HamsteropediaThe basis of any pet hamster’s diet must be nutritionally balanced pellets. But, with such a variety of options available, it can be confusing for hammie-parents to select one that will keep their bundle of fluff healthy and happy. We have taken the guesswork out of things by making a list of the best hamster foods that you can confidently feed as a staple food to your hamster.
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The 10 best foods to feed your hamster:
- Oxbow Garden Select Gerbil & Hamster Food
- Kaytee Fiesta Hamster Food
- Higgins Sunburst Gourmet Blend Hamster Food
- Wild Harvest Hamster Advanced Nutrition
- Oxbow Essentials Hamster Food
- Vitakraft Menu Premium
- Tiny Friends Farm Hazel Hamster Food
- Kaytee FortiDiet ProHealth
- Sunseed Vita Prima Complete Nutrition
- Sunseed Vita Prima Dwarf Hamster Food
Hamsters have very refined palettes for rodents, and like most human kids, they can be very picky eaters. So let’s go through the list of 10 staple foods that will be good for your hamster kids and hopefully find a favorite one that you can all agree on.
Table of Contents
What Are The Best Staple Foods For A Hamster?
In the wild, hamsters are happy little foragers that scamper about every evening to collect and munch whatever they can get their cute little paws on. Of course, your pampered pet depends on you to be its personal chef and provide it with a variety of nutritious (and delicious!) menu options to keep it healthy, bright-eyed, and active.
Your hamster may enthusiastically tuck into whatever delicious food you provide, and providing them with treats is a fun part of hamster ownership. However, to keep the little guys healthy and ensure that they are getting enough of the vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that they require, animal health specialists agree that it is essential that their primary food is a quality hamster pellet.
While hamster seed mixes may look attractive, and they can certainly be provided as extra treats or in limited amounts along with a pelleted food; however, they tend to be high in fat, and hammies may collect all their favorites and miss out on elements that they need. This can result in obesity or conditions like diabetes.
TOP TIP: Most pet foods are available in sample-size packs. Before purchasing a big bag of new food, it is often worthwhile to let your hammie give it the thumbs up. Sudden food changes may also lead to an upset tummy or diarrhea, which can be serious for hamsters, so introduce new pellets slowly.
Let’s get right into it and check 10 best of the best pellet food options to keep your little pal in tip-top condition.
1. Oxbow Garden Select Gerbil & Hamster Food
Oxbow creates top-of-the-range, veterinarian-approved foods for a variety of animals. Their Garden Select Gerbil & Hamster food is our top pick for the following reasons:
- It is a premium quality feed, meaning that it will cost a little more than some other options, but if you only have one or two hamsters, it will go a long way.
- It is non-GMO certified and a fully balanced and complete pellet feed.
- The ingredients are uniformly pelleted, so if you have a picky hammie, you won’t have to worry that it’s only eating stuff it likes.
2. Kaytee Fiesta Hamster Food
Kaytee Fiesta Hamster and Gerbil Food is an interesting blend that provides variety and texture in each meal. Although seeds blends are not always recommended, this mix also includes plenty of nutritious pelleted food in various shapes, so your hammie is unlikely to get bored with its food.
Here are three things that we love about this food:
- It’s a good option for dwarf hamsters as the pellets and seeds are manageable sizes for little ones
- There is a variety of shapes and textures that adds an enrichment element
- It supports dental health by encouraging natural chewing action
3. Higgins Sunburst Gourmet Blend
Higgins Sunburst is where taste and nutrition in hamster pellets meet! The mix is a fortified blend of fruits and vegetables that contains a 15% minimum amount of crude protein, which is an important consideration when selecting pelleted hamster food. It has received excellent reviews.
Higgins Sunburst is an excellent choice for anyone with more than one hamster as it is affordably priced and comes in generous-sized bags.
- No artificial colors or preservatives
- More affordable than many other gourmet hamster foods
- The pellets are a selection of sizes and shapes
4. Wild Harvest Hamster Advanced Nutrition Feed
Wild Harvest offers a delightful mix of pellets with some interesting natural elements to create a hamster food option that offers optimally balanced nutrition for your pet. In addition to the pelleted food that ensures that your little buddy gets all the necessary vitamins, there are added high protein items like peanuts and dried peas.
- The hamster food is available in an easy-to-dispense plastic container, so freshness is sealed inside, it is easy to store, and it always looks neat.
- Pellets contain added antioxidants, omega 3, and fatty acids that will keep your hammie’s coat shiny.
- The food is a blend of shapes and sizes.
5. Oxbow Essentials Hamster Food
Eliminate selective eating with this highly nutritious, balanced pellet from Oxbow. The food may not look like the most exciting available, but if you want to be absolutely sure that your hamster is getting everything it needs to stay healthy, Oxbow Essentials is an excellent option.
Pelleted food should form the staple of any healthy pet hamster diet. You can add variety by providing an assortment of fresh snacks and treats while knowing that your hammie is getting all the elements its body requires to stay healthy from its pellet.
