Hamsters can not live long without food and water. Water and food are essentials elements for living things. Some animals can live without food for a longer period. If you are going somewhere and leaving your hamster for some days, then you might be searching for such information.
How Long Can Hamsters Go Without Food and Water? Food and water are essential for the life of a hamster. Hamster can only live for 2 to 3 days with food or water.
Hamster lives in a burrow and makes different underground nests and tunnels so they could live comfortably in those shelters.
How Long Can Hamsters Go Without Food and Water?
The hamster is a desert animal and lives in a dry and warm atmosphere. They love to live in steppes and dunes. In these types of regions, food is rare, that’s why hamsters face a shortage of food sometimes but for a short period. Other desert animals like kangaroo and rats can survive without food for a long time. This short period can be days, weeks, months, or even years.
But hamsters are not like that; they cannot survive more than a few days. They need water on an almost daily base which saves them from heatstroke and other health problems.
Diet of a hamster
Hamsters are omnivores, and they demand a proper amount of food and water to remain healthy and active. They also keep some amount of food for later use. They don’t eat sweets, Onions, raw kidney beans, and rabbit mix type of food. They can eat broccoli, cauliflower, celery, kale, cucumbers, carrot, grape, apples, tomatoes, and many more.
Hamsters eat a proper diet at night, and sometimes they eat a little amount or just a few drops in the morning. Hamsters love to hide or store their food. Even if you feed them a small amount, they will also hide their food from this small amount for later use.
By doing this activity, hamsters live happy and active. They feel free from stress, and it makes them feel more energetic. Your money will not go in vain, which you spend on hamsters for their food. Your money will be worth it when hamsters eat and hide their food.
The habit of hiding the food
You feel the wonder that where all food goes? Where hamsters hide their food? Hamster is a genius desert animal who hides their food for later use. No matters how much food you give to pet hamsters, they will hide the small amount or any amount of food for their later use. In food matters, they don’t believe in anyone.
They don’t trust even their owner that he will provide them food for the next day or not. They hide their food in their secret place or sometimes in their cheek pouches. Therefore, if you give an extra-large amount to the hamsters, it can create a mess.
They hide their food for the hard winter days or for the days in which they can’t go outside to collect their food. Hamsters store the food also for the rainy days like in those days if they cannot go out so they can quickly eat in their shelter.
This is the reason that hamster store the food in their cheeks. Hamsters that live in the desert come out in the evening to find out their food. When they see that the area is clear, so they run around for the food. By this concept, it is clear that the hamster is also prey and also hunted by any other animal. That’s why the hamster runs fast in search of food.
Can hamsters survive without food?
Some animals can survive without food for a long time, whereas some animals cannot survive for a long time. Like other animals, hamsters, which is a desert animal they cannot survive without food for a long period.
And some animals store their food in their belly but this quality is not found in the hamster. They have expansible cheeks that are why they store food in their cheeks for one or two days. But they cannot store water because they don’t have large cheeks like a camel’s trunk.
Camels store their foods in their beds, which help them to survive in the days when they can’t go outside. These animals cannot rely on a small amount of food neither for a long time.
Generally, a healthy hamster can survive from 2 to 3 days without essential elements. But if the hamster doesn’t get proper care at the start so the result will be the opposite. If the mammal is not provided with moderate temperature and adequate care during its growth, then it can impact its survival.
Mammals with not proper care will be weak and cannot survive without essential elements. In this situation, it’s hard for the mammal to survive without food for more than two days. In short, hamsters don’t survive more than 2 to 3 days after getting its last meal and water.
If your hamster ate on Monday morning, then you will find him in a better condition till Wednesday evening. Never try to compensate for your hamster diet. The more you will give care, and proper nutrition, the more your hamster will be active and happier. This is also important to get rid of fleas on hamsters.
Factors to keep your hamster healthy
Hamster’s life is round for about three years. They can live for almost three years, but it depends on the care and all other factors to keep the hamster healthy. If the owner takes good care of the hamster so they can survive for more time. Like if they take proper and regular diet at the right time so they will be happier and healthier.
Along with diet, the temperature is also another essential factor. For a healthy hamster, a moderate temperature is a crucial thing. It is necessary to protect hamsters from hot and cold conditions. Hamsters want a dry and place which is away from water because the wet area causes the illness and might be the reason for their death. Wet areas make the hamsters weak; also, it affects pneumonia, which makes them vulnerable.
