Hamster Central - View Single Post - Safe plants/sprouts for my Russian dwarfs?

Anophelia · 05-22-2019, 11:29 AM

Hi, guys, I'm new here!

So, long story short, I have 4 Russian dwarf hamsters (not sure if they're Cambell's or Winter White, I'm leaning towards the first but I might find a part of the forum where I can get help with that), all living separately because they hate each others' guts. I recently made huge adaptions to a piece of furniture I had, closing it up on all 4 sides with plexiglass and creating more natural looking toys and surroundings and using different kinds of substrates so that I can let one by one my hamsters there to explore, kinda like a playpen.

I was thinking I could add a couple of small clay pots and plant different seeds from plants safe for Russia dwarfs and letting them sprout in the playpen, or let them sprout in a safe environment and then add them to the playpen. I'm an agricultural scientist so I know the ones I got will not be adequate for proper plant growth, but I don't expect them to grow big enough in the first place with hammies nibbling them.

So my question is... Does anyone have suggestions for safe plants for my hammies, preferably kinds that are easy to sprout? To avoid the seeds being treated with chemicals I was thinking I can use seeds that are meant for human consumption instead of ones bought from a florists'. I know I can find wheat, lentils, beans, chickpeas, corn and maybe oats. Would any of these work? Also, I have some Indian cress seeds at home. I've seen that watercress is safe, does anyone know about Indian cress...? I know its leafy part is used for human salads.

Last question, what substrate is safe to use to plant the seeds for hammies? I've got sterilized coco which I was considering using. Any opinions?

05-22-2019, 11:29 AM
Anophelia Newborn Pup Join Date: May 2019 Location: Athens Posts: 2	Safe plants/sprouts for my Russian dwarfs? Hi, guys, I'm new here! So, long story short, I have 4 Russian dwarf hamsters (not sure if they're Cambell's or Winter White, I'm leaning towards the first but I might find a part of the forum where I can get help with that), all living separately because they hate each others' guts. I recently made huge adaptions to a piece of furniture I had, closing it up on all 4 sides with plexiglass and creating more natural looking toys and surroundings and using different kinds of substrates so that I can let one by one my hamsters there to explore, kinda like a playpen. I was thinking I could add a couple of small clay pots and plant different seeds from plants safe for Russia dwarfs and letting them sprout in the playpen, or let them sprout in a safe environment and then add them to the playpen. I'm an agricultural scientist so I know the ones I got will not be adequate for proper plant growth, but I don't expect them to grow big enough in the first place with hammies nibbling them. So my question is... Does anyone have suggestions for safe plants for my hammies, preferably kinds that are easy to sprout? To avoid the seeds being treated with chemicals I was thinking I can use seeds that are meant for human consumption instead of ones bought from a florists'. I know I can find wheat, lentils, beans, chickpeas, corn and maybe oats. Would any of these work? Also, I have some Indian cress seeds at home. I've seen that watercress is safe, does anyone know about Indian cress...? I know its leafy part is used for human salads. Last question, what substrate is safe to use to plant the seeds for hammies? I've got sterilized coco which I was considering using. Any opinions?