How to feed a Dzungarian hamster?

Hamsters are interesting to a large number of people, even children like them. But in order not to be disappointed in your choice, you must be able to choose the right food for your pets.

A common misconception is that Dzungarian hamsters eat everything that their owners provide. In fact, the animal is able to eat everything that can gnaw, but much - only once. The consequences of mistakenly choosing products can be fatal.

Dzungaria called the area formed by semi-deserts, and partially dry steppes. This left a characteristic imprint on the entire diet of animals originating from there.

The digestion of hamsters is not adapted:

• to sweet food;
• high fat foods;
• to an abundance of carbohydrates and high calorie content.

Under natural conditions, this species eats mainly grains and seeds. When autumn comes, the rodent seals the passage into the hole. And until the onset of spring, he will eat only what he has collected in the pantry, that is, dry supplies.

In the spring, the hamster will eat green grassy plants, and in the warm season will be willing to eat berries and insects. Due to its small size, the Dzungarian hamster is characterized by an intensive metabolism: even a short fasting affects it negatively.

Making a diet for a hamster is optional if special feeds are used.

Standard kits contain a complete set:

• vitamins;
• essential nutrients;
• trace elements.

The use of such compounds allows you to improve the diet of the animal and balance it.In addition to food, it is necessary to provide for water. It is impossible to replace even the most succulent plant foods. If the hamster receives too little water during the day, he may even die or become disabled. From food, in addition to specialized feeds, the Dzhungar species will eat:

• fruits;
• various vegetables;
• shoots of green plants;
• animal protein.

Hamsters may well eat oats. But they eat rice only in limited quantities. Corn, wheat, rye and barley can be given without a doubt. But buckwheat and lentils can be used only in a small amount. As for berries and fruits, they may well be given both fresh and dried.

All fresh fruits are cleaned in advance from seeds and seeds. Without these components, such food does not present any danger. It is worth considering that the main part of juicy fruits is rich in carbohydrates, as well as glucose. Therefore, there is a strict limit on the number of such ingredients.

Their maximum share in the daily menu should not exceed 5%. Otherwise, the hamster’s life is at risk. Fruits and berries accumulate in advance. Both dried and frozen billets are suitable. Dried fruits (bananas, dried apricots, raisins, dates) are soaked for 3 or 4 hours before laying in the trough.

Juicy food of any type must be thoroughly washed. In addition, you should try to remove the maximum pesticides and nitrates. To do this, you will have to soak the greens, and peel the apples. Jungariki love:

• oatmeal;
• buckwheat;
• barley;
• oats;
• beans;
• sunflower seeds;
• pumpkin and melon seeds;
• Walnut;
• peanuts and hazelnuts;
• sprouted wheat;
• sprouted oats;
• cashew nuts.

It is quite reasonable to feed the Dzungar hamsters germinated alfalfa. Of green plants, nettle leaves, clover, basil, celery are recommended. It is appropriate to use dill, pea pods in general. Vegetables are also popular, such as:

• broccoli;
• cucumber;
• carrot;
• cauliflower;
• tomato;
• turnip;
• beet;
• pumpkin;
• radish and other crops.

Of berry and fruit crops are good plums, peaches, pears, cherries, gooseberries, grapes, cherries, rosehips. Pretty good going and blueberries and apricots. The hamster's teeth are strong enough so that the animal can eat small twigs and bark of deciduous, fruit crops. The main "candidates": cherry, apple tree, poplar and maple.

Beech, willow and birch branches, pieces of the bark of these trees also suitable for feeding a rodent. On such solid food, he will be able to hone his teeth.

Protein dishes should be added to the hamster's diet every 2-3 days. Optimal options: boiled chicken, boiled eggs (acceptable and quail), worms from the pet store or dug independently, shrimp. Some hamster breeders use yogurt (only without any additives) and nonfat varieties of cottage cheese.

Hay for a hamster will give alfalfa and timothy. Such food will provide the animal with fiber.

When compiling a list of foods that should not be given to a hamster, you can mention:

• bakery products;
• pasta;
• peas;
• Beans

An indispensable requirement is a ban on all foods that contain sugar, salt and other spices. It is unacceptable to feed dzhungariki fatty or cooked foods. Everything that is intended to nourish people falls under the ban. The highest risk is confectionery: cookies, granola and kozinaki are on any list of banned products. Dangerous for the animal and honey, and ice cream, and all chocolate products.

Since hamsters can be given quite a lot of foods, there is no need to experiment with junk food. Even if something seems unjustified or incomprehensible, there is always a reason. Any prohibition is based on years of practice.

What is quite customary to see on the table, the body of the dzhungarik can not bear. Almonds, as well as apricot kernels and other parts of plants containing hydrocyanic acid, are extremely dangerous for hamsters. Nitrates accumulate in the watermelon pulp. Due to honeysuckle and elderberry, animals can undergo seizures and suffocate. The solanine contained in potatoes is dangerous.

It is important to consider that the hamster is much smaller than humans and even most pets. Therefore, a seemingly insignificant portion of toxins can destroy it. All astringents (for example, those contained in persimmons) inhibit digestion. Tannin components disrupt the normal functioning of the intestines and pose a huge risk to animals. But the opposite failure (diarrhea) is also harmful to the hamster.

Therefore, the prohibition includes:

• spicy ginger;
• salt;
• paprika.

This is especially true for the most salty varieties. But even those that are not recognized as very salty in taste are also unacceptable. Moreover, cheese is also an abundance of fat.