Generally, hamsters live for three years, and the right temperature, along with the proper diet, makes them healthy and relax. The owner of the hamster should take good care of them while giving them food.
If they take a diet which creates lots of fats that will also be harmful to the hamster, moreover, give them a healthier diet like fruits and vegetables. You can use homemade hamster traps to capture the escaped hamster.
If the hamster is weak and you feel that the hamster is suffering from any type of infection so you must have to give him water first. Because water will make him hydrated and help in his speedy recovery, there are different ways to make hamster healthy, like electrolytes and droppers. The electrolyte is the best solution to recover the hamsters; it provides them with high energy.
By using a dropper, you can put the solution directly into the hamster’s mouth. But never try to push the dropper into the mouth because it will hurt the hamster. Just put some drops and wait for the hamster to swallow it. In this way, you will feed the weak hamster. You can also visit the doctor if you think that you can’t handle the situation.
Can hamsters die without water?
Dehydration is a loss of water from something. It is a harmful deficiency in the form of water in the body. When dehydration occurs in animals, especially the animals that cannot live without water, so the effects are miserable.
We can say the hamster is an animal of the water, and if dehydration occurs in the hamster, it will make harmful effects. The hamster will get weak, and even the hamster’s death can occur because of dehydration.
As we all know, how much water is essential for life. Not only humans but animal-like hamsters cannot survive without water. The hamster needs to give them easy access to water.
Not only access should be easy, but also the water should be clean and fresh. If we do not provide them with water for many days, it can make the hamster week and even can affect their survival.
Now the question is, how can we check the dehydration level in the hamster. It is quite easy to check this. Just pinch a little on the hamster skin around the neck when the hamster skin comes back in its original form right after pinching the hamster. Hence prove that there is no issue of dehydration in the hamster. But if the skin takes time to get into its original form or position so it will be because of dehydration. At this point, hamsters need rehydration as soon as possible.
By this method, you can check the dehydration level in the hamster immediately. But if this method won’t work or you are not sure about the hamster illness time so you must have to visit the veterinary clinic. Like if you are not confirmed how long dehydration has occurred in the hamster, then you must visit the hamster Vet immediately. The hamster Vet will give you the best suggestion for a better and sooner recovery.
Necessary food and water during vacation days
While going on the vacations hammy must have proper food. Like the water tube capacity is 150 ml/5 oz, and it stores water, which can be used for almost nine days. There is a list of some basic foods which must be provided to the hamster.
Dry food: You must have to be sure about the availability of dry food like grains, seeds, or pellets. If you are going for three days, then these dry foods must be 2 to 3 teaspoons.
Dry Biscuit: Dry biscuit is another necessary food. The ratio of a dry biscuit is 6grams/0.2 oz each. This amount of dry biscuit can be used for three days easily because the hammy has other dry food as well.
Veggies and fruits: There must be the availability of fruits and vegetables for your hammy like cucumber, grapes, carrot apple, lettuce. Hamsters love to eat the skin of kiwi fruit.
Freshwater: Freshwater is a must for hamsters. Hamsters can not live long without water. You must provide add the proper amount of water to the hamster cage.
This is the estimated amount for estimated days. Because we cannot tell the precise amount of every food like if your hammy is greedy and eats a lot, as such, the amount of food will not be enough for him. But if your hammy takes a reasonable amount of food, then it will be sufficient for a hamster.
Like human hamsters also do have different natures. Some eat a small amount of food, while others eat a large amount. Moreover, you must have to observe your hamster that how much he eats, and how much quantity of food is required to fill his belly.
Can we guess the exact amount of food for the hamster? The answer is a bit difficult because we cannot guess the exact amount of food and water until we don’t leave our hamster. When we are going to leave our hamster at home, then it’s necessary to figure out the quantity of food.
Hamster Health and age factors
Like other animals, hamsters also have different ages, and some of them are healthy, while others are weak and not so much strong. These factors also affect the diet of the hamster. While the other hamster is weak and feeble and its age is under three months so it will eat less.
If the age of a hamster is three months, it will eat less, so the chances of its survival are also less than an adult hamster. This concept shows that younger hamsters are weak; they need extra care than adult hamsters.
During their nourishment, lots of changes occur in the hamster’s body. They need extra care neither in the matter of food but also in the rest. If your hammy is two years old, but he is weak and not active, it means he needs more care and rest. Moreover, leaving such a type of hammy at home will be more dangerous. Hamsters can live for almost three years.
Their life depends on the care you give to your hamster while its nourishment. Likewise, if the hamster is healthy and strong, then you can leave them easily at home. But if the hammy is sick, then never take a risk to leave him alone at home. Take care of the hamster and stay at home.
In this case, you must leave your hamster at home. In this scenario, make sure there must be some of your friends at home who can take good care of the hamster. Or you can give your home keys to your trustworthy neighbors’ so they can visit on a daily basis and check the hammy.
Just ask your close friend to give a check on the hammy so they can visit and check that hammy is okay and taking food in his good way. You can put food on the bedding of the hamster.
Ways of getting hamster food
There are shops in the market which provide a wide range of food for hamsters. You can visit the shops and can get food full of nutrition. There are also different flavors available as if hamsters get bored while eating the same food every time. By keeping this point, these shops provide flavored food for the proper hamster diet. They also have a variety of foods like seeds and pellets, which give super energy to your hammy.
Now, you must have to visit trustworthy brands that provide good quality food. If you don’t know about any well-reputed brand, then you must ask your friend. You should take suggestions from your friends or must visit the website.
Another way to find out the best food is you must have to observe the food which is available in the market keenly. Like if the food looks fresh and juicy, then it will be fresh, and it will give more energy to your pet.
If you are going to purchase more amount of food so you can use the food for more days than you must have to store the food, and for storing the food, keep in mind to keep the food in a dry and clean place. Stored food must be kept in a sealed container.
In case if the food gets humid so the mold will appear on the food. By eating such food, problems will occur. Such type of foods creates problems in the blood of the hamster. The easy solution to this problem is just to remove or bin the moldy food.
Sometimes, the owner takes the wrong food for their pet just to save money. Like in market rabbits and pig food is also available. Some owners think that it will also provide the same nutrient to our hamster, and our money will be saved. But this is a wrong concept.
Pigs and rabbits have their separate food and hamster also. Every species is different from the other, and likewise, they have different foods. By giving the wrong food to this species can cause significant issues.
Important points while going on a trip
Every pet wants lots of care and love. Not only pets, but everybody wants love and care. These two things make anyone healthy and happy. Likewise, pets also want attention and proper care. As we know, hamsters cannot survive for a long time without food and water, so take care of them in this way. Provide them proper food and care. They don’t want a huge amount of food; they just take a small amount or a few drops of food.
You can give them different food like fruits, hamster safe veggies, various snacks, and dry food not on daily bases but once every 4 to 5 days or once a week. Hamsters need fresh, clean, and constant water. It is necessary to make sure that the water is clean and consistent. You can provide in a bottle or any other pot. You must have to check on the water availability properly.
Your hamster should have a large amount of water and dry and wet food as well. It must be cucumbers, leaves of lettuce, or it can be grains. Now we will check that for how long time you are going to leave your pet hamster. If you are going on the weekend so it will be 48 hours, and you must have to provide the foodstuff according to that time.
But you can only leave your hamster if he has grown up and healthy enough to survive these days. You must have to leave plenty of water and make sure that the hamster will survive these days with this amount of food. As you know, hamsters have a habit of storing food as well, so there must be enough food that they also can hoard from the available food.
Some hamsters need lots of water and food, although they burn plenty of energy. Moreover, before going on any trip, it is necessary to give your pet hamster a proper amount of food. This can also result in the choking of the hamster.
Train your hammy before leaving
It is most important never to let your hamster go without water. Because hamsters would have different health issues if they skip their meal. In this case, you must have to train your pet as well. The diet must be proper and should be given at the appropriate time.
When you give the proper meal at the appropriate time, then your hamster would get habitual of eating at the same time. He will get to know that it’s mealtime, and he will get used to that routine. And after your leave, it will take food according to its routine.
When his time would be fixed for taking rest, then he will be sleeping at the same time on a daily basis. In this way, he would have a proper schedule of his diet and sleep. And this adequate schedule makes the hamster healthy and relaxed.
