things in it that hamsters like. The one thing that gave me pause is the tapioca. Thoughts?

 

[Maz]

I can't quite see the ingredients list Could you type it out? Generally it's best not to give dog treats to hamsters IMO because the fortified vitamins included could be at a higher level than for hamsters.

Aside from that, dog treats can often be baked very hard. I did try some "hand made" dog treats for one of our hamsters (they were all natural ingredients and no additives) and they were rock hard and I then noticed the hamster's front teeth were missing at the top! He was about 2 years old but even so! I think he broke his teeth on them.

One dog treat that is fine for hamsters are whimzees. The mini size toothbrushes are popular and hamsters seem to love them and it's something for them to chew on. You can stick sunflower seeds in the bristles to make it a kind of boredom breaker as well.

It's the mini size for hamsters

 

[Haruka]

We know about Whimzees; they contain gluten and I can’t have it in the house.

Ingredient list for the dog treats:

peas
chickpeas
chicken liver
potato
pea starch
chicken
dried egg product
pumpkin
apples
coconut oil
natural flavour
tapioca
cinnamon
mixed tocopherols

 

[Maz]

The list sounds ok except cinnamon, depending on how much there is in there.. Is mixed tocopherols the only vitamins listed? Those are vitamin E based. Does it give a percentage?

That's a shame if Whimzees have gluten. Maybe you could make some treats I've done that before.

 

[Haruka]

The list sounds ok except cinnamon, depending on how much there is in there.. Is mixed tocopherols the only vitamins listed? Those are vitamin E based. Does it give a percentage?

That's a shame if Whimzees have gluten. Maybe you could make some treats I've done that before.

I’m afraid that cut off in the pic, I’ll check next time I’m there.

We have treats, but no pellet type stuff because all commercial pellets have wheat. They’ll be fine if we can’t get this, I just thought it would be good for them.

 

[Maz]

This is a recipe for home-made treats - that's if oats are ok? Or do they contain gluten as well? You could substitue something else for oats maybe - potato flour? The photos and more info on the thread linked below.


It’s 2 tablespoons of oats
2 teasooons pumpkin seeds
A level tablespoon broken walnut pieces
Half a finely grated apple
1 egg beaten.

If wanting it without fruit I guess you could use grated vegetables instead or just leave it out.

Cooked them at 170 degrees fan for about 20 minutes

https://www.thehamsterforum.com/threads/show-us-your-easter-crafts.1372/#post-76431

 

[Haruka]

This is a recipe for home-made treats - that's if oats are ok? Or do they contain gluten as well? You could substitue something else for oats maybe - potato flour? The photos and more info on the thread linked below.


It’s 2 tablespoons of oats
2 teasooons pumpkin seeds
A level tablespoon broken walnut pieces
Half a finely grated apple
1 egg beaten.

If wanting it without fruit I guess you could use grated vegetables instead or just leave it out.

Cooked them at 170 degrees fan for about 20 minutes

https://www.thehamsterforum.com/threads/show-us-your-easter-crafts.1372/#post-76431

Oats are fine, this looks good, thank you!

Edit: My wife says we don’t have a convection oven, so no fan. Does it work with a regular oven? Also, is the 170 Celsius or Farenheight?

 

[Maz]

Yes for a convection oven it would be 190 degrees celsius (about 375 degrees fahrenheit). I said 20 minutes but it's just as long as it takes really! I think 20 minutes was maybe a bit too long - I would try 15 mins and then see what they look like. It's very easy. Mine loved them. They kept about a week in a sealed box but you could probably freeze some as well.

That's fine for Syrians and robos but if it's for a dwarf hamster I'd use carrot instead of apple maybe.

 

[Haruka]

Awesome, thank you!

 

[Maz]

I've started a thread for people to add their hamster recipes as there have been a few at various tiimes and it would be nice to have them all in one place