If the hamster swells the intestines, then even the most qualified veterinary care often does not save him. You can provoke bloating by giving the animal:

• black bread;
• cabbage;
• Beans

The liver of a herbivorous creature is not evolutionarily adapted to very fatty foods. Even the seeds of various plants, usually included in the lists of permitted products, can be consumed only in limited quantities. And vegetable and butter, all types of fried foods are 100% excluded. Of fruits, avocado has excessive fat content.

It is worth remembering that the danger can be not only due to chemical and biological reactions. So, the Dzungarian hamster eats wheat willingly and calmly. However, if you give him spaghetti, other dry pasta, the animal can injure the bags behind the cheeks.

For the same reason any bones (not only vegetable), sharp and too hard types of food are unacceptable. Inflammation, especially turning into an abscess, is very difficult to treat. Many hamster breeders, in order not to repeat the tedious and expensive therapy, even begin to give seeds to their pets in purified form.

Essential oil of any kind and bright, saturated dyes can provoke allergic reactions. Strawberries, tangerines most often initiate them. Typical manifestations are constant tears, redness of the skin, scabies. Antihistamines are not available for hamsters. Therefore, it remains only to exclude problematic products.

Lactose, which is rich in milk and dairy products, including cheese, is extremely difficult to digest. Drops for rodents give a maximum of 1 time in 30 days. Strictly prohibited:

• grain mixtures for other rodents and parrots;
• Brazil nuts
• oak acorns;
• all citrus crops;
• pineapples
• kiwi;
• Garnet;
• mushrooms;
• branches and bark of conifers;
• sausages;
• garlic and onions;
• green plants grown in the city or in other places with adverse environmental conditions.

It is better to alternate fruits and vegetables in the diet of the Dzungarian hamster. The optimal ratio of components is 65% carbohydrate food, 16% protein and 4 or 5% fat.

A rodent will grow teeth throughout its life. It is required to provide an opportunity for grinding each of them.

To properly feed hamsters at home, you need to prevent the onset of diabetes and obesity. Malfunctions in metabolism are mainly associated with excessive amounts of food. Therefore, a gross mistake is feeding the jungar just for your own pleasure, for “funny” photos.You can not give food in response to each rise of the animal on its hind legs. By nature, the hamster already selects the most nutritious pieces of food. And keeping in enclosed places makes the care and maintenance of animal activity only more relevant.

It is necessary to give food no more than twice a day. You can often find the statement that the Dzungarian species does not develop diabetes. This is true, but the problem lies in the frequent uncontrolled crosses with other species. If the animal is not bought from professional breeders, but in a regular pet store, the risk of buying a hybrid is quite high. Therefore, it is better in any case to strictly comply with dietary recommendations.

The most reliable form of nutrition is a combination of:

• feed prepared at the factory;
• a set of crops;
• continuously available drinking water.

As practice shows, the life of hamsters with such food is as long as possible, there is no special need for other goodies. As for fruits, even their completely safe species are cut into pieces no thicker than 1 cm. Vegetables should be given in a day. Breaks between supplements of berries in the diet are at least 7 days.

You can feed the hamster something new only after a thorough check. For the first time, checking the list of allowed products, they still give the smallest portion that you can. Then, with complete success, gently and gradually increase the amount of product. Change of dry food to a different composition, especially from another manufacturer, is performed smoothly. This takes about a week - if you hurry, you can provoke digestive upset.

The diet should be diversified. Giving daily uniform food, the owners themselves create problems. The only exception to the rule is the issuance of dry food, it is performed rhythmically and every day. The hamster should continuously receive both juicy greens, and dry food, and proteins.

Since the instinct of the dzhungarikov tells them to stockpile, the delivery of large food is simply dangerous. The products hidden in the house will begin to rot and decompose. The owners need not rely on the natural understanding of the animal, but systematically check all the “warehouses” for it. Every spoiled piece is immediately disposed of. Supplements to dry feed are issued as follows:

• fruits, berries - you can 1 time in 14 days (at least at first);
• garden greens - once every 48 hours (it is desirable to dry it);
• vegetables of white and green colors - every day;
• colored vegetables - twice a week;
• meat and boiled eggs - weekly;
• nuts and seeds are a delicacy and a rare promotion.

But it is important to take into account specific nuances. So, during pregnancy, protein should be given 2 or 3 times per week. Of course, the freshness and quality of the products should be carefully checked. Experts advise (and veterinarians fully support) to feed the animal at the same hours. Then a biological rhythm will develop and there will be less problems with assimilation.

It is recommended to feed hamsters in the evenings. At night they will be active, and therefore they really need energy. If any product provokes malaise, it is immediately excluded from the diet. You can only return a problem treat after consultation with a veterinarian. Everything that the rodent does not eat right away or does not hide in the house must be removed immediately.

In most cases, 0.03 kg of dry food per day is sufficient. If the feeder is empty, do not immediately think that all the food has been eaten. It is likely that part of it is hidden behind the cheeks or in the litter. Green plants and any succulent feed must be scalded with boiling water before serving.

Metal bowls are recommended. Too large containers should not be taken - they should fit freely in the cage.

The bowls should be kept in the cleanest place. Weekly, and ideally more often, they are washed. Only unboiled water is given. Distilled water will not work; it is best to pour a settled or filtered tap water.

The fact that it is possible and impossible to give the Dzungarian hamster, see the next video.