- Excellent for picky eaters as the hamster won’t be able to leave out any essentials
- No artificial ingredients or refined sugars
- Plenty of high-fiber ingredients and protein to keep your hamster healthy.
6. Vitakraft Menu Premium Hamster Food
This tasty-looking Premium blend from Vitakraft is an excellent option for all-size hamsters. The pellets are fortified, so they contain everything that your little hammie needs to stay in top condition at all the stages of its life.
Reviews on this product have highlighted one slight negative with this brand: it is slightly lacking in protein. Be sure to add a protein block if you use this food and ensure that your hamster doesn’t only eat the seeds and ignore the pellets.
- This food includes an impressive selection of vitamins and natural probiotics.
- Includes a nice variety of textures and shapes
- It comes in a resealable bag, so it stays fresh
7. Tiny Friends Farm Hazel Hamster Food
Calling all chubby hamster owners! This option may be perfect if your tiny pet enjoys its food a little too much. This high protein mix has no added sugar and uses quality ingredients that encourage hamsters’ natural foraging behavior.
Tiny Friends Farm Hazel Food is also a suitable option for dwarf hamsters. The wide variety is healthy and sure to please even the pickiest little characters. Here is some additional information about this brand:
- This product is made in the UK.
- It does not include whole oats, which is an ingredient that can get stuck in a hamster’s cheeks.
- It contains a large variety of ingredients.
8. Kaytee FortiDiet ProHealth Hamster Food
Kaytee is a well-established pet food brand with many excellent formulations. Their FortiDiet ProHealth hamster food contains an outstanding 20% protein which is amongst the highest of all the other hamster pellets available.
The only downside of these pellets is that they are all the same shape and size, so it doesn’t offer the different shapes and textures of some of the other options. However, selective eating will be a thing of the past.
- FortiDiet is a nutritionally balanced pellet with high protein content
- This pellet is suitable to feed an assortment of rodents, including rats and mice
- The crunchy pellets support dental health
9. Sunseed Vita Prima Complete Nutrition
Your hamster will love the natural goodness and variety of textures and sizes of this Sunseed Vita Prima Complete Nutrition. The Complete Nutrition variety is great for larger breeds like Syrian hamsters. There are a lot of tasty, crunchy hamster nibbles contained in pellets of all shapes and sizes.
Sunseed Vita Prima Hamster is a wholesome blend of ingredients – and this is also a safe option for hammie owners who have peanut allergies.
- Pellets are made of vitamin-enriched fruits and vegetables
- Crunchy, high fiber, and contains probiotics for good digestion
- A variety of flavors and textures encourages natural foraging instincts
10. Sunseed Vita Prima Dwarf Hamster Food
Dwarf hamsters may struggle with larger pellets, and these tiny tots are often more prone to conditions like diabetes if you get their food wrong. Sunseed Vita Prima Dwarf Hamster Food has taken the stress from this situation by creating a premium food specifically for dwarf hamsters.
Prima Dwarf is the ideal pellet food for your small breed hamsters as it provides them with mini-sized crunchy bits mixed with suitable seeds. Dwarf hammies are often a little fussier than their larger relations, so keeping them interested and well-fed is essential.
- It does not contain added sugar or molasses
- No artificial colors
- Tiny pieces that are easy for your dwarf hamster to nibble
Frequently Asked Questions
What Should I Feed My Hamster Daily?
Pet hamsters should be fed the appropriate quantity of balanced pelleted food each day. Most hamsters require about 1/8 of a cup of staple pellets per day – that’s about 2 tablespoons full. However, this may be a little more or less depending on the breed of your hammie.
Hamster pellets should be supplemented with an assortment of fresh fruit and vegetables or some healthy treats. If you notice that your hamster is getting fat, check that it is getting enough exercise and stimulation rather than cutting back on its food.
What Food Is Best For Dwarf Hamsters?
Dwarf hamsters tend to be picky eaters and are also more likely to develop conditions like diabetes, so food with added sugar is a definite no-no. Our tiny pals need food that will keep them interested and is the appropriate size for their little paws to grasp and will be easy to bite.
The best staple hamster food for these tiny creatures is Sunseed Vita Prima Dwarf Hamster Food. Customer reviews concur – the brand has a 5-star rating from satisfied hamster owners who have used this food.
What Food Is Best For Syrian Hamsters?
It is far easier to cater to the staple diet of a Syrian hamster than the dwarf breeds. Syrians are the quiet charmers of the hamster world and enjoy interacting with their owners more than Dwarf hamsters, who are far more energetic little bundles. Syrian hamsters do well on a staple like Oxbow Garden Select Gerbil & Hamster Food. It is a veterinarian-approved formula jam-packed with all the natural ingredients hamsters need to stay bright-eyed and active. All pelleted food needs to be supplemented with healthy snacks and treats to provide additional environmental enrichment.
References:
https://www.thesprucepets.com/feeding-pet-hamsters-1238968
https://www.medvetforpets.com/hamster-information-care-recommendations/
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