Strawberries are good for hamsters. This article provides a detailed guide on the importance of eating strawberries, several ways, and eating methods for the dwarf hamster. Like other vegetables and fruits, strawberries are also part of the hamster’s balanced diet.
Are Strawberries Good for Dwarf Hamsters? Yes, strawberries are both good and safe for dwarf hamsters, and they can eat it. It is a delicious, sweet, healthy treat for them. You can occasionally give strawberries to your pet hamster in small bits. The fruit is actively beneficial for the hamster’s health.
In this guide, different ways and precautions of feeding strawberries to the hamsters are discussed in detail. Strawberry is a safe and healthy food for dwarf hamsters in their regular balanced diet.
Usually, hamsters also love this tasty treat, but it is necessary to control the strawberries’ eating amount, especially for the dwarf hamsters.
You can feed them after giving them their main food. Also, make sure that your pet is not eating rotten food because it can cause a lot of diseases.
Are Strawberries Good for Dwarf Hamsters?
A study has revealed that a moderate intake of berries and strawberry juice for hamsters can prevent certain potential diseases. It can prevent early atherosclerosis development in dwarf hamsters. It is a type of disease where fatty material produces inside the arteries. The fruit can also enhance neuronal behavior and function.
For dwarf hamsters, you need to feed strawberries in controlled doses. If you want to introduce strawberries to dwarf hamster’s diet, give them in small quantities. It will avoid disturbing the hamster’s digestive system.
You should also have a deep knowledge of the methods and ways of feeding strawberries to your hamster pet because giving a direct strawberry can be harmful to the hamster’s health.
How to prepare strawberries to feed your hamster?
Strawberries can be harmful to your hammy if you will do not follow the appropriate feeding methods. There are a few things to consider and take care of while feeding your hamsters with strawberries.
Wash hands
First of all, wash your hands before touching the strawberries for the hamster. It will reduce the risk of health problems for them from the intake of dirty strawberries.
Wear gloves
Take gloves to wear on your hands. Never touch any eating thing of your pet before wearing gloves. You are required to make every attempt to minimize any health risks.
Wash strawberries
Now you are ready to touch the strawberries. Wash strawberries very well in cool water. It will eliminate any harmful chemicals and pesticides present on the strawberry’s skin that can make your pet sick. Usually, the strawberries are conventionally grown with pesticides that are harmful to the digestion of the hamster.
Therefore it’s not a wise idea to give your pet unwashed strawberries. Alternatively, many organic strawberries can be fine, but it is still necessary to quickly rinse or wipe them to make them dirt or debris-free.
Take out Seeds
You need to be very cautious about a few things while feeding your dwarf hamster. The strawberry seeds can cause serious health problems, especially in dwarf hamsters, because of their sensitive nature and small size. So the dwarf species of hamsters must take out the strawberry seeds before feeding.
Peel them off
Before giving your hamster strawberries, it is necessary to remove the green part and leaves. Studies suggested that these are toxic for the dwarf hamsters. So, it is good to be cautious about removing them.
Cut strawberries into small pieces or strips
Dwarf hamsters are tiny animals, so they are unable to engulf the whole strawberry. Hence you cannot avail of the decent chance of throwing the entire strawberries into their cage. It can result in the remaining uneaten pieces that can strew within the cage.
If the left pieces get rote in the cage, the hamster usually finds them and eats all the rotten pieces. Eating that rotten food can be a serious risk for the hamster’s health. Therefore you need to do everything to avoid the harm from the opportunity of eating a rotten strawberry.
There is another matter regarding giving the entire strawberry to the hamster, and it is about storing food. Hamsters usually store food in the cheeks for later eating. They can store the food for a long time.
If the hamster tries to eat the whole strawberry, it will store some portion of it into the pouches of its cheek for that while.
These matters can create dental problems for hamsters if some food pieces stay in the mouth and teeth for a prolonged period. These particles start spoiling in the mouth of your hamster.
Therefore it is necessary to give the appropriate strawberry to the hamsters to avoid all the above-discussed problems.
All you need to do is cut the strawberry into small pieces to feed the hamster. You can also make the thin strips of the strawberry by cutting it in the like order. It will prevent your hamster from eating the spoiled pieces of strawberry.
Hamsters need a small number of supplemental food items every two to three days. A small amount of that fresh food can be fruits. Supplementation is a vital diet for the hamsters because they do very well by taking different kinds of fruits.
Offer your pet hamster small pieces of fruit every 2 to 3 days. Ensure that your hamster should never be found near any rotten fruit pieces. You can add a few pieces of cucumber also.
Usually, the food of dwarf hamster is available in the hamster mixes form, but it is also fine to offer your hamster fresh food occasionally. However, they cannot eat every fresh food item as it can be toxic.
Strawberry juice
You can make the strawberry juice if your hamster does not like the pieces of it. Make the juice by adding some water to it. Also, remove the seeds of it before making the juice. Feed this juice to the hamster once every three weeks. You should not add almonds in hamster food.
Strawberry milkshake
You can make a milkshake of the strawberry to feed the hamster. Take all the safety measures that are discussed in the article while making the milkshake of strawberries. You will give this milkshake in a small amount to the little one. This totally safe and does not cause choking in hamsters.
A small portion of dried strawberries
Hamsters like to eat strawberries in different ways. You can dry strawberries for your little one to feed them for a longer period. Dried strawberries boost the nutrients, antioxidants, and fiber intake.
But always be careful about giving dried strawberries to the dwarf hamsters because they require less than fresh fruits. Give less than a quarter teaspoon of it every three to four weeks. You can add dried cranberries to hamster food for a better taste.
Add a tiny piece of strawberry to the pellet food
Pellet food is a special diet that is made specifically for the hamsters. The food includes a blend of seeds, grains, vegetables, and fruits. It contains the required levels of minerals, vitamins, fats, and proteins.
So, you can also add a small portion of strawberry into that regular pellet food. In this way, the hamster will happily eat the strawberry with its regular meal if your pet doesn’t like eating it. Hamsters love to eat this, and they will escape their cage to eat this.
A fresh bit of strawberry
It is the easiest way to feed strawberries to your pet. Take a fresh strawberry and cut it into tiny pieces. You can also cut the strawberry into strips. Fresh fruits have different health benefits and taste in it.
Flavored strawberry extract treats
Flavored strawberry extract treats are also available in the market. You can also add these types of threats to the diet of hamsters. These are the extracts of the strawberry mixed with other food.
These treats contain the needed vitamins, minerals, and fiber required for the hamster diet. Therefore you can also make these types of treats to feed your pet.
The Health Benefits of feeding Strawberries to Hamsters
Strawberry is popular for its sweet juicy flavor and blazing red color. That’s why people are more tempted to give this fruit to pets.
Strawberries have a huge amount of magnesium, vitamin K, and potassium. All these help in improving bone health.
This tasty fruit contains many antioxidants. They help in improving the digestion of hamsters.
Strawberries are considered good to deal with inflammation, heart disease, and cancer.
It will help the little one to get better fur. If your hamster has dry or dull fur, you must try some strawberries, and they will help a lot.
Furthermore, it also helps promote weight loss if your hamster gets overweight, especially for those hamsters that live in tiny cages because that does not let them do enough exercise. If that’s the case with you, first I will recommend giving your hamster more toys or involving it in more activities.
Strawberries are also good to treat constipation in hamsters. Strawberry does not have a high amount of sugar. They contain high fiber that helps in regulating sugar levels of the blood and digestive system.
How many strawberries should I give to my hamster?
You shall also need to consider that you do not overfeed strawberries to your little one. It can cause diarrhea that is detrimental to their health.
So, you need to have a better plan for it. Different types of hamsters in dwarf species have different dietary requirements. Campbell’s hamsters, winter white hamsters, and Chinese hamsters belong to dwarf species.
Therefore, you can only give them strawberries in tinny portions like even less than quarter spoons once in 2 weeks. These hamsters are tiny to digest more of this fruit, so it is a wise idea to feed them in only tiny pieces. It is critical to note that you can never substitute their normal dietary food with strawberries